Capcom

Capcom Co., Ltd. (株式会社カプコン) is an 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. In the 12 months ended March 31, 2009, it has reported an increase in sales of 10.6 percent to 91,879 million yen ($925 million/£615 million), while net income rose 3.3 percent to 8,063 million yen ($81.1 million/£53.4 million).

History
According to Capcom, "the name CAPCOM is an abbreviation of CAPsule COMputer. This was a phrase symbolic of an internal company objective to create a new gaming experience that would exceed that of rival personal computers which had also been increasing in popularity during the same period". 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 1980s, Yoshiki Okamoto joined the company from Konami. In 1987, Capcom released the game Street Fighter. Also in 1987, the company  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 1994 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 and Flagship have created successful titles in recent years, including the Viewtiful Joe series and Ōkami.

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. The fourth movie in the franchise is titled Resident Evil: Afterlife and is currently in production. It is scheduled for a 2010 theatrical release.

Capcom also teamed up with Microsoft to make the successful Dead Rising in 2006, which was a popular zombie survival and adventure game and timed exclusive for the Xbox 360. In 2009, the Wii version Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop hit the market, and Dead Rising 2 is announced for the 360, PS3 and PC.

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 Bandai and also distribute many games including the Grand Theft Auto series for the Japanese market.

As of mid-2007, Capcom teamed up with Valve Corporation to release games through Valve's Steam content delivery system, being the first Japanese company to do so. At present, 10 games are available, among those being Onimusha 3, Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition, Street Fighter 4, Resident Evil 5, and Lost Planet.

Capcom develops products for all age groups and supports the programs and guidelines established by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Capcom's "E" rated games for Everyone (content suitable for persons 6 and older) include the Mega Man franchise of games. Capcom's "T" rated games for Teens (content suitable for persons 13 and older) include the Street Fighter' (now ew', Breath of Fire and DarkStalkers franchise of products. Capcom's "M" rated games for mature audiences (content suitable for persons 17 and older) include the Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Onimusha'' (with the exception of Onimusha: Blade Warriors, which received a "T" rating) series of products.

Studios
Capcom Production Studio is the developer behind Capcom's games. The studios are divided into different sections and named after numbers, except for the now defunct independent Clover Studio and Flagship.

Subsidiaries

 * Capcom Entertainment, Inc.'''
 * Capcom USA, Inc. in California as the official North American subsidiary of Capcom, started in August 1985.
 * Capcom Asia Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong as the official Asian subsidiary of Capcom, started in July 1993.
 * Capcom Eurosoft Ltd. in United Kingdom as the official European subsidiary of Capcom, started in July 1998.
 * KOKO Capcom Asia Co., Ltd. is the official South Korean subsidiary of Capcom, started in July 2001.
 * CE Europe Ltd. in London, started in November 2002.
 * CEG Interactive Entertainment GmbH' in Germany, started in February 2003.
 * Capcom Entertainment France Ltd. in France, started in July 2008.
 * Capcom Interactive Canada is a division of Capcom and their focus is developing games for mobile platforms.
 * Capcom Charbo Co., Ltd. manages the rental, maintenance and lease of electronic game machines.
 * Captron Co., Ltd. manages the rent, lease and operation of real estate properties.
 * 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.
 * K2 Corporation (formerly K2 LLC), game developer founded by ex-SNK and Square staff in 2000. Acquired by Capcom Co. on May 1, 2008.

Partners

 * Nintendo Australia Pty Ltd in Victoria, Australia, founded in 1994. Developed The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons.
 * Nude Maker Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, founded on November 15, 2002.
 * Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland, founded in 1988 as DMA Design Ltd, Capcom publishes and distributes Grand Theft Auto in Japan.
 * Sony Computer Entertainment of America in Los Angeles, California, Capcom published and distributed the first 2 God of War games in Japan, as well as God of War: Chain of Olympus.
 * Ubisoft Australia Pty Ltd, distributes some of Capcom's products in Australia.
 * THQ Asia Pacific
 * Activision Blizzard Pty Ltd
 * Motomiya Kikaku

Defunct

 * Capcom Studio 8, Inc. was established as the R&D division of Capcom USA, Inc. in June 1995. The studio was closed in 2006. This studio is known for making the Maximo series (Maximo: Ghosts to Glory and Maximo vs. Army of Zin), Final Fight Revenge and Final Fight: Streetwise.
 * Flagship Co., Ltd. in Japan, founded April 24, 1997, absorbed into Capcom's main studio in June 2007.
 * Clover Studio Co., Ltd. in Osaka, Japan, founded in July 2004, and was dissolved March 2007.

Spin-off companies

 * Arika in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1996 by former Capcom employees.
 * Inti Creates in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1996 by former Capcom employees
 * Game Republic in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 2003 by former Capcom employees.
 * Crafts & Meister in Osaka, Japan, founded in 2004 by former Capcom employees.
 * Platinum Games in Osaka, Japan, founded as SEEDS on August 1, 2006 by former Clover Studio employees.
 * 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.

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 syllables of both words are combined as a syllabic abbreviation, which is popular in Japan. 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). Along with that, he appeared in the manuals and the back covers 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. 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 of the Street Fighter series 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.

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 an orange circle decorated with a stylised white cross that resembles a pinwheel.

The item appeared first in 1984, in Capcom's first title, Vulgus, as an enemy (it was also featured in Capcom's fifth title, Exed Exes, in a similar role). Since then, it has been featured in many other games in a far more benign role; in particular, it appeared in Mega Man (Rockman in Japan) as an item which fully restored health and weapon energy. It once again serves the same purpose in the series' most recent installment, Mega Man 10, and can only be found on the game's Easy difficulty setting. Also recently featured in Bionic Commando Rearmed as a colletable item which earns the collector an achievement for all 12 found within the game.

Influence in general media
Capcom's games and characters therein have been featured in a number of anime, cartoons, and theatrical movies, 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 a live action adaptation, both in 1994. Shortly afterwards, two different animated series, a Japanese series and an American series were produced in 1995 as well as a second animated feature. A new live action movie, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, was released in early 2009.
 * 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 based on a video game has been based on Capcom's popular survivor horror series Resident Evil. The first film was received well at the box office, earning $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 part Resident Evil: Extinction was released in 2007. Another sequel titled Resident Evil: Afterlife is scheduled for release in September 2010.
 * 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! but was cancelled shortly before the network changed to The CW. In Latin America it was aired in its entirety on Cartoon Network.
 * An anime based on the series Devil May Cry aired in Japan for 12 episodes. It was handled by Madhouse.
 * A manga version of the courtroom drama action series Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is being produced in Japan. A live-action TV series is also rumoured, but have yet to be confirmed.