Capcom Co., Ltd.

Capcom Co., Ltd. is an Osaka-based Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating popular franchises such as Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and others. Originally established in 1983, it has since become an international enterprise with branches and subsidiaries in North America, Europe, and East Asia.

The original companies that spawned Capcom's Japanese branch were I.R.M Corporation founded on May 30, 1979, as well as its subsidiary Japan Capsule Computer Co., Ltd., both of which were devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines. The two companies underwent a name change to Sambi Co., Ltd. in September 1981, while Capcom Co., Ltd. itself was first established on June 11, 1983, for the purpose of taking over the internal sales department.

In January 1989, the old affiliate company Capcom Co., Ltd. merged with Sambi Co., Ltd., resulting in the current Japanese branch. The name Capcom is an abbreviation of "Capsule Computer", a term coined by the company to describe the arcade machines it solely manufactured in its early years, designed to set themselves apart from personal computers that were becoming widespread at that time. The word capsule alludes to how Capcom likened its game software to "a capsule packed to the brim with gaming fun", as well as to the company's desire to protect its intellectual property with a hard outer shell, preventing illegal copies and inferior imitations.

While Capcom's first product was the coin-operated Little League from July 1983, its first real video game, the arcade title Vulgus, was released in May 1984.