Capcom

Capcom Co., Ltd.
	The current Capcom logo.
Company type	Public TYO: 9697
Industry	Video games; Entertainment
Founded	May 30 1979
Headquarters	Osaka, Japan; California, USA; (HQ & Studios); Asia HQ: Hong Kong; Europe HQ: United Kingdom; Offices: ; Germany; England
Key people	Kenzo Tsujimoto, CEO; Yoshiki Okamoto; Tokuro Fujiwara; Shinji Mikami; Keiji Inafune
Products	Mega Man ; Resident Evil; Onimusha ; Devil May Cry; Street Fighter; Captain Commando; Strider; Breath of Fire; Darkstalkers; Final Fight; Marvel vs. Capcom; SNK vs. Capcom; (See complete products listing.)
Revenue	JPY 52 billion (2004)
Number of employees	1,206
Website	www.capcom.com

For the original NASA meaning, see capsule communicator.

Capcom Co., Ltd. (株式会社カプコン, Kabushiki-gaisha Kapukon, TYO: 9697) is a leading Japanese international developer and publisher of video games headquartered in Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1979 as Japan Capsule Computers, a company devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines. Their current name is an abbreviation of Capsule and Computers.

Capcom has also acted as a publisher and localization team for Western titles in Eastern territories, examples being X2 by Team17 Software

History

Over the years, Capcom has created some of the biggest and longest running franchises in video gaming history. The company released their first arcade game in 1984: Vulgus. Their early games were mostly arcade games such as the scrolling shooter 1942.

In the late '80s, Yoshiki Okamoto joined the company from Konami. In 1987, Capcom released the game Street Fighter. In the same year, the company also released the platformer Mega Man (Rockman in Japan) for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Final Fight, a beat 'em up, was released in 1989. In 1991, Okamoto's Street Fighter II was released in the arcades.

Breath of Fire, Capcom's first major foray into the RPG genre, was released in 1993 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan), a successful survival horror, was released on the PlayStation in 1996.

Two Capcom development houses, Clover Studio [1] and Flagship [2] have created successful titles in recent years, including the Viewtiful Joe series and Okami.

In 2002 a movie based on the series entitled Resident Evil was released, which did well enough financially to warrant a sequel (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) in 2004. A third movie, Resident Evil: Extinction was released on September 21, 2007, and led the box office in first place.

Beside developing games under its own brand, Capcom also developed the arcade, Dreamcast and PS2 versions of its Mobile Suit Gundam third person shoot em ups for Banpresto and also distribute many games including the Grand Theft Auto series for the Japanese market.

Mascot

Capcom's original mascot, Captain Commando, is a superhero who wears a futuristic armor of unknown origin. His name forms the word Capcom when the first syllable of each word is combined in the Japanese abbreviation way. He originally appeared in the early Capcom Famicom/NES game Section Z (the arcade version of Section Z has similar gameplay, but it is not clear that the hero is the same person) and in the manuals of Capcom's early NES games to thank players for purchasing them. He also appeared in the self named beat em up game, Captain Commando, in 1991. He later appeared in Marvel vs. Capcom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, in which he is often considered to be an excessively powerful character. He remains the most often-used Capcom character in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, a game dominated by the Marvel characters. In Marvel vs. Capcom, he still serves as a mascot, regularly shouting "Capcom!" during fights and relaying Capcom-themed messages after winning. He displays the ability to quickly change from regular clothing, including a cowboy hat, into his armor, suggesting a secret identity. Captain Commando's storyline is not connected to that of Commando and Bionic Commando, despite the similar name.

Mega Man has superseded Captain Commando as Capcom's official mascot, primarily because of the immense popularity of the Mega Man series.

Also, Ryu is one of the more prominent Capcom characters and is not only the face of Capcom's fighting games, but is generally associated with the fighting genre.

Yashichi

The Yashichi

The Yashichi is an item found in many Capcom video games. It often restores the player's health or acts as a bonus point item. The symbol is a red circle decorated with a stylised white cross that resembles a pinwheel.

The item appeared first in 1985, in Capcom's first title, Vulgus, as an enemy (it was also featured in Capcom's fifth title, Exed Exes, in a similar role.) It also appeared in Mega Man (Rockman in Japan) as an item which fully restored health and weapon energy. Since then, it has been featured in many other games in a far more benign role.

Kazaguruma no Yashichi (Pinwheel Yashichi) is also a regular character in the Japanese television series Mito Kōmon. His trademark is a pinwheel which he throws for various reasons.

Appearances

1941: Counter Attack – As a health pick-up that fully restores a player's health.
1942 – As a bonus point item worth 5,000 bonus points.
1943 – As a health pick-up that fully restores a player's health.
1943 Kai – As a health pick-up that fully restores a player's health.
Black Tiger (Black Dragon in Japan)
Block Block – As a power-up. Collecting six Yashichis gives you an Extend Bonus.
Capcom Fighting Evolution – As a story element. In Hydron's ending, the Yashichi is the sparkling red object that he discovers in the depths of the ocean.
Commando – As a bonus point item worth 10,000 bonus points.
Dimahoo – As one of the five hidden Capcom treasures (called the "Pinwheel" in the game), along with Mobichan (AKA Alpha from Side Arms), Holstein (cow), Dragonfly (from Exed Exes / Savage Bees), and Takenoko (Bamboo, from SonSon).
Exed Exes / Savage Bees – As an enemy.
Final Fight 3 – As an item which grants the player invincibility.
Forgotten Worlds – As an item that refills a player's health bar completely.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Gun.Smoke – Blue items make you invisible, red give a 1-Up.
King of Dragons – As a gameplay item which gives a free credit.
Magic Sword – As a gameplay item that gives an extra metre.
Mega Man – As a power-up that refills both weapon and life energy.
Mega Man 8 – Same use as in Mega Man but Rush has to drop it off for you to get it (via Rush Charger).
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters – As a damaging projectile Cutman might throw in his powered-up attack pattern.
Mega Man Powered Up– Same use as in Mega Man.
Mega Man Battle and Chase – as one of the in-race items. Temporarily makes you invincible and gives you an added speed bonus.
Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge – as an icon from a menu.
Mega Man ZX Advent – As one of four parts in a Floating Ruins subquest to get a Sub Tank.
Mega Twins – As a health pick-up that fully restores a player's health.
Nemo – As a power-up that gives Nemo and Flip extra attack power.
Namco X Capcom – As an item that Sylphie uses to increase an ally's attack power.
Pirate Ship Higemaru
Side Arms Hyper Dyne – As a weapon choice in the game.
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash 2 – As a story element. One of the characters is named Yashichi, carries around the icon, and fights you using cards with varying special abilities.
SonSon – As a bonus point item. It is worth 4,000 bonus points on first pickup, then 5,000, 6,000, etc., up 10,000 points on sequential pickups.
Street Fighter series – As a selection icon on some of the main menus.
Strider 2 - As a bonus point item worth 50,000 bonus points.
UN Squadron – As a gameplay item which gives a free credit. (In the SNES version, this refills the player's energy meter.)
Varth: Operation Thunderstorm - As an item that will upgrade a player's weaponry to its maximum level.
Vulgus - As an enemy.
Yo! Noid - As an item which grants the player invincibility.

Capcom Production Studios

Each Capcom Production Studio is the developer behind Capcom's games. The studios are divided into different sections and named after numbers, except for the independent Clover Studio (now defunct) and Flagship which is funded by Capcom of Japan.

Subsidiaries and related corporations

Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Capcom U.S.A., Inc. was established in California as the official North American subsidiary of Capcom in August 1985.
Capcom Studio 8, Inc. was established as the R&D division of Capcom USA, Inc. in June 1995. The studio was closed in 2006.
Capcom Asia Co., Ltd. was established in Hong Kong as the official Asian subsidiary of Capcom in July 1993.
Capcom Eurosoft Ltd. was established in United Kingdom as the official European subsidiary of Capcom in July 1998.
KOKO Capcom Asia Co., Ltd. the official South Korean subsidiary of Capcom in July 2001.
Suleputer was established to market and distribute games and related merchandising (books, music, anime, etc.) in Asia. Their current name is a conjunction of Capsule Computer.
Captron Co., Ltd. manages the rent, lease and operation of real estate properties.
Flagship Co., Ltd. was the development studio that made Onimusha and the Zelda games on the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, most recently releasing The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. It was absorbed into Capcom's main studio in June 2007.
Capcom Charbo Co., Ltd. manages the rental, maintenance and lease of electronic game machines.
CE Europe Ltd. was established in London in November 2002.
CEG Interactive Entertainment GmbH was established in Germany in February 2003.
Nude Maker Co., Ltd. is the development studio that made Clock Tower 1, 2 games on the PlayStation and Xbox and the Steel Battalion only in Xbox..
Clover Studio Co., Ltd. was a development studio based in Osaka. It was founded in July 2004, and was dissolved in March 2007. They created the Viewtiful Joe series, as well as Okami and God Hand.
Platinum Games is the new studio comprised of former Clover Studio employees. It was formerly known as SEEDS. [3]
Nickel City is a chain of video arcades once owned by Capcom where the machines ran on nickels or on free play. It was sold in 2004 and continues to operate under independent ownership.
Capcom Interactive Canada is a division of Capcom and their focus is developing games for mobile platforms.

Influence in general media

Capcom's games and characters therein have been featured in a number of anime, cartoons, theatrical movies, etc. Some of which include:

The company mascot, Mega Man, played a supporting role in a Nintendo inspired TV-show Captain N: The Game Master and has later been featured in three separate cartoons: Mega Man produced by Ruby-Spears, and the two anime series MegaMan NT Warrior and Mega Man Star Force. He also starred in three OVAs originally released in Japan in 1993, released later on DVD in North America, and the NT Warrior anime series spawned a 48-minute feature film (only in Japan) entitled Rockman EXE: The Program of Light and Dark, Mega Man's first ever appearance on the big-screen.
Street Fighter II has also been a popular source for films,anime, and cartoons. A popular anime adaptation was made, followed by live action adaptation, both in 1994. Shortly afterwards, two different animated TV series, a Japanese series and an American series were produced in 1995.
The fighting game Darkstalkers was made into two animated adaptations, in Japan and in the United States.
Another fighting game, Power Stone, saw an anime adaptation.
So far the most successful series of films has been based on Capcom's popular survivor horror series Resident Evil. The first film was received well at the box office, earning a solid 102 million worldwide. Its VHS and DVD sales were even stronger leading Screen Gems and Sony to make a sequel, which also proved to be a financial success. The third and final part Resident Evil: Extinction was released in Fall 2007.
An anime series based on Viewtiful Joe was made in 2004. It consists of 52 episodes and is based loosely around the first and second games. It features new characters, such as Captain Blue Jr. and Sprocket, who were later introduced into the GameCube and PSP game, Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble. Viewtiful Joe the anime series used to air on Kids' WB! on Saturdays at 8:00 AM, and later 11:30 AM but was cancelled shortly before the network changed to The CW (no specific date if the anime series will return on "Kids' WB)."
An anime based on the series Devil May Cry aired in Japan for 12 episodes. It is was handled by the same studio responsible for the anime based on Death Note, Madhouse. [4]
Two films based upon the Capcom franchises Devil May Cry [5] and Clock Tower [6] are currently in production and scheduled to be released in 2008.
A manga version of the courtroom drama action series Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is being produced in Japan [7].

References

"CAPCOM: Corporate Profile: Capcom Group." December 27, 2004. Accessed on March 6, 2006.
"CAPCOM: Corporate Profile: Corporate History." Accessed on June 20, 2005.
"CAPCOM: Financial Information." Accessed on June 20, 2005.

External links