Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Monster Hunter 3 headed exclusively to Wii


Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has announced that Capcom’s Monster Hunter 3 is being made exclusively for the Wii. This surprise announcement happened at Nintendo’s Fall Conference 2007 held in Japan. No game play details or release dates have yet been announced.

Originally slated for exclusive release on the PS3 (this announcement was made two years ago), this revelation is sure to delight Nintendo fans as much as it will disappoint Sony supporters. Capcom managing corporate officer Katsuhiko Ichii commented “Due to high development cost of titles for PS3, we have decided to switch the platform to which we release our Monster Hunster 3 title.”

The Monster Hunter series is an action game that sees players stepping into the shoes of a fearless hunter who tracks down and battles monsters. As of the 30th of September 2007 the series has shipped more than 4.5 million copies worldwide. Capcom’s Monster Hunter series for the PSP has proved wildly popular in Japan, making it the first PSP game to sell more than one million copies in Japan. The first title in the series was released for the PS2 in 2004 and since then the franchise has remained a Sony exclusive. Until now, that is.

Capcom’s press release confirmed the development of a new edition of the Monster Hunter series for the Nintendo Wii. Apparently they have been working tirelessly on Monster Hunter 3 (tri-) to utilize the Wii’s unique aspects to ensure that they create a ‘Monster Hunter game unlike any of its predecessors.’ They are aiming to attract newcomers to the series as well as please existing fans.

Capcom stated “We will continue to strive to develop new and original games that appeal to a broad audience around the world while expanding our properties for multiple platforms. We believe that by bringing the ‘Monster Hunter’ series to multiple platforms, it will help the franchise reach an even greater number of users eager for its unique game play.”

Nintendo appears to be trying to broaden its target market to include not only the casual gamers that the Wii is traditionally aimed at, but hardcore gamers too. Sony must be reeling after this announcement as it has been struggling to compete with Nintendo and Microsoft in the next-gen wars, even announcing a price cut for the PS3 in Japan and Europe this week.


However, the Nintendo machine seems well oiled with Satoru Iwata revealing that Nintendo is now “entering the third phase of its strategy, aimed at expanding the game player population.” This belief has been backed up by Nintendo’s latest updates to the Wii Internet Channel, the introduction of WiiWare titles and the launching of MyWiiStory.com.

According to Iwata, “With the release of the Nintendo DS portable game console and Wii stand-alone game machine, we managed to lure those who have never played games or those who have stopped playing games to play them.”

“I understand that some experts argue that our success is short-lived and temporary. So, we now need to make efforts to constantly expand the player base by offering services and titles that can appeal not only to those who have never played games but also to those who play them hard,” he continued.

Forbes reports that President of Enterbrain Hirokazu Hamamura believes “Wii has so far been successful, but it lacks a strong player base among teenagers, while Monster Hunter is highly popular in this age group. So, the transfer of the platform is a positive surprise for Nintendo and negative news for Sony.”

Hamamura believes that Capcom’s choice to develop Monster Hunter for the Wii may encourage third-party game developers to follow suit. Previously it has been thought that the Wii would simply not cope with games such as Monster Hunter which require strong graphical chip power but Capcom’s move says otherwise.


Posted by wii-play at 12:33 PM
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