Today Capcom released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, which ended on June 30th.

As you can see in the table below, the company announced profitable results for the quarter, with a 7.5% increase in net sales year-on-year. This is a significant improvement for the same period last year, that saw the publisher from Osaka posting considerable losses.

Within the accompanying press release, we get a detailed overview of the publisher's performance for the quarter. Capcom sees "broad signs of recovery" thanks to the "greater penetration" of PS4 and the "strong performance" of the recently launched Nintendo Switch.

The solid showing at E3 also raised expectations for Monster Hunter World, and more interestingly we get the confirmation that the game will release before the end of the fiscal year, which means before March 31st, 2018, at least for PS4 and Xbox One (the PC version will come after the launch for consoles). Previously, we only knew that the game would launch in "early 2018," so this is an improvement.

"During the three months ended June 30, 2017, our industry saw broad signs of recovery including greater penetration of the PlayStation 4 home video game console, the strong performance of the new Nintendo Switch game console and the general recovery of the home video games market.

In addition, at E3, one of the world’s largest trade shows for computer and video games, held in the U.S., Monster Hunter: World (for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC), which will be the latest release in the series and one of our major titles for the current fiscal year, drew much attention from show-goers, raising expectations for its release in the second half of the fiscal year.

In such an environment, the Company has made efforts to reduce costs and expenses by reviewing and re-evaluating our cost of sales and selling, general and administrative expenses in order to improve profitability. Aiming also to make a breakthrough in the area of mobile contents, the Company has worked on such initiatives as reorganization and the strengthening of our management structure.

Furthermore, the Company has pushed forward with marketing efforts to leverage synergy with our popular IP. One example of these efforts was the release of the feature-length computer animated film Resident Evil: Vendetta in May 2017, which is based on one of our IP. As a result, the three months ended June 30, 2017 became an excellent run-up for the Company prior to taking the offensive in earnest in the second half of the current fiscal year. Consolidated net sales for the quarter were 11,746 million yen (up 7.5% from the same term in the previous year), operating income was 784 million yen (compared with an operating loss of 726 million yen for the same term in the previous year), ordinary income was 772 million yen (compared with an ordinary loss of 2,080 million yen for the same term in the previous year), and net income attributable to owners of the parent was 521 million yen (compared with a net loss attributable to owners of the parent of 1,411 million yen for the same term in the previous year)."

We also get a more specific look at the performance of the Digital Contents segment, which is the publisher's business specifically dedicated to gaming. Ultra Street Fighter II for Nintendo Switch is mentioned as having had an "excellent start" and is defined a "smash hit."

"In this business, although the first quarter corresponds to the market’s off-season in terms of the launch cycle for major titles, Ultra Street Fighter II (for Nintendo Switch), which was released in May 2017, made an excellent start and proved to be a smash hit. In addition, Resident Evil 7 biohazard (for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC) and Monster Hunter XX (Double Cross) (for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems) contributed to revenue to a certain extent. The resulting net sales were 7,688 million yen (up 14.1% from the same term in the previous year) and operating income was 1,676 million yen (compared with an operating income of 8 million yen for the same term in the previous year)."

Looking at the games mentioned, Ultra Street Fighter II did not reach the million units sohipped despite its solid performance (which isn't all that surprising since the Switch is still in its infancy), Resident Evil 7 biohazard is now indicated as having shipped 3.7 million units, and Monster Hunter XX is sitting on 1.7 million copies shipped.

If you want to compare these results with the previous quarter, you can check out our dedicated article from April.

If you're interested in Monster Hunter World, you can enjoy the newly-released trailers dedicated to the game's weapons,  the full recording of the San Diego Comic Con panel with a ton of info and footage, the announcement trailer, the first screenshots, and some really impressive gameplay.