Capcom CEO: Social games had 'earth-shattering' effect on industry

But the guy means more than, "Holy moley, these things are money machines!" During an interview with Bloomberg Japan, Capcom CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto likened the rise of social gaming to when pinball machines were overrun in arcades by game cabinets, according to Serkan Toto. If there's one company to make that point, it's certainly Capcom.

The company behind horror and action franchises like Resident Evil and Street Fighter has enjoyed more international success in mobile social games than even Japanese giants like DeNA and Gree. Of course, that's thanks to its Beeline Interactive subsidiary, which is responsible for the wildly successful Smurfs Village (and Smurfs Grabber, sort of) on U.S. iPhones. In fact, the game was so ... compelling to consumers that Capcom had to rework how it handled in-game purchases.

Speaking with Bloomberg Japan, Tsujimoto said that social games make up about 6.6 percent of Capcom's profits, but he expects that to explode to about 30 percent "in a few years." But despite the wild profits Capcom expects to make from social games, Tsujimoto said to Bloomberg Japan that he's still excited about Nintendo's upcoming console, the Wii U. Well, here's to hoping the console has some sort of social gaming support, but we're sure the company has wised up by now.

Is it fair to compare social games' effect on the game industry to that of arcade games on pinball machines in the late '70s and early '80s? What company will get into social gaming next? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.