Capcom legacy
Capcom’s predecessor, I.R.M. Corporation, was founded on May 30, 1979[4] by Kenzo Tsujimoto, who was still president of Irem Corporation when he founded I.R.M. He worked at both companies at the same time until leaving Irem in 1983.
The original companies that spawned Capcom’s Japan branch were I.R.M. and its subsidiary Japan Capsule Computers Co., Ltd., both of which were devoted to the manufacture and distribution of electronic game machines.[5] The two companies underwent a name change to Sanbi Co., Ltd. in September 1981.[5] On June 11, 1983, Tsujimoto established Capcom Co., Ltd.[4] for the purpose of taking over the internal sales department.[6]
In January 1989, Capcom Co., Ltd. merged with Sanbi Co., Ltd., resulting in the current Japan branch.[5] The name Capcom is a clipped compound of “Capsule Computers”, a term coined by the company for the arcade machines it solely manufactured in its early years, designed to set themselves apart from personal computers that were becoming widespread.[7] “Capsule” alludes to how Capcom likened its game software to “a capsule packed to the brim with gaming fun”, and to the company’s desire to protect its intellectual property with a hard outer shell, preventing illegal copies and inferior imitations.[7]
Native name
- 株式会社カプコン
- Romanized name
- Kabushiki-gaisha Kapukon
- Company type
- Public
- Traded as
- TYO: 9697
- Industry
- Video games
- Founded
- May 30, 1979; 45 years ago[1]
- Founder Kenzo Tsujimoto
- Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan
- Key people
- Kenzo Tsujimoto (Chairman and CEO)
Haruhiro Tsujimoto (President and COO)
Capcom started its Street Fighter franchise in 1987. The series of fighting games are among the most popular in their genre. Having sold over 50 million copies, it is one of Capcom’s flagship franchises. The company also introduced its Mega Man series in 1987, which has sold over 40 million copies.
The company released the first entry in its Resident Evil survival horror series in 1996, which become its most successful game series, selling over 150 million copies. After releasing the second entry in the Resident Evil series, Capcom began a Resident Evil game for PlayStation 2. As it was significantly different from the existing series’ games, Capcom decided to spin it into its own series, Devil May Cry. The first three entries were exclusively for PlayStation 2; further entries were released for non-Sony consoles. The entire series has sold over 30 million copies. Capcom began its Monster Hunter series in 2004, which has sold over 100 million copies on a variety of consoles.
Capcom compiles a “Platinum Titles” list, updated quarterly, of its games that have sold over one million copies. It contains over 100 video games. This table shows the top ten titles, by sold copies, as of June 30, 2024.[64]