Capcom is a leading third-party game developer that got its start in 1979 as a publisher of electronic games. In 1984, Capcom (originally the name Capcom was a contracted form of its official name at the time, Japan
Capsule
Computers) released its first
Arcade Game, a scrolling shooter entitled
Vulgus. They would go on to make several more shooters like that, including the famed
19XX series, before hitting it big with games like
Mega Man 1 (the company's mascot since 1991) and
Street Fighter II.
Likes to
challenge other companies to
Fighting Game crossover showdowns.
Trope Namers of
Capcom Sequel Stagnation.
Games and franchises started by Capcom:
Capcom games that were cancelled:
- Capcom Fighting All Stars: Code Holder
- Dead Phoenix
- Final Fight: Seven Sons
- Galum Pa!
- Ghosts N Goblins series
- Ghosts N Goblins Online Zero (A 2003 MMORPG meant for PC and Xbox)
- Ghosts N Goblins Match Fight
- Maximo 3
- The Magical Ninjya Jiraiya Kenzan!
- Major Damage
- Mega Man series
- Mega Man Anniversary Collection (Game Boy Advance)
- Mega Man Legends 3
- Mega Man Universe
- Rockman Online
- Maverick Hunter (2010 FPS)note The codename for an unnamed Darker and Edgier FPS reboot of Mega Man X worked on by Armature Studio shortly during 2010.
- Red Dead Revolver note Originally developed by Capcom, this game borrowed elements from Gun.Smoke, another western Capcom game, but it was cancelled in 2002. It would later be purchased by Rockstar Games, who completed the game and released it in 2004. Interestingly enough, Capcom became the publisher of Red Dead Revolver for its Japanese release.
- Resident Evil (Game Boy Color)
- Sammy vs. Capcom (it was supposedly going to feature characters from Guilty Gear and Darkstalkers)
- Strider (unnamed 2009 remake/reboot developed by GRIN)
- Talisman (a game licensed by Games Workshopnote Games Workshop held the Talisman license before the game's cancellation. The license is now owned by Fantasy Flight Games.)
- Titan Warriors (a sequel to Vulgus. It was originally named Neo Vulgus)
- War of the Grail
- Werewolf The Apocalypse (a game licensed by White Wolf Publishing)
Tropes associated with Capcom:
- Capcom Sequel Stagnation: Trope Maker and Trope Namer: Commonly seen in the Street Fighter franchise.
- Cash Cow Franchise: Like Square Enix, Capcom has three of them: Mega Man, Street Fighter, and Resident Evil.
- Ironically, the first one seems to be losing its status for God-knows-what reasons (though the recent departure of Keiji Inafune may have something to do with it); just about every single planned Mega Man project has been getting cancelled with reckless abandon in recent months.
- Monster Hunter has also established itself as a huge moneymaker, although this is mostly limited to Japan.
- Demoted to Extra: A number of their former flagship series have seen very few releases in recent years, the most apparent of these being the "Mega Man" and "Ghosts N Goblins" franchises. They;ve gone from console games, to handheld games, to downloadable titles, to, in the case of Mega Man, freeware and mobile titles.
- Iconic Item: The Yashichi
, a shuriken or pinwheel-like object that has seen itself in many of the company's games. Originally an enemy, it could also be an Easter Egg that may benefit the player in other games. - Iconic Logo: With the font even being based on that used for Jeopardy!'s questions.
- Mascot: Originally, it was the titular Captain Commando. Then, it was Mega Man. Now it's Ryu.