The Site for just about everything Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter!
NEWS FEED:
*Coin-Op
TV live from the Street fighter art show
May 13, 2009
Hailey Bright from
Coin-Op TV managed to coax some words from the notoriously camera-shy Seth Killian and some of the artists involved during
the recent Street Fighter art exhibit in LA that we've
talked about here a few times. Best bit is towards
the end when Hailey put Seth (the person) on the spot about Seth (the SFIV boss).
*Resident Evil 5 and Street
Fighter IV drive Capcom Growth
May 8, 2009
Osaka, Japan-based Capcom has posted an increase
in sales and profits for the fiscal year ended in March, with more growth expected in the year ahead thanks in part to a strong
home video game business.
The publisher said the release of Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV on Xbox 360 and PlayStation
3, as well as Monster Hunter Freedom 2G for PSP, helped drive overall sales to ¥91.9 billion ($926.67 million), a 10.6 percent
increase from the prior year.
Capcom said sales were the highest they've been over the past three consecutive fiscal
years.
Operating income was ¥14.6 billion ($147.4 million), up 11.4 percent, and net income was ¥8 billion ($80.77
million), up 3.3 percent.
Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV both launched in Capcom's fiscal Q4 following the crowded
holiday season. Capcom described Resident Evil 5 as a "mega hit," as the game's initial shipment was four million units. Street
Fighter IV has shipped over two million worldwide.
Continuing strong sales from late in the previous fiscal year was
Monster Hunter Freedom 2G for PSP. Released in March 2008, the game has sold 2.55 million units to date.
The publisher
also noted other strong performers, including Grand Theft Auto IV for PS3 and Xbox 360 and Mega Man Star Force 3 for Nintendo
DS.
Net sales for the home video game segment specifically were ¥63 billion ($636.14 million), a rise of 21.7 percent.
Operating income for the segment was ¥16.39 billion ($165.47 million), a year-on-year rise of 41.2 percent.
Capcom
also noted a "softening" arcade market: "Under the influence of this sluggish market, existing arcades struggled with a decreased
number of visitors. This was due partially to the lack of sales-inducing games, and to the fact that the difference between
home video games and arcade games has become negligible."
Arcade operations of the company's "Plaza Capcom" locations
posted flat sales and a decrease in profits, although actual arcade game sales and profits, driven by Street Fighter IV, were
up.
For the year ahead, Capcom expects to beat this year's results. The company projected net sales to increase to
¥95 billion ($958.87 million) and operating income to rise to ¥15.5 billion ($156.49 million), driven again in part by a growing
home video game business.
*Warner
Bros. Looking to Buy Midway? May 4, 2009
According to gaming industry trade magazine
MCV, Warner Bros. is preparing to bid on purchasing Midway. According to their sources, Warner Bros. is particularly interested
in the Mortal Kombat and Stranglehold properties (the latter being the official sequel to Hard Boiled, a popular Hong Kong
action movie), in addition to the "retro" franchises such as Gauntlet and Joust. It should go without saying that there is
already a history between Midway and Warner Bros.; DC
Comics is another of Warner Bros.'s companies. From the
article:
"It is thought that the LEGO publisher is particularly keen to acquire
Midway’s flagship Mortal Kombat and Stranglehold franchises, as well as its retro IP such as Gauntlet, Joust and Galaga
– and a modern casual game roster including Game Party and Touchmaster.
MCV understands that Midway is keen for Warner to match its target
sale price of $30m (£20.6m) – but that it may yet sell off its owned IP and studios separately.
A source close to Midway told MCV: "Warner is pretty confident that
they will get Midway – which will be an immediate boost to their portfolio. The deal isn’t done yet. Midway is
still open to offers from other potential buyers – but Warner looks to be favourite to wrap it up. They look ready to
put the money on the table."
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