Monster Hunter PSP Sets PSP Record In Japan

That 3.5 million number is for the original release and the budget "Best" release that came out in October 2008.

@beril: Yes, you are correct.

Let's hope for a PS3-exclusive Monster Hunter game someday.

Of course, Demon's Souls is AMAZING.

-Xehanort

@-MasterDex-: A home console version of Monster Hunter definitely needs a good online interface and good voice chat for sure.

I'm an anti-fan of friend codes, but if Wii Speak is at least good, then MH3 on Wii might be worth playing. Geez Capcom, if you ported MH Frontier to 360/PS3, you'd probably get a great deal of biz from people here. Or just plain give us MHF on PC in English. Boom.

haruna

@lars18th: let me be the first, cause i was about to blind buy this game (just got a PSP) but i decided to try the demo first. couldn't stand the camera controls. completely terrible. glad i spent my money on god of war instead.

Michael Tirona

@Scaraba: What weapon?

Monster Hunter thread requirements:

[X] Whining about the controls - Check!
[ ] Whining about the camera
[X] Whining over it being a Wii only release - Check!
[X] Random person saying never "I got into it" - Check!
[X] Report of MH taking over Japan - Check!

Amazing! Up until now, no one complained about the camera controls!

lars18th

@Dusk777: Agree (But with US PSN). It would open up alot of people who don't have a lot of friends that own PSP's *cough* the ability to use the multiplayer aspects.

Skyman747

@NitroAML: Doubt it. KH:BBS might come close, but will not overpass this.

Skyman747

@Black-Dog-Howls: The main reason why the console version did not do as well was because the PS2 was at the infancy of online play and in Japan, you were required to sign up with a special service and pay a monthly fee just to be able to play Monster Hunter 1 and later Monster Hunter 2.
The same will be true for the Wii. No one will be able to play MH3 for free in Japan. On top of the game itself, there will be a monthly fee.
I am inclined to say the userbase is pretty much set and most of the PSP addicts will be paying to play part 3 on the Wii. The videos look amazing and the new monsters will be reason enough to play it. I still hope this game comes out in NA and with free online access.

lars18th

@Black-Dog-Howls: But Japan has the PS3 Ad-Hoc channel, so if you have a PS3, you can play Online. If Sony brought that over here, I bet that would boost sales.

Skyman747

Great to see a great game getting what it deserves. Rock on capcom

CHEEZCOLA

@Black-Dog-Howls: Actually thats incorrect considering the fact that Demons Souls is a level based system where as Monster Hunter is skill based.

So shit will kill you regardless of how good you are just due to the fact that you are not strong enough to fight certian things. Where as in monster hunter you "might" be able to kill something with all the newbie gear granted sometimes you just wont be able to win due to not being able to do enough damage.

Overall Monster Hunter is the more difficult game due to the fact that you need skill to win against the enemies instead of also having a boost from your level vs the enemy.

I really got into MH for the first time with Freedom Unite recently, and now I understand why the Japanese love it so much... it's pretty much the perfect PSO/MMO hybred... and in your pocket!

You know that you're getting good at MH when yoou can naked run High Rank dual tigrex.

Scaraba

@ReVivAL: Unfortunately for now it's just me and my felyne buddy. I'm pushing my friends into grabbing it though...and a PSP if they don't already have one XD

-MasterDex-

@ReVivAL: G Teo?

@excaliburps: The new one has been released under the name Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Unless you're talking about the Wii version, which hasn't been released anywhere yet.

Tomorrow I'm going to stay with a mate who has Freedom Unite for 2 weeks. 2 of his other friends who love the game as much as us are coming over too.

We've all put in at least 100 hours into Freedom 2 and so this is going to be the best Monster Hunting party in the world.

I'll eat Tigrex for breakfast every morning.

@bobtheduck: When you live in Japan and half of your day is spent on a train; you learn to love the PSP Monster Hunter.

CosmicElement

where's the gallery?
need more monster hunter japanese girls.

@WhatTheFrag:

No, that was the DS that one in eight PEOPLE own, not families.

YAY! Go Monster Hunter! I love you Monster Hunter! Now if only more Canadians would get into it. then I wouldn't have to try so damn hard to get a full party for hunts.

mordennight

@denki: I've been looking for a copy of Monster Hunter on the PS2 to get myself ready. Really looking forward to the Wii release.

KaneTaker

@-MasterDex-: Pshh. You have to catch up man. I'm fighting Teostra tonight with a couple of my buddies. That guy is one bad mamajama.

@Black-Dog-Howls: Having it on PS3 would certainly be great for the possible connectivity like transfering materials, etc. Having no PS3 though, I have to hope for it to come out on what I have. Hopefully, the PC MMO is released over here and worth buying. If done right it could be awesome.

-MasterDex-

@Black-Dog-Howls:

Ad-Hoc party is amazing!!! I just found out about it today! I really hope they bring it out on the UK PSN!

@ttocs: If you have a PS3 you can use Ad-hoc Party to link up with other Monster Hunter Freedom Unite players. Or get Xlink Kai to play online with others.

Black-Dog-Howls

@ttocs: Honestly I don't know how it would do on either platform. I don't know how receptive the 360 community would be to something like Monster Hunter given the general tastes of the 360 fan base. It's so much slower paced than games that get popular on 360.

Black-Dog-Howls

@Black-Dog-Howls: I'd like to see it on either system. With xbox's community, I think the game would really take off! Although, I think it's better suited for the PS3 with the rampant popularity of Sony in Japan.

They did a good job with the game. This is my first Monster Hunter game and I'm loving it. It's got a little of everything in it, gathering, killing, weapon modification, loot...so I can see how it would appeal to a wide variety of audiences. The only downside is that I'm getting older a lot of my friends don't have PSP's and we don't want to sit around on the weekends and link our PSP's together to tackle the big bosses. I play this game strictly solo, usually to put me to sleep before bed. So, I'm missing out on a big part of the game, the co-op action due to this. It's still an amazing game in it's own right though.

@Black-Dog-Howls:Berserk is one of my favorite series, but given how screwed up it gets, that is a bit daunting.

@-MasterDex-: I kind of want a PS3 version so that all of my Monster Hunter friends with PSPs could do something like remote play Monster Hunting on the same PS3 group play. You know, like how Crystal Chronicles was on Gamecube. Give it PSP connectivity so you can carry over your toon(at least design and name) to the Monster Hunter PS3 and play your character on your PSP while the TV is showing the battle for anyone else to watch or to help strategize.

Also: Gintama <33

Black-Dog-Howls

@Mongoosekun: I kind of look at it this way.

Monster Hunter = One Piece
Demon's Souls = Berserk

Black-Dog-Howls

@-MasterDex-: I didn't say it was going to flop my friend, I'm just not going to believe the idea that it will be successful on Wii -just because- it's Monster Hunter on the Wii. The margin for success will probably hit at 35 to 45% of the Monster Hunter base in Japan and that'll still be spectacular, but when it comes to this franchise it's really a handheld experience and it'll show when the next PSP game gets released.

Monster Hunter on DS though? Even if it's turned into an RPG or something? Now that would light the charts on fiyah.

It's a big franchise, but it isn't Dragon Quest where people follow it across platforms as evident from the PS2 releases.

Black-Dog-Howls

It deserves the credit it receives over there. @NitroAML: I usually don't say this, but in this case, "don't trust your feelings".

Shredator: 4th Strike

I'm loving Freedom Unite. It's a great game. I just got done beating Khezu last night with a Gunlance, it was a struggle but I got there in the end.

Now, give me Monster Hunter on the 360 so I don't have to buy a wii.

-MasterDex-

@Black-Dog-Howls: Agreed, the reason why Monster Hunter is doing so well is because it's like an MMO on the go. There are enough players out that you probably can find someone with MH in a 30 feet range.

@ShadowOdin isn't american: It's out here in Ireland. I'm persuading a friend to pick it up and he said he saw it down in Gamestop. Have a word with your local retailer, see if they can get it in.

-MasterDex-

@NitroAML:

Only in SE's dreams. :D

@Black-Dog-Howls: But if 80% of gamers who play Monster Hunter on the PSP get Monster Hunter on the Wii then that's still applaud-worthy sales.

Whether trends show that Japan isn't into online gaming or not, that 80% I pulled from my arse is still going to use the online functions to meet other Monster Hunter players, be they friend or stranger.

I see no reason to assume that Monster Hunter 3 is going to flop. It's a huge franchise in Japan on the best selling console in Japan, what could go wrong?...

-MasterDex-

@(Zombie) Jolan:

The games are quite different, however both reward planning ahead as much as quick reflexes -- and using allies when the going gets too rough.

MHFU includes a Felyne ( hunter cat AI player ) to help you play solo to make it easier alone. You'll still want to do ad-hoc or use the Ad-hoc party ( for play over internet with lobby ) for group play. This game is all about planning out your crafting trees and complimenting other party members for group battles.

DS is all about a dark fantasy ARPG with the twists that the environment itself can change in terms of 'world tendency' to affect how you play or what items you seek. Crafting isn't as much the focus as planning out how to tackle the given task ahead of you aka you can defeat bosses in different orders to use their 'powers' against the other boss. Coop is all done in game grammar and there is no need for a lobby -- just drop or pick up a stone to get an ally over the network. You or someone else can 'break-into' the world of the other player as PvP aspect. After you beat the new game+ it's still great fun to have coop parties vs PvP players on your Nth play through. Also other players leave hints all over the place in the game world in a huge metagame. It's the wave of the future in ARPG design hopefully. It's the game a series like Elder Scrolls should crib notes.

In short both are changeling and more importantly REWARDING, and the coop play only enhances of the single player aspect and the feel of the world.

@bobtheduck: Just wait until August 1. MH3 comes out for Wii. Hate to sound like a broken record, but it's going to...um...break records with its sales data.

@NitroAML:

It won't, at least not in Japan.

Meeeh

@Black-Dog-Howls: Shit. I may just have to bite the (Demon's Souls equivalent of a) bullet on this one then. It just looks so damn fun. Is it a reflexive timing sort of difficult, or just a holy shit they do a lot of damage/traps everywhere difficult? If its skill based difficulty it'll be worse than if its just hazard based.

@(Zombie) Jolan: Demon's Souls is far more difficult than Monster Hunter. Everything can kill you in Demon's Souls. Everything.

Black-Dog-Howls

@Black-Dog-Howls: Bah, wrong spot.

Black-Dog-Howls

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!: Put it this way. Monster Hunter debuted on PS2 in its hay day and didn't do well until being released on PSP and is generally considered to be a game that's too hardcore for casual users. The major draw is for four people to get together and overcome a quest together. Japan isn't really into online gaming outside of MMOs.

Black-Dog-Howls

@Black-Dog-Howls: Thats a pretty good point, but when has lack of features stopped something Wii related from selling, eh..EH?

From what I hear crack addicts are also very fond of crack.
Kidding aside, is anyone actually surprised?
I personally never got into the series, found some of the timing/reflexes/coordination daunting, which is my biggest worry about Demon Souls which sucks since I am very interested in that game. Has anyone played both, and if so how does DS compare to MH difficultywise?

@excaliburps: Unite was already released in English. That's the newest PSP version.

Black-Dog-Howls

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!: Honestly, the allure of Monster Hunter for many of the players is ad-hoc play. It's one of those games people actually meet to play. Online is more important to the west due to how spread out players are.

I wouldn't be surprised if MH3 is spectacularly underwhelming.

Black-Dog-Howls

I have a feeling Kingdom Hearts BBS will crush this.

@bobtheduck: To be honest, I'm still scared of the software sales dominance that will probably come form the Wii version.

Why have I still not found the "European" bundle of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite here in Europe? I am still waiting to buy Silver PSP.

I'm waiting for the new one to be released in English before I delve into it. My brother-in-law plays the first one and says it is some top-notch,addicting stuff. You just have to invest time into it...

Good news for Sony and Capcom.

excaliburps

@bobtheduck: It probably will gain more popularity when known franchises (from the previous gen) hit a console they prefer which they can buy for a price they feel is reasonable.
Besides the Wii I guess which I'm pretty sure at least one out of eight families own (from prev statistics).

very well deserved, its a great game. probably the best.

... next to me and my katamari.

Tetris

shouldn't it be 3.5 million in total, not just for the budget rerelease?

beril

Yay. I guess...

Good for Capcom and Sony...

kind of sucks the console versions don't do anywhere close to this. I wonder when consoles will get popular in Japan again.