Capcom

Capcom Co., Ltd. (株式会社カプコン) is a leading Japanese international developer and publisher of video games headquartered in Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1979 as Japan Capsule Computers, a company devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines.

History
The name CAPCOM is an abbreviation of CAPsule COMputer. This was a phrase symbolic of an internal company objective to create a new gaming experience that would exceed that of rival personal computers which had also been increasing in popularity during the same period.

Over the years, Capcom has created some of the biggest and longest running franchises in video gaming history. The company released their first arcade game in 1984: Vulgus. Their early games were mostly arcade games such as the scrolling shooter 1942.

In the late '80s, Yoshiki Okamoto joined the company from Konami. In 1987, Capcom released the game Street Fighter. In the same year, the company also released the platformer Mega Man (Rockman in Japan) for the NES.

Final Fight, a beat 'em up, was released in 1989. In 1991, Okamoto's Street Fighter II was released in the arcades.

Breath of Fire, Capcom's first major foray into the RPG genre, was released in 1993 for the SNES.

Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) was released on the PlayStation in 1996.

Two Capcom development houses, Clover Studio and Flagship have created successful titles in recent years, including the Viewtiful Joe series and Okami.

In 2002 a movie based on the series entitled Resident Evil was released, which did well enough financially to warrant a sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, in 2004. A third movie, Resident Evil: Extinction was released on September 21, 2007, and led the box office in first place.

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.

Mascot
Along with Captain Commando and Mega Man, Ryu is one of the more prominent Capcom characters and is not only the face of Capcom's fighting games, but is generally associated with the fighting genre.

Capcom Production Studios
Each Capcom Production Studio is the developer behind Capcom's games. The studios are divided into different sections and named after numbers, except for the independent Clover Studio, which is now defunct, and Flagship, which is funded by Capcom of Japan.

Influence in general media
Capcom's games and characters therein have been featured in a number of anime, cartoons, theatrical movies, etc. Among others, Street Fighter II has been a popular source for films, anime, and cartoons. A popular anime adaptation was made, followed by a live action adaptation, both in 1994. Shortly afterwards, two different animated TV series, a Japanese series and an American series were produced in 1995.