Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City expectations lowered

Capcom has been aware that its in-progress fiscal year won't match last year's lofty numbers, and thus far, the publisher has not been wrong. However, it appears as if even its reserved projections for this year may miss their mark, as the publisher today revealed lowered sales expectations for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.

In an earnings report addendum issued today, Capcom said that it now expects to sell 2 million units of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. That's down from May, when Capcom projected sales of 2.5 million units for the Slant Six-developed game. Capcom did not indicate a reason for the sales projection revision.

Due on March 20 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will emphasize squad-based combat as players assume the role of an Umbrella Corporation operative. The last original multiplatform Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 5, sold more than 5 million units in less than three months.

As for the remainder of Capcom's report addendum, the company affirmed previously announced sales projections for some of its bigger releases due before the end of its current fiscal year. Street Fighter X Tekken is still expected to sell 2 million units, while Dragon's Dogma sales have been projected to be 1.5 million units. The company expects to sell 1.2 million units of Monster Hunter 3 Tri G following its December 10 bow in Japan.

Capcom reported April-September earnings two weeks ago, with profit sinking 49 percent year-over-year on revenue that came in down 28 percent to ¥29.3 billion ($376 million).

One reason for this shortfall was the lack of highly profitable titles released during the period, Capcom said. Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D shipments both came in at 400,000 units, Capcom said, while Monster Hunter Freedom 3 HD Ver. shipped 450,000 units.