Capcom’s videogame unit drove overall company gains during the year ended March 31, 2008, masking the performance of the firm’s slumping arcade unit.

Capcom’s full year operating income totaled 13.12 billion yen, up 36.6 percent from the previous year, while net sales hit 83 billion yen, up 11.5 percent. Net income rose 33.4 percent to 7.8 billion yen.

The publisher singled out its videogame unit for praise and in particular the performances of Resident Evil 4 Wii edition, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Devil May Cry 4, which “achieved robust sales particularly in overseas markets.”

The Resident Evil titles shipped over one million units during the fiscal year, “greatly exceeding” the company's projections, while Devil May Cry 4 “achieved record sales for Capcom in recent years with over two million units sold.”

Additionally, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 and Monster Hunter Freedom 2G achieved “satisfactory sales in Japan.” PSP exclusive Freedom 2G, which was released on March 27 in Japan, shipped over one million copies in just six days.

These titles helped Capcom’s videogame unit achieve net sales of 51.67 billion yen, up 18 percent from the previous year, and operating income of 11.6 billion yen, up 44.1 percent.

The performance of the publisher’s videogame unit was not replicated by its arcade business. Full year arcade game sales were down more than 18 percent as the market "shrank drastically" due to weakening demand and "a decrease in purchasing power of arcade operators.” And while Capcom's own arcade operations achieved a 2.8 percent sales increase, its operating profits fell by almost 63 percent to 753 million yen.

Capcom forecast record financial results for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2009. The company expects net sales to increase 14.7 percent to 95.3 billion yen and ordinary income to rise 20.6 percent to 14.8 billion yen, driven “by the steady growth of each segment.”