Capcom

: For the original NASA meaning, see capsule communicator.

Capcom (カプコン in Japanese language) is a leading Japanese video game developer and video game publisher of computer and video games. 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 a conjunction of Capsule Computers .

=History=

Over the years, Capcom has created some of the biggest and longest running .

In the late 1980s, Yoshiki Okamoto joined the company from Konami. In 1987, Capcom released his game Street Fighter . In the same year the company also released the hugely influential platform game Mega Man Classic ( Rockman in Japan) for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Final Fight , a fighting game, was released in 1989. In 1991 Okamoto s Street Fighter II was released in the video arcade. Resident Evil (video game) ( Biohazard in Japan), a successful survival horror game, was released on the PlayStation in 1996.

Two Capcom development houses, Clover Studio[http://games.ign.com/objects/674/674345.html] and ).

In .

=Mascot=

Capcom s original mascot, Captain Commando, is a superhero who wears a futuristic armor of unknown origin. His name forms the words CapCom when the first three letters of each word are combined. 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 later appeared as the title character in an arcade game bearing his name, as well as in Marvel vs. Capcom series and its sequel, 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. Mega Man (character) has superseded Captain Commando as Capcom s official mascot, primarily because of the immense popularity of the Mega Man series. Captain Commando s storyline is not connected to that of Commando (game) and Bionic Commando , despite the similar name.

==Subsidiaries and related corporations== Capcom U.S.A., Inc. was established in California as the official North American subsidiary of Capcom in August 1985.

Capcom Entertainment, Inc.

Capcom Studio 8, Inc. was established as the R&D division of Capcom USA, Inc. in June 1995.

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.

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.

.

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.

Clover Studio Co., Ltd. is a development studio based in Osaka. It was founded in July 2004 and has been responsible for the Viewtiful Joe series.

=Movies and Television=

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

One-time company mascot, Mega Man, played a supporting role in a Nintendo inspired TV-show .

Street Fighter 2 has also been a popular source films and cartoons. A flopped Street Fighter (film) was released in 1994. Shortly afterwards a more popular anime adaptions were released as well as an american cartoon-series based on the movie.

The fighting-game Dark Stalkers was made in to two animated adaptions in Japan and US.

So far the most successful series (of Resident Evil (film)) has been based on Capcom s popular survivor horror series Resident Evil. Though the first got a cold-reception in theatres its VHS and DVD sales motivated Paul Anderson to make a sequel which was also a financial success. Two more sequels are due to be released, the plot of the third will lead to the fourth which is planned to be the last one.

=See also=

*List of Capcom games *List of Japanese companies *Survival horror game *Capcom Production Studio (Contains links to studios 1-8, no 7)

=References=

[http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/company/adress.html CAPCOM: Corporate Profile: Capcom Group]. December 27, 2004. Accessed on June 20, 2005.

[http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/company/history.html CAPCOM: Corporate Profile: Corporate History]. Accessed on June 20, 2005.

[http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/finance/index.html CAPCOM: Financial Information]. Accessed on June 20, 2005.

=External links=

*[http://www.capcom.co.jp/ Capcom Co. Ltd.] (in Japanese) *[http://www.capcom.com/ Capcom U.S.A., Inc.] *[http://www.mobygames.com/company/sheet/companyId,642/ MobyGame s entry on Capcom]