What Capcom called its best performance since it began reporting quarterly results was tempered somewhat by the fact that the company's arcade business is on a steep decline. The costs of a new arcade the company opened in Japan's Shimane prefecture early this year worked to offset its strong home software results and widen losses. Citing difficult economic conditions for arcades in general, Capcom explained:
"In this business segment, we tried to create demands and expand our customer base with a community-based approach while engaging the turbulent business environment. Such efforts included improving the efficiency of arcades operation and holding a variety of customer appreciation events."
It seems, however, that the efforts were unsuccessful:
"However, the number of customer visits and average customer spending grew at a sluggish pace reflecting market stagnation and declining customer confidence, forcing us to struggle."
Capcom's arcade business saw a decrease in sales to 3,128 million yen ($28.9 million), and took a 73 million yen loss ($675,515) — during the same time last year, it earned 261 million yen ($2.4 million). Looks like more people would rather play games at home. [Pic credit Arcade Heroes]