In an effort to broaden its presence in Europe, Capcom announced today that the publisher is opening a new subsidiary called Capcom Entertainment France, S.A.S., which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of CE Europe, Ltd. The new office will be headed by CEO Hiroshi Tobisawa and will have capital of 37,000 euros.

"Capcom positions the expansion of its overseas sales network as one of its highest priorities. The company believes that more sales bases are needed to achieve faster growth by capturing market share outside Japan, where the market for home video game software is expected to continue to expand," the company explained.

"Capcom is particularly interested in capturing a greater share of the video game software market in Europe, which has recently been growing rapidly. To accomplish this, Capcom must improve profitability by establishing a direct sales organization and reinforce its marketing organization at bases in Europe."

The French subsidiary joins Capcom subsidiaries in both the U.K. and Germany. Capcom said that by adding this new company it "strives to increase earnings of the entire Capcom Group," but at the same time Capcom noted, "The establishment of this subsidiary will have little effect on non-consolidated and consolidated performance."