If you're reading this you're in the minority of Joystiq readers who haven't skipped down the page at the sight of the words: Monster Hunter. Clearly you're either a Westerner, curious about what the big deal is, or you're standing in line to play the third installment of the series right now. Within ten minutes of the TGS show floor opening, the line for this game was four and a half hours long. On a press day, no less. Thankfully, we had a considerably shorter wait inside Capcom's base (a hotel room), where we tried out the latest console version of one of Japan's favorite franchises.
While the series move from PlayStation 3 to Wii can be attributed to cutting development costs, no expense has been spared on the game's visuals. Monster Hunter 3 (or "Monster Hunter Tri~" ... ?) is one of the sharpest Wii games we've seen. It's also immediately recognizable as a Monster Hunter game. There's been no style change at all from other versions, just an upscaling of models and textures. The game's water looks impressive for a Wii title, which is important because Monster Hunter 3 is the first game in the series where you'll be going swimming.
Whether it's the game's addictive MMORPG-like qualities or simply its startlingly apt title -- you hunt monsters! -- it's clear that Japan's love for slaying beasts is as intense as ever. Monster Hunter 3 has already garnered quite a buzz at this year's Tokyo Game Show, most of it originating from the chatty folks waiting in line to play it.
Trust us, they're the lucky ones -- come Saturday (when the floor opens to the public), we'll show you just how far this thing can go. While we assemble our hands-on impressions of the game, take a peek at the trailer after the break. And yes, that is a Wii game.
What's the game that's got Japanese gamers all in a frenzy? It's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G -- the title that's sold over two million copies on the PSP this year in Japan. Fortunately the Japanese are not being selfish and won't be keeping the multiplayer action title to themselves -- it's coming stateside in Spring 2009 and will be renamed Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.
While Freedom Unite isn't physically at the show, Capcom has another Monster Hunter title at TGS. That would be Monster Hunter 3 (Tri) for the Wii and it has been drawing huge crowds leaving people with hour long waits ... and it's only the first day. An "industry only" day. Just wait until the public comes in on the weekend. We wonder if the success that was founded in Japan will follow across the Pacific? Monster Hunter Freedom games haven't exactly been picked up by Western gamers in the past.
Despite teasing "many more games that we haven't announced for next year," Sony's Head of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, has coveted third-party IPs, expressing a desire to see more of them winding up on the PlayStation Portable. "What we'd like to see more is for third parties also – there is so much great IP that they have," Yoshida told IGN.
The PSP has enjoyed brisk sales both in North America and Japan for quite some time now, but its lineup has failed to keep pace. It's "really, really disappointing and it's a lost opportunity for the third parties," notes Yoshida, suggesting that developers "look at what the PSP can do for their titles and the potential." Don't believe him? Just ask that Monster Hunter game.
It's true that Phantasy Star of today is hardly recognizable to those who grew up playing with talking cats, but that probably doesn't keep Sega awake at night, especially given reports that its PSP RPG Phantasy Star Portable has been difficult to keep in stock since it was released in Japan last week.
The pint-sized version of Phantasy Star Universe has shown Monster Hunter-like momentum, apparently flying off Japanese store shelves, with both Wired and AkibaBlog reporting that 90% of the original shipment went out the door on July 31, the first day it went on sale. There remains no word as to when or if Sega will bring Phantasy Star Portable to PSP owners outside of Japan, but we'll continue to save our meseta 'til it happens.
Singling out Japanese PSP system seller Monster Hunter Freedom 2G, Capcom trumpeted its "best Q1 net sales and operating income since quarterly release announcements began." Net sales were ¥16,352 million, up 14.5% from the same period a year ago, thanks mostly to strong performance in its Home Video Games business, citing "exceptional sales of approximately 2.4 million units" of the aforementioned Monster Hunter title. The Home Video Games business saw quarterly sales of ¥10,406 million, a 31.5% jump from the same period last year.
So, what's keeping the rest of Capcom down? Arcade operations were particularly weak; Capcom said, "The number of customer visits and average customer spending grew at a sluggish pace reflecting market stagnation and declining customer confidence, forcing us to struggle." Ouch! That unit had an operating loss of ¥73 million, versus an operating income of ¥261 million in the same period last year. Arcade Games saw an increased operating loss "due to an increase in development costs" while "character-related licensing royalties" were up 25.7%.
So, what's the lesson? More developers should target the PSP because, really, people just want some games for it. And second, arcade games aren't even doing well for Capcom ... in Japan.
And it would have outsold all of the competition combined if it weren't for that pesky Xbox 360 contributing 1,547 units to the tally. The number the other systems had to defeat was 129,986, the number of PSPs sold in Japan last week according to the compulsive counters at Media Create. Nintendo's DS occupied the second place in the chart with 58,916 sold -- less than half of that managed by the PSP.
The system's monster success arrives hand-in-hand with Capcom's Monster Hunter Freedom 2 G, which sold 880,468 copies in its first week. Capcom revealed earlier this week that it had already shipped over a million units of the PSP expansion in an attempt to satiate the demand for "epic battles with giant monsters."
No doubt still harboring a grudge about that time Godzilla remorselessly flattened the beautiful city of Tokyo, the people of Japan have made it abundantly clear that they rather enjoy hunting monsters. Capcom has announced that the PSP's Monster Hunter Freedom 2 G -- the G highlighting the fact that it's an expansion to the pictured, G-less mega hit -- has shipped one million copies in the land of the rising hunt.
It has managed to do so in just six days, further enforcing the publisher's belief that "epic battles with giant monsters" can sustain a franchise that has now shifted over 6.3 million copies. The news certainly bodes well for the upcoming Wii iteration.
This week's Ask Joystiq: Monster Hunter 3, our tip line, our comment system and, most importantly, our soda preferences. If you have a question you want answered, drop us a line at ask AAT joystiq DAWT com. Let's get down to it:
Q: Joystiq! I need some new info about Monster Hunter 3!!! Seriously, there is nothing out there. I know it is coming to Wii, but please tell me it is coming to the US. -Mike
The Monster Hunter series in Japan is quite a sales phenomenon -- one in five PSP owners have a copy of the game, according to Capcom. The same can't be said for North America, whose enthusiasm for the title has been noticeably less.
Capcom gave us a rather lengthy statement on the issue (which we've printed after the break), but in a nutshell: the publisher is planning "a significant marketing program" for the Monster Hunter brand over the next two years in the west. "While we have not made specific announcements regarding Monster Hunter 3 in North America (or Europe, for that matter) to date," said the statement, "you can bet we'll be talking more about it in the future."
Hot on the heels of the mandatory installation controversy surrounding the PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4, comes word that the PSP title Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G will also feature an installation option. The installation will give players the chance to move the UMD's contents to the PSP's memory card, in order to decrease load times for the newest notch in the Japanese adventure series.
Along with this news comes obvious concerns that the pre-installation process may become a new standard in games, ending the good old feeling of buying a console or portable title and being able to just play it. We can't confirm yet whether the installation for 2nd G is mandatory, or whether it's presented as an alternative to load times. We're hoping for the latter. The game is due out in Japan in March 2008.
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.
Capcom's official blog is reporting that the online components of PS2 games Resident Evil: Outbreak and Monster Hunterwill be ceasing after over three years of service.
As Capcom's blog explains, the online servers for both games were provided by an external company which is now exiting the PS2 online business, leaving Capcom in the lurch. The online services will not be picked up by Capcom or any other external company, and will cease entirely on December 31, 2007.
It's disappointing that both of these games are having their online components axed so prematurely, but we feel that Capcom has handled the controversial matter with a lot of class. For those in possession of these titles, we recommend getting your fill of online zombie-killing and monster-hunting before the end of the year.
Last night, Nintendo confirmed that Monster Hunter 3 is coming to the Wii. Capcom's uber-popular title was previously known to be a PlayStation 3 title, so what came of that project? According to Capcom, that version is gone.
"Due to high development cost of titles for PS3, we have decided to switch the platform to which we release our Monster Hunter 3 title," said Capcom's Katsuhiko Ichii in a report from Thompson Financial News (via Gamasutra).
Though the series has not enjoyed as much popularity here, Monster Hunter is a highly successful franchise in Japan and sure to drive hardware sales for Nintendo up a bit. We can't resist pondering, though, if the Wii version will re-use assets from the previous PSP games in the series.
Capcom's massively popular (in Japan, at least) Monster Hunter series is heading to the Nintendo Wii as Monster Hunter 3. According to IGN, the game was originally announced for PlayStation 3, which makes us question the fate of that version.
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd for PSP sold an impressive 700,000 in its first week of sales. We can only imagine the possible sales figures for this title. No release date has been given.
This week's Ask Joystiq: Monster Hunter 3, our tip line, our comment system and, most importantly, our soda preferences. If you have a question you want answered, drop us a line at ask AAT joystiq DAWT com. Let's get down to it:
