Capcom’s first golden age, success story, key games and history

That Capcom is experiencing a second golden age is a fact, but you don’t have to believe me, just take a look at the latest releases and the data they published less than a month ago, due to the end of their fiscal year in March of 2023. This last year has become the best in its history, selling a whopping 41.7 million games. 9.1 more than the previous year. Let’s first see the results of Capcom’s first golden age.

The truth is that the Capcom company, or rather its predecessor, IRM Corporation, which was founded on May 30, 1979, in Japan, has experienced several outstanding stages in its history, but one of the most emblematic and recognized is its first ‘ Golden Age’, a stage that spans roughly from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, and which was characterized by a series of successful releases that consolidated the company as one of the leading video game developers and publishers in the industry.

During this time, Capcom stood out for its focus on creating high-quality, innovative, and highly popular games. It was a period in which the company produced some of the most influential and beloved titles in video game history, spanning various genres and attracting a wide fan base around the world. Its influence on genres like hack and slash (thanks to Devil May Cry) or survival horror (by Resident Evil), is such that it continues to this day. Being its base games to establish the ‘ norms ‘ of said genres. One of the main reasons for Capcom’s success during this early golden age was its ability to identify and take advantage of emerging trends in the video game industry.

Harnessing the power of new gaming platforms such as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Super Nintendo (SNES), Capcom created titles that took full advantage of the technical capabilities of these consoles. Which already at that time made it one of the best ‘third party’ developers. One of Capcom’s first successes at this time was the release of Mega Man (known as Rockman in Japan) in 1987. This action platformer starring a young robot named Mega Man, created by Akira Kitamura, became an iconic franchise for Capcom and laid the foundation for future successful titles and sequels.