Capcom aims to enter China online game market

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese game software maker Capcom Co Ltd (9697.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said it aims to break into China's fast-growing online game market, potentially competing with Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd (SNDA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and NetEase.com Inc (NTES.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

Capcom has a wide range of popular game titles developed for console and handheld gear, such as "Devil May Cry", "Resident Evil" and "Lost Planet", and successful modification of those games into online versions would give it a new source of revenue.

"Online games are played only by a certain group of users in Japan," Capcom Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Abe told the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo on Wednesday.

"It would be an attractive step to modify some of our big-name titles that were originally developed for consoles into online use, and launch them in big markets like South Korea and China."

Capcom on Tuesday posted a 37 percent jump in annual operating profit for the year ended March 31, boosted by hot-selling titles such as "Devil May Cry 4" and "Monster Hunter Freedom 2G.

Prior to Abe's comments, shares in Capcom closed up 4.0 percent at 3,410 yen, outperforming the Nikkei average, which fell 1.7 percent.

(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka)