Capcom is planning to release more Monster Hunter titles outside of Japan, an internal interview has revealed.
According to Street Fighter producer, Yoshinori Ono, Monster Hunter Frontier G will lead the way. Commonly known as the first “MMO” in Capcom’s flagship series, Frontier originally launched on PC before “G” offshoots began to appear on consoles.
Currently the title is also available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii, Ono confirming that a Vita version is still in the pipeline. As Ono explains:
The reason why we have increased our support for so many hardware platforms is because we have our sights set on distributing services for this game in the future outside Japan. We simply can’t release a game as it is, but need to adapt all the necessary services to the unique characteristics of each region. In preparation for that, we’ve broadened our scope and started launching individual titles across multiple hardware platforms.
Bringing Monster Hunter to all platforms is a sound strategy. It’s easily one of the biggest gaming series in Japan and could well take off in the west with the right backing. What’s currently holding it back is Capcom’s narrow-minded support of Nintendo hardware.
The 3DS may still be shifting units but that doesn’t explain why the Japanese publisher has shied away from a multi-platform strategy.
Dominic Leighton
YES!
Kennykazey
I tried getting into Monster Hunter by playing the demo for 3 Ultimate on 3DS yesterday (there’s a sale on), but I just found it frustrating.
The controls were utter crap and not much better than on PSP (it just feels unnatural).
Character movement, animations and control feel two-dimentional and outdated. It’s like it tries to be action-based, but is too slow and cumbersome.
And I hate how it’s split into small areas instead of being an open world.
Just not my cup of tea really, which is a shame as I want to like it.