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Two days ago, Tuesday, the opening of the market saw Capcom (TYO:9697) shares plummet from ¥2,823 to a low of ¥2,461. This fall of 12.9% finally settled at ¥2,505 and was precipitated by a report that indicated a slowdown of sales of hit title Monster Hunter World.
According to the Financial Times, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) initiated the fall by downgrading Capcom's stock from neutral to underperforming. BofAML also lowered the share target price from ¥2,800 to ¥2,300. This was based on a "significant risk of sales decline" over the coming months for Monster Hunter World. The report specifically states
Although cumulative sales volume is growing steadily, we get the impression the popularity of Monster Hunter is dying down sixth months after its release
Monster Hunter World - Smashing Then Slowing
In February we revealed that the game became the company's fastest title to ship 6 million units. Just one month after this it became Capcom's best ever selling title, having shipped 7.5 million units. The slowdown of sales had been noted when months later the game had shipped 7.9 million units.
This outlook on Capcom based on the one title is somewhat disappointing. Monster Hunter World has, indeed, been a surprise success for the publisher.
The slowdown in sales is expected, of course. What makes it more difficult is that Monster Hunter World has been the driving factor behind Capcom's most profitable financial year yet. In moves to allay investor concerns, the publisher revealed that Devil May Cry 5 will release before the end of the current financial year. This week it was also revealed that the PC version of Monster Hunter World will launch on the 9th of August.
Will the upcoming launch on PC prove to be a turnaround for the title? That is highly unlikely. Of course, there will be a large audience of PC-centric gamers waiting to buy a title that has proven to be as popular as it is. Other PC titles have proven that there is a large audience on the platform and this could prove a nice boon for Capcom, investors and the Monster Hunter franchise.
News Source: Financial Times
