Capcom

Capcom began manufacturing electronic game machines in 1979. Their arcade games—Ghosts ’n Goblins, 1942, Street Fighter—built their reputation. Console franchises—Mega Man, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter—built their empire. Through arcade decline and console ascendance, Capcom remained essential.

Fast facts

Founded: 1979 as I.R.M. Corporation, Osaka, Japan.
Name: from “Capsule Computers.”
Arcade breakthrough: Ghosts ’n Goblins (1985).
Fighting revolution: Street Fighter II (1991) — not the first fighting game, but the one that made the genre competitive.
Console franchises: Mega Man, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Monster Hunter.
Modern success: Monster Hunter: World became their best-selling game.

The arcade era

Capcom’s arcade output was prolific:

1942 (1984): World War II shooter, vertical scrolling.
Ghosts ’n Goblins (1985): brutal platformer.
Commando (1985): top-down run-and-gun.
Bionic Commando (1987): grappling hook innovation.
Final Fight (1989): belt-scrolling beat-em-up.

Street Fighter II

The 1991 sequel transformed gaming:

Eight distinct characters with unique moves.
Six-button control scheme.
Competitive depth that created tournaments.
Arcade revenue that seemed impossible.
Home conversions that sold millions.

Street Fighter II didn’t invent fighting games, but it invented fighting game culture.

How Capcom reached Britain

Capcom did not sell to British players directly in the eighties. It licensed, and it licensed to two firms in succession.

Elite Systems had the coin-ops first. Commando arrived at Christmas 1985 as, in Your Computer’s words, “developed with the aid of Capcom to create the closest possible duplication of the original arcade game” — the official version, and the distinction mattered, because unofficial lookalikes were the norm. By March 1986 CRASH was describing Ghosts and Goblins as Elite continuing “their series of Capcom arcade conversions”.

The licence then moved to U.S. Gold, through its Go! label. Your Sinclair reported it in February 1988: “US Gold (or rather its offshoot, Go!) has signed a huge deal with Jap arcadesters Capcom, so expect to see a number of brainblending koin-op konversions.” Side Arms, Speed Rumbler, Tiger Road and Bionic Commando followed, the last of them programmed by the British house Software Creations.

One line in The Games Machine’s June 1988 preview explains what the licence actually bought, and it is not what you would guess:

“Capcom do their own C64 conversions, but GO! prefer to redesign for the UK market.”

The Japanese versions existed. The British licensee chose to write its own anyway. That is the same judgement Ocean was making about Konami in the same years, and it is the reason a British player’s memory of a Capcom game is often of a game Capcom did not write.

Home computer versions

Capcom games reached 8-bit and 16-bit computers:

Ghosts ’n Goblins: ported everywhere.
1942, 1943: vertical shooters converted with varying success.
Street Fighter II: Amiga and ST versions available.
Licensed conversions: US Gold, Ocean, others handled ports.

The console transition

As arcades declined, Capcom pivoted:

Mega Man (1987): NES platformer, spawned massive franchise.
Resident Evil (1996): defined survival horror.
Devil May Cry (2001): created stylish action genre.
Monster Hunter (2004): became phenomenon in Japan, then worldwide.

Legacy

Capcom adapted better than most arcade companies. Their franchises span decades; their design philosophy—challenge, precision, spectacle—remains consistent. From Arthur in his underwear to Ryu’s hadouken to zombies in Raccoon City, Capcom’s characters define gaming history.

From arcade to empire