Nintendo, Monster Hunter score big in part one of Famitsu's end of year list
by Ross Miller 
{ Dec 24th 2007 at 1:00PM }
Famitsu has published (via 1UP) the first part of its reader's choice awards looking back at the year in Japanese gaming. A number of gamers and retailers were given a questionnaire by the magazine, and this week's issue debuted the initial results.The major winner is Nintendo, who topped the developer lists for both gamers and stores, the hardware lists (DS for retailers, the Wii for gamers), industry figures (Miyamoto), and even won the category for what kanji character represents 2007 best? (Readers picked "Nin," the first character of Nintendo's Japanese name.)
Capcom (thanks in no small part to the Monster Hunter series), Sony and Level 5 (Professor Layton) also placed high on the lists, and Mistwalker founder Hironobu Sakaguchi tied with Miyamoto on the stores' list of which industry figure put in the best showing. Conspicuously absent from the list? Microsoft. Okay, we're not that surprised.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr.ESC @ Dec 24th 2007 1:20PM
Too bad MHF2 sucked oh well Capcom should release a new Monster Hunter for both the Xb360 and the PS3.
Jerk Face @ Dec 24th 2007 1:23PM
Monster Hunter 3 has already been confirmed - for the Wii.
Wiird, right?
playwhutyalike (hates games lists) @ Dec 24th 2007 1:39PM
Jerkface is right, but I think I read somewhere that it might not be an exclusive on the Wii. Could be wrong.
Christmas NiGHTS @ Dec 24th 2007 2:02PM
No, he's right, joystiq (among many others) reported this a while ago
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/10/ps3-monster-hunter-3-cut-due-to-high-dev-costs/
a.j. @ Dec 24th 2007 4:25PM
i actually like it, probably my favorite PSP game right now. does it suck because you don't like it? and if you don't like it, why would you want it on other consoles?
Jose @ Dec 24th 2007 1:38PM
We are so different, and thus I don't honestly believe we'll ever get penetration (no matter how vivid the Yellow Fever induced fantasies may be) there.
But that's just attempting to get all of us in there at the same time, there should be exceptions and the option of getting in the back door (sorry guys, I've really gotta see me girlfriend). Ace Combat sold 360s, and to an extent other games did too. But with the proper marketing a Schaeffer game would be a perfect fucking fit. If they push Brutal Legend, it will do well there.
Jerk Face @ Dec 24th 2007 2:00PM
...
...
WHAT
TwEE @ Dec 24th 2007 2:06PM
J'aime le pizza
Ethan @ Dec 24th 2007 4:11PM
You might need to up your coherence, but yes, cultural differences are a big part of the 360's lack of success. Just like anything else, I think games can lose something in translation (see Final Fantasy's many apparent nonsensical platitudes, and pit that against Halo 3's very military humour, in japan, which is very much without that culture).
The xbox 360 needs a smash, and such games need to become part of popular culture, it's a lot easier to do that if it's from the culture itself. i.e. not schafer.
Worst Review Ever @ Dec 24th 2007 2:02PM
Juh?
Christmas NiGHTS @ Dec 24th 2007 2:04PM
In before the "Japanese have zero taste in games" whiners
Monster Hunter did make an unreasonably huge splash there, though, it was insanity
bm @ Dec 24th 2007 2:28PM
Well, it's true isn't it? ;)
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 24th 2007 5:02PM
It's more like different tastes. Not every gamer likes the same thing (shocking I know).
pixelator @ Dec 25th 2007 10:42PM
I dunno, I don't see the appeal of the endless edu-nongame-quiz-brain crap, Poke-rehashes and spinoffs, Mario rehashes/spinoffs and lest we forget the great floating mass of licensed IP cartoon/TV/movie crap on DS and Wii.
MHF2 was an excellent game and critically very well received. If some people don't 'get' why it did well, they likely just don't like that genre.
Or, unlike the Japanese, you don't have good taste in games.
Ethan @ Dec 24th 2007 3:55PM
If only Zack and Wiki were up there too.
James @ Dec 24th 2007 7:08PM
I just got MHF2 the other day. The series grabbed my balls a while ago but nobody around had a PSP. Pretty good game and I await the Wii version.
phihexy27 @ Dec 24th 2007 8:28PM
I'm just afraid that they are going to dumb down the series in order to make it more accessible. This would put off the fans of the series, but in return probably sell more games. I don't think that it would be a fair trade-off, but will probably be the way that it ends up.
BananaBoat @ Dec 25th 2007 12:50AM
Am I the only one that is still waiting for an English Idolm@ster?
Come onnn, we neeeed itttt.