Capcom

Capcom Co., Ltd. is a leading Japanese international developer and publisher of video games founded in 1979 and headquartered in Osaka, Japan. The company originally formed as Japan Capsule Computers, devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines. In 1983, they changed their name to Capcom (a portmanteau of Capsule Computers), and released their first arcade game (Vulgus) in 1984. Other early games included arcade games such as the scrolling shooter 1942.

Over the years, Capcom has created some of the biggest and longest running franchises in video gaming history, such as Street Fighter and Mega Man (Rockman in Japan) for the Nintendo Entertainment System, both in 1987. Other successful series include Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan), a survival horror game that was released on the PlayStation in 1996. In 2002 a movie based on the Resident Evil series was released, which did well enough financially to warrant a sequel (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) in 2004. A third movie, Resident Evil: Extinction will be released in 2007.

Two Capcom development houses, Clover Studio and Flagship have also created successful titles in recent years, including the Viewtiful Joe series and The Legend of Zelda series (under supervision of Shigeru Miyamoto).

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.