Capcom saw impressive 58.4 percent year-over-year profit growth in the first half of its 2010 fiscal year, increasing to 2.97 billion yen (US$32.46 million) on the back of above-expectations game sales, particularly in Japan. Total revenue for the six-month period that ended September 30, 2009 was up to 38.9 billion yen (US$425.53 million), up 24.5 percent year-over-year. Entries from Capcom's star franchises, like Monster Hunter Tri, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, and Resident Evil 5, helped ...

In its latest feature, GameCareerGuide presents a student's look at the narrative of enduring '90s cult classic Chrono Trigger -- including a look at its characters, world, and successful and unsuccessful plot elements. The RPG, originally released on the Super Nintendo in 1995, captured the imaginations of fans then; its popularity has persisted through a 2001 re-release on the PlayStation and a DS port, which came to market late last year. The GameCareerGuide article, originally ...

Online game maker Cryptic Studios said its most recent MMORPG, the Atari-published Champions Online, has garnered over 1 million created superhero characters, but the size of the subscriber base is unclear. Cryptic is the studio that created the MMORPGs City of Heroes and City of Villains, NCsoft-published superhero properties that are still in development by other studios. Atari acquired Cryptic earlier this year as part of the publisher's stronger focus on online gaming. While Cryptic ...

The Nickelodeon Kids and Family Virtual Worlds Group will use PlaySpan technology and services for its virtual goods and microtransactions. The payment platform will support the company's Neocash virtual world currency across multiple payment provides like credit cards and prepaid cards. PlaySpan, a publisher-sponsored in-game commerce network, says its monetization solutions are used in over 1,000 online games, virtual worlds, and social networks. Nickelodeon will also use PlaySpan subsidiary PayByCash to offer more than 80 ...

Piper Jaffray analyst Tony Gikas said that retail publishers "remain overly optimistic" as he downgraded stock in Call of Duty house Activision from "buy" to "neutral," citing large management stock sell-offs and "excessive expectations." According to Gikas' note, posted on StreetInsider.com, the analyst lowered his price target on Activision shares to $12 from $13. "Company management teams remain overly optimistic," Gikas said, adding, "Game hardware and software sales have been a colossal disappointment for eight ...

Members of the Screen Actors Guild this week rejected a proposed video game contract from game companies, asking video game employers to return to negotiations, but it's unclear if game companies are willing to come back to the bargaining table. Hollywood trade website Variety said the rejection comes a week and a half after SAG sent the contract out to four member caucuses in Chicago, Hollywood, New York, and San Francisco. SAG members voted against ...

[Gamasutra highlights a week's worth of alternative video gaming news, media, and other curiosities from sister blog GameSetWatch, as written by editor Eric Caoili.] This round-up brings news on Kongregate's Left 4 Dead 2-sponsored meta-game, the shortlist of European Innovative Games Award 2009 nominees, and a line of sketchbooks that cater specifically to handheld video game designers. Other highlights include Zaku, a new shoot'em released for the 20-year-old Atari Lynx; and a man blaming psychosis ...

Game design as a scholarly activity has been continually undermined by forces both within and without of the games industry. This was the controversial message from academic David Surman, speaking at the alternative British video game conference, Nottingham GameCity, earlier today. Surman, a senior lecturer in game design at Newport Art School and one of the event's organizers was quick to point out that designers are some of the most poorly paid people in the ...

UK developer Jagex has canceled its in-the-works web-based MMO Runescape follow-up, Mechscape, because it wasn't meeting standards -- and the move cost the company "tens of millions of pounds." CEO Mark Gerhard told GamesIndustry.biz that the company aimed to incorporate four years' worth of Runescape design lessons in its new MMO, but "it got near completion and we discovered, oops, it didn't do all of those things that we wanted it to," Gerhard said. "So ...

Nintendo confirmed earlier reports of a larger-screened DSi at a Tokyo press event today, where it unveiled the DSi LL, a version of its portable hardware featuring a 4.2 inch screen. The screen area is 93 percent greater than that of the DS Lite, although with the same number of pixels, reports consumer weblog Kotaku. According to the report, the DSi LL was a response to customer requests for greater screen area, and is aimed ...