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Monster Hunter Freedom Unites with PSP Go in Japan

by JC Fletcher { Mar 17th 2010 at 6:45PM }

After almost six months, we're going to see sales for the PSP Go pick up in Japan starting tomorrow. How can we be so sure? Today, Sony announced that not only is the PSP hit Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (called Monster Hunter Freedom Unite here) being released as a download on March 18 -- a voucher for the title will also be given away with new PSP Gos. The downloadable game by itself will cost ¥1,600 ($17.69) from the PlayStation Store.

Even though over three million people already have this on UMD -- and even though Monster Hunter Portable 3 was just announced for PSP -- we still anticipate a lot of sales for this. People in Japan are just that thrilled about Monster Hunter.

[Via Andriasang]

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd coming to Japan in late 2010

by Griffin McElroy { Mar 16th 2010 at 10:29AM }

When Capcom woke up this morning, it decided it would like to have roughly a bajillion more dollars by this time next year. It walked over to a secret panel in its foyer, slid it open and pressed a button inside, labeled "New Monster Hunter." A press release was instantaneously launched announcing Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, the next PSP-based entry in the franchise, due out in Japan in late 2010.

The announcement heralds new monsters and areas to explore, an expanded "Felyne Comrade" system (we're pretty sure that's Russian for "cat friend") and improved co-op play. There's no word on plans for localization, but Capcom's been pretty diligent in unleashing the Monster Hunter series worldwide. You can get your first look at the outrageously large-sworded title in a trailer posted after the jump.

[Thanks Krystian!]

Continued →

Monster Hunter Tri ads mock non-monster hunters

by JC Fletcher { Mar 1st 2010 at 11:15AM }

It's rare for someone to berate you for not being tough enough for a Wii game, but that's exactly what Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri spokes-character Ironbeard does in this surprisingly funny series of ads. The Scottish huntsman mocks people for thinking that hunting real, regular-sized animals is hard when there are monsters to be hunted in Capcom's upcoming Wii game.

Not only are these ads, which you can view after the break, funny, they're also kind of effective. We don't want to look at this fictional character with shame! We want him to be proud of us for being man enough to hunt giant fake monsters.

[Thanks, Kieran!]

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Amazon offering $10 credit with Monster Hunter 3

by JC Fletcher { Feb 23rd 2010 at 6:45PM }

If you're absolutely certain that you want to do the following two things:

Buy Monster Hunter Tri
Buy $10 worth of other things from Amazon in the near future

Good news! The retailer is now offering a free $10 credit with purchases of both the standard edition and Classic Controller Pro bundle of Monster Hunter Tri. For some reason, it's not listed on Amazon's $10 Bonus Offers page, but the game's page mentions the deal.

In addition to that bonus, the standard edition is currently priced at $44.99, so you'd effectively be getting Monster Hunter for $34.99.

[Via GoNintendo]

Inafune hints at overseas release for Monster Hunter Frontier

by JC Fletcher { Feb 5th 2010 at 3:30PM }

Not all Monster Hunter games make it outside of Japan. The Wii port of Monster Hunter G, for example, was passed over, as was Monster Hunter Frontier, the PC MMO upon which the upcoming Xbox 360 game is based. That's why it's noteworthy that Capcom's Keiji Inafune told Famitsu (according to Andriasang's translation) that "I feel Monster Hunter can definitely succeed overseas. There's a high possibility that MHF will kickstart that." For such a kickstart to take place, the game would have to be released overseas.

Unless, of course, it's already kickstarted by Monster Hunter Tri, coming out in North America and Europe this April, right?

Monster Hunter Tri supports Wii Speak, bundled with accessory in Europe

by JC Fletcher { Feb 1st 2010 at 12:00PM }

Back in November, Capcom told Joystiq it was "hoping" to add voice chat support to Monster Hunter Tri using the neglected Wii Speak accessory. Today's announcement of the European release of the game confirms that players will be able to coordinate with their hunting parties by yelling at their TVs.

Not only will the Western releases of Monster Hunter Tri support the Wii Speak accessory, but it will be offered as part of a bundle in the European version. In addition to the standalone game and a Classic Controller Pro bundle, you'll be able to buy a pack containing Monster Hunter Tri, a black Classic Controller Pro, and a Wii Speak mic.

[Via Siliconera]

New Xbox 360 Japan ads are ... interesting

by Richard Mitchell { Jan 26th 2010 at 6:30PM }

Microsoft is rolling out some new ads for the Xbox 360 in Japan. Spotted on the Japanese Xbox.com and featuring a trio of businessmen, the ads certainly represent a big departure from the "Do!Do!Do!" ads of yesteryear. The three suits include "Sanrokumaru" (translated 3-6-0) a man with an Xbox 360 sphere for a head. Together, the group forms the Xbox Special Division, which goes forth in order to obtain big name titles for the Xbox 360. One such title is Monster Hunter, which has already been announced by Capcom for the console.

In fact, at end of the Monster Hunter ad -- embedded after the break -- the text translates as "XXXX is next!" and then fills in "XXXX" with "Monster Hunter." As noted by Andriasang.com, the promotional site has several spaces filled with Xs, implying that Microsoft has some other game announcements up its sleeve.

[Via Andriasang.com]

Continued →

Monster Hunter Frontier soon stalking beasts on Xbox 360

by Griffin McElroy { Jan 26th 2010 at 9:00AM }

The identity of the teased "Capcom x Microsoft" title was revealed earlier this morning, bringing about one of those forehead-slapping of course moments -- because of course it's a Monster Hunter game for the 360. To be more specific it's Monster Hunter Frontier, a port of the PC MMO of the same name.

On top of a promotional trailer (which we've posted after the jump), Capcom's released a few details about the game, the most interesting of which is the title's subscription plan. According to Famitsu, Japanese players will be required to purchase Hunter Life Course Coupons for 1,400 yen ($15), which will give them access to the game for 30 days and a one-month Xbox Live Gold subscription. Not a bad deal at all.

The game's official site also went live earlier this morning, and will be updated again on February 1. Keep an eye out for more details in the coming weeks, even though chances of this coming to the West seem slim at best.

Continued →

Nintendo distributing Monster Hunter 3 in Europe this April

by JC Fletcher { Jan 5th 2010 at 1:45PM }

Nintendo appears to be confident in the sales potential of Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri. The company will take on sales, marketing, and distribution of the Wii action RPG in Europe and Australia, as it did for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Zack and Wiki. Despite Capcom's announcement that the title would be delayed, Monster Hunter Tri will be released in April in the West -- just out of its original Q1 window.

"Nintendo has identified Monster Hunter Tri as a key title for the Wii platform in 2010," Capcom Europe senior director of marketing Michael Pattison said. " We are really excited about partnering with Nintendo to further develop this franchise." Perhaps it could be developed further by releasing the Classic Controller Pro along with it. Just an option.

Gallery: Monster Hunter 3

Wait outside the Monster Hunter Tri site

by JC Fletcher { Dec 23rd 2009 at 3:15PM }

The new Monster Hunter Tri site isn't quite open yet, with the full contents of the digital lodge kept locked down by an outrageous voice actor. But even without access to whatever's in there, there's some interesting stuff to be found outside the virtual barrier (navigate over to the door knocker twice to find it).

The site features screenshots, the North American announcement trailer, weapon descriptions, and, perhaps most useful for us, a short listing of monsters -- maybe now we won't catch so much flak for referring to one of the game's trademark creatures as "like a dragon or something." It's like a Monster Hunter University for everyone!

In the announcement, Capcom still referred to the game's release date as "Spring 2010," so we expect it to be one of the less delayed titles in Capcom's lineup.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 defeated HD Remix in sales battle

by JC Fletcher { Nov 23rd 2009 at 6:00PM }

Capcom and Udon Entertainment spent years redrawing and re-balancing Super Street Fighter II Turbo for its HD Remix version. Later, Capcom announced and released a port of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 over the course of a few months, with filters on the original sprites. Guess which one sold better?

"We have three titles that have drastically over-performed our expectations," Capcom's VP of strategic planning and business development Christian Svensson told GamesIndustry.biz. "The most recent of which was Marvel vs Capcom 2, which we didn't expect to exceed Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix's numbers, but it has."

One IP that hasn't quite exceeded Capcom's expectations in the west is Monster Hunter. The company is working to turn that around with events like Monster Hunter Tri University designed to familiarize press with the workings of the series. "We are strategically investing in the brand in the West," Svensson explained, "because we know that as a company we're going to continue to be creating Monster Hunter content, so it behooves us to do what it takes to make it stick here." In other words, Japanese sales ensure that Capcom is going to continue making the things, so Capcom might as well try to sell them outside of Japan as well.

Gallery: Marvel vs Capcom 2

Capcom schools Monster Hunter Tri rookies, unsure about Wii Speak for US

by Randy Nelson { Nov 19th 2009 at 6:00PM }

[Capcom-Unity]

Capcom held a university-themed event Tuesday evening in San Francisco to introduce newcomers to the Monster Hunter universe in the runup to next spring's North American release of Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii. We'd already played the game at previous events, so we knew what to expect: Monster Hunter, looking nice (especially the large monsters) but not as nice as it could have on the PS3.

After spending some time with the three-level, English-localized trade show demo on-hand -- including a go using the very nice Classic Controller Pro, which is included in Japan's black system/game bundle -- we asked Capcom staff about two unsettled questions concerning the game's US release. The first was the matter of paying to play Monster Hunter Tri online, as the game eschews Nintendo's servers for Capcom-operated ones and is fee-based in Japan. We didn't receive a decisive answer, being told only that the publisher is "hoping" the game will be free to play in the US. We got a similar response when we wondered if Wii Speak support was 100% set for the domestic release -- Capcom's "hoping" to get it in, but couldn't promise anything.

The event did provide taste of what trying to coordinate a successful online monster hunt would be like without Wii Speak -- we found it nearly impossible to hear our fellow players (or the game) over the music being piped through the venue's formidable sound system.

Gallery: Monster Hunter 3

Monster Hunter pillow will give you nightmares

by JC Fletcher { Nov 17th 2009 at 11:30AM }

Capcom's Monster Hunter Furu Furu Pillow is officially the most terrifying pillow we've seen today. What appears in the games as a winged, eyeless wyvern (called Khezu outside of Japan) has been transmuted into a tube with a lamprey mouth. That you put on your bed. And look at when you wake up. We suppose it would be better used as an accent pillow on a couch or something, especially if you don't want anyone to use your couch ever.

Japanese Monster Hunter fans will be able to bring this abomination into their lives, in white or red, on January 29, for ¥9,240 ($103.52).

[Via Andriasang]

Capcom posts strong Q2 2009 earnings, despite 'soft' overseas sales

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 29th 2009 at 2:01PM }

Capcom has posted its financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2009, and things are definitely looking good for the company. The publisher reported net sales of ¥38.892 billion ($426 million), up from ¥31.236 billion ($342 million) during the same period last year, which amounts to a 24.5-percent increase. The majority of those sales were generated by Capcom's home video games division, which pulled in ¥27.748 billion ($303 million) -- up from ¥16.486 ($180 million); a staggering 68.3-percent increase.

Capcom credits strong sales of Monster Hunter Tri in Japan, as well as continued sales of Resident Evil 5, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and Ace Attorney: Investigations to its recent financial success. However, the company stated that overseas sales remained "soft" for the period thanks to the delay of Dark Void and the weak performance of Bionic Commando and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Joystiq readers will recall that Capcom leveled complaints at the same games in its first quarter report earlier this year. It's worth noting that overseas sales still amounted to ¥11.739 billion ($128 million), which accounted for 57-percent of the home video games division sales.

We suppose Capcom might consider that "soft," but the suits can't be too broken up about it.

Source -- Capcom | Favorable Financial Results for the 6 months ended September 30, 2009
Source -- Capcom | Consolidated Financial Results for the 2nd Quarter of the FY2009

Capcom announces new Monster Hunter spin-off for PSP, awaits money-flood

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 26th 2009 at 11:45AM }

Capcom surprised attendees of a Monster Hunter competition in Tokyo by announcing a brand new Monster Hunter title for the PSP. Don't get too excited though -- this appears to be a spin-off game, featuring the series' Toro-esque mascots. The game is titled "Monhan Nikki Poka Poka Airu Mura," or "Monster Hunter Diary Poka Poka Airu Village."

Other than this logo, no other details were revealed about this mysterious new entry to the Monster Hunter franchise. Considering millions of Japanese people bought a PSP specifically for Monster Hunter, Capcom is bound to rake in a lot of dough when this eventually releases.