It seems that Sony isn’t the only company announcing a new focus on mobile games following Nintendo’s success in the field. Capcom is planning on getting in on mobile gaming as well, and it’s bringing some of its most popular franchises along for the ride.
Capcom announced in a blog post aimed at investors that it has established a new mobile gaming division, and it aims to produce four new games by March 31, 2017. These titles will be based on popular games and franchises from the company, and unlike Sony’s recent announcement of ForwardWorks, Capcom plans to distribute its mobile games both “domestically and abroad.”
“Mobile content is a driver of growth in the game market as well as an important factor in Capcom’s growth strategy,” Capcom says in the post. “Under these circumstances, Capcom [has] established its Mobile Business Division in order to grow its business in step with the market and continue offering exciting content.”
The company has announced Mega Man, Monster Hunter, and Sengoku Basara as some of the franchises the new games will be based on. In the past, Capcom has produced mobile ports of various Mega Man and Monster Hunter games, but this will be the first time that new games based on the franchises will appear on mobile devices.
As for why the company has chosen to build these games now, it points to the massive growth in mobile gaming. “With international economic growth and the explosive spread of smartphones as a backdrop, the mobile games market is expected to rapidly grow from $27.5 billion in 2015 to $37.4 billion in 2019 globally,” the company wrote.
Despite the high hopes Capcom has for its new mobile division, the company is keen to reassure its hardcore fans that the games they know and love will still continue to be made. Earlier this year Capcom CEO Kenso Tsujimoto said that while the company would be pursuing mobile gaming, its “commitment to continuing to develop games for core users around the world will not change.”
