Capcom Says ‘Resident Evil 6’ Sales Have Fallen ‘Short Of Expectations’

Although Resident Evil 6 enjoyed a very successful launch when it hit shelves last October, sales of the latest installment in the survival horror series have fallen short of the expectations.

Around the time the game launched, Capcom executives were convinced they would sell around seven million copies of the game before the end of the year. According to Video Gamer, this forecast has been lowered to around six million.

The company said that sales of Resident Evil 6 “were initially strong but subsequently weakened” once the franchise’s faithful followers had scored their copies of the title. A number of bad reviews for the game are believed to have played a role in the less than stellar sales.

TechnoBuffalo reports that Capcom’s Monster Hunter 4 has been delayed until some point in 2013. The company said pushing back the release date was done to “further raise the quality of the game.”

All of this bad news has taken a toll on Capcom’s financial outlook. The company’s revenue forecast has been reduced from 105 million yen to 98.3 million as a result of Resident Evil’s poor sales. Monster Hunter 4’s delay also played a role in this adjustment.

Although poor sales are never good news for a company, this couldn’t come at a more inopportune moment for Capcom. The company is looking to expand its reach into the global marketplace. If its titles continue to underperform, then the Capcom may have a hard time getting a strong foothold.

According to Digital Trends, this isn’t the first time the video game developer has overshot its sales forecast. When the company launched Lost Planet 2 back in 2010, the company said it would have no problem selling 2.2 million copies. Sadly, the game missed that figure by a significant amount.

Are you a fan of Capcom? Are you surprised that Resident Evil 6 has fallen short of the company’s sales forecasts?