Capcom
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Summary
Capcom Co., Ltd. is a leading Japanese 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.
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." [2]
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 Okami.
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.
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 Banpresto 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, only three games are available, those beig Onimusha 3, Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition, and Lost Planet.
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 syllable of each word is combined in the Japanese abbreviation way. 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 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 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.
