Why Monster Hunter is Less Successful In The West, and How Capcom Could Fix That

The third generation of Monster Hunter drags the series back to western shores because well, why not? In fact you could say that three really has been the magic number. Unless you live in Japan in which case one and two were also pretty fantastic and if anything three has been nothing short of a crushing disappointment.

‘But wait!’ Voletic hears you scream, ‘Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate has been recently announced, why are you addressing the third iteration?’ Because background knowledge is a beautiful thing and Voletic has a word count to fill.

[Amigaengine]

Simple, change the name to call of monsters and add guns :P

[PeaSFor]

release it on ps4, it will be a good start.

[lelo2play]

"Why Monster Hunter is Less Successful In The West, and How Capcom Could Fix That"

Simple answer. Make the game multiplatform. Release it on PC/X1/PS4.

[stavrami-mk2]

vita don't forget the vita

[KillerResistance]

@stavrami-mk2 ya, when will Monster Hunter come back to its home platform (PSP), i mean its successor Vita, can do alot with it and so can other systems, I just don't understand why Monster Hunter is becoming exclusive to Nintendo after all the years of it being on Sony.

[breakpad]

no ..MonHUn does not need wide acceptance from west audience, it created and succeed without acceptance from casual gamer ...Capcom must keep it intact as it is ...if they try to appeal to western gamers they probably make some tragic mixture of game mechanics spoiling entirely the series (see RE4-6, Drak souls 2)...those who want to play the game they play it even in japanese ,it doesnt need to be accepted from everyone

[Th4Freak]

My problem with MH is the slow paced and plain combat system, if they make it more dynamic count me in.

[breakpad]

PLAIN combat system the Mon hun series????? have you ever played the games man??? Mon Hun has one of the most frantic and dynamic combat systems ever , it is perfectly made like a japanese fighting game ..the only problem is that has been stolen from the underpowered Nintendo systems ..bring it back to Sony and see it shine

[Th4Freak]

Yes I have, I bought MH freedom Unite a few months after I got my Vita because it was being highly recommended on Reddit and after spending 14 hours into the game the combat system didn't make it for me, every other aspect of the game is great but the combat system isn't dynamic in any way, not only its slow paced but you can't make combos like you would in other games.

Now, keep in mind that in my comment I expressed that it didn't work FOR ME, I know a lot of people love it as it is and thats fine but I didn't like it, I like fast paced combat where I can move fast, hit several parts of the mob not only its legs (in the case of bosses) and make dynamic combos not the same combo all the game.

[WeAreLegion]

Don't try telling Monster Hunter fans the combat sucks. They won't listen. -_-

[Neckbear]

But it doesn't suck. It's its own particular brand of hack-n-slash, which is why some people dislike it- with it being slow and precise.

But I'd rather have MonHun's combat stay as it is than see the series transform into a modern-day, western-ish work with a "mash square to win and QTEs for cool animations" combat system.

It's fine as it is.

[dredgewalker]

I have to disagree that the combat sucks. Combat in this game requires a lot of planning and if you just use the old hack and slash routine you'd end up as monster chow. The controls take a while to get used to and each weapons have their own pros and cons. It's also a fun game to play with friends but I have to admit that this game is not for everybody.

[N4g_null]

The combat is jarring at first but they should provide context. Small fast arms should be enabled that attack like a ninja and the heavy weapons would work better perception wise but the ninja attacks would take way longer but offer quicker dodging.

Yet if you play the game you can see even that is sort of supported.

[Nerdmaster]

I still wish for a "real" RPG that uses Monster Hunter battle system. People told me Dragon's Dogma did it, but I played it and the combat had nothing to do with Monster Hunter other than sometimes having to fight really big monsters.

Monster Hunter would be one of my favorite game series with its fantastic battle system and crafting, if it didn't rely too much on going back many times to the same places, one time to kill twenty X enemies, other time to kill ten Y enemies, other time to gather ten Z mushrooms... It should have more of a traditional quest system: you get the quests to kill X, Y and collect Z, so you go once and you can do all that at once, instead of having 20 quests that you have to choose one at a time and go to the same place all the 20 times.

I always play for like... 20 hours before getting tired of the quest structure and quitting the game.

[HentaiMasterRace]

Make it multiplatform for starters. 3DS/Wii U, PS4/Vita.

[N4g_null]

What is sad is it would sell the same number but you just spent a ton of money porting it. Just because people don't like the combat system and they didn't like the story. It really is a bayo2 like problem.

[Spotie]

Considering how successful the game was on PSP, it would have made sense to put it on the Vita, since many PSP fans upgraded with the expectation that a new MonHun would be there. A Vita version would do very well, and move units to boot.

Putting Monster Hunter on PS4 or even XB1 would also boost sales- and thus profits- quite a bit. Like Dragon Quest, there's an existing fanbase on PlayStation consoles for the franchise, and the larger- and faster growing- install base is more than promising.

It's nothing at all like Bayonetta. Bayonetta virtually abandoned its original fanbases to build a new one; Monster Hunter doesn't have to do that. Rather, it would be going back, in some cases, and expanding to new areas in others.

[N4g_null]

You can argue that those gamers bought 3ds. Which would be true. Also capcom was not willing to spend the money to push a vita after their fanbases began to turn on them.

We are talking about japan here. When was man hunter successful in the west?

[NovusTerminus]

They need a full console release, launch the CryEngine one for PC for PS4/XO. And make sure to bring it stateside.

[Masterchief_thegoat]

Maybe being exclusive is not a smart choice capcom has made.

[Amuro]

I have played a few Monster Hunter games and to me, this is not a very good series. From the get go they all feel low budget like Dynasty Warriors series and its redeeming qualities only apply to those that love to grind and customize characters. Monster Hunter is not for the mainstream and there is nothing wrong with that.

[polloloco]

Put it on ps4 and Vita. Almost every game is selling well on ps4 and Vita owners are starving for MH.

[HentaiMasterRace]

MH on Vita would sell the most because it's a handheld, but PS4 would make the series more popular in the west. That would be great.

[Lighter9]

I can't believe how awesome it is on the 3DS. I can only imagine it on the PS4.

[spence52490]

Put game on PS4. Proceed to take bath in money.

[paul-p1988]

Capcom Employee: "Is spence using this weird concept called Logic?!?! Maybe we should listen to him and others in our valued fanbase.... nah lol we'll just make another stupid decision like we always do"

[Talgrath]

Because it isn't released on PC, most people playing co-op with friends will play on PC. Releasing on more popular consoles like the PS3/PS4 XBox 360/XBox One would help too.