Capcom Cuts Outlook In Wake Of "Weakened" Sales For 'Resident Evil 6' And Delayed Release Of 'Monster Hunter 4'

Capcom (TYO: 9697) has cut its full-year consolidated outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, the company announced in a press release Wednesday.

The Osaka-based Japanese video game publisher said that the diminished forecast was due to weaker-than-expected sales of its zombie game “Resident Evil 6” and a delayed release for the upcoming “Monster Hunter 4.”

“Resident Evil” is one of the most iconic franchises in the video game industry, and therefore also one of Capcom’s flagship product lines. “Resident Evil 6” had an auspicious debut in the console market when it first launched in October launched to great success in October, shipping 4.5 million copies -- a new record for the company, which had set its last milestone in 2009 when “Resident Evil 5” sold 4.4 million copies according to CVG.

Things began to slow down for “Resident Evil 6” by November, however. With sales dipping, Capcom was forced to revise its original estimate saying that the game would sell 7 million units in the current fiscal year, dropping that figure to 6 million.

“Resident Evil 6” sales were hit by a negative reception by game critics and players alike. The game currently holds a 67 percent score on Metacritic for the Xbox 360 version, with user ratings falling to 4.7 out of 10.

"Sales of the major new title ‘Resident Evil 6’ were initially strong but subsequently weakened," Capcom said in a statement to investors. "As a result, sales for this title are certain to fall short of the plan."

The release of “Monster Hunter 4,” meanwhile, was delayed until the next fiscal year. Its predecessor is widely considered to be one of the most popular titles in Japan associated with Nintendo’s (PINK: NTDOY) mobile 3DS gaming console.

"The launch of Monster Hunter 4, which was scheduled for March 2013, has been pushed back to the next fiscal year in order to further raise the quality of the game," the company said.