Japan loves them some Monster Hunter (I think nearly 1 in 4 PSP owners own a copy of MH). To foster this love, over the this past weekend our colleagues in Japan held the second annual Monster Festa event. While I couldn’t be there to report on the event, uber Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu was! Here’s their report, translated lovingly by our awesomely bilingual intern, Reed.
Started last year at the release of Monster Hunter 2, Monster Festa is a national tournament to determine the best monster hunters in Japan. This year, Monster Festa ’08 began by commemorating the release of Monster Hunter 2nd G. Starting in Fukuoka, the tournament will have regional tournaments set up in Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, and Nagoya, with the winners competing at the national tournament in Tokyo on 5/25. Like last year, teams consist of two people and compete in time-attack challenges.
Over 2200 participants waited in line for the Fukuoka tournament to begin, with the first couple coming all the way from Tokyo and waiting in line by 5:30 that morning.
In addition to a large vendor’s room, image girls dressed up as the character “Sherry”, the games’ directors Ise (2nd G) and Fujioka (2nd), as well as the games’ producer Tsujimoto were there to support the participants. Throughout the event, the main four (Ise, Fujioka, Tsujimoto, and Koshima) got on stage to show off their characters. At one point, Fujioka held a tutorial to explain some of the background behind certain characters and other aspects found throughout the game. At the end of the event, the winning team was announced and to the crowd’s surprise, the judges decided to send the running up team to Tokyo as well.
Other notable things to do at the tournament was the downloadable quest area, an art gallery and art contest, and photo opportunities with the image girls, Otomoairu and other life-size cosplayers.
This is only the beginning of this year’s Monster Festa, so stay tuned for more!
Check out the Famitsu article for more pictures of the event.
Years ago, I used to marvel at the Japanese predilection for music-based video games. Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania and Guitar Freaks were tearing it up in Japanese arcades as well as on PS1s and Ps2s. Now, ten years or so later, Rock Band and Guitar Hero completely pwn US games sales charts. Does this mean that in 2014, Monster Hunter Freedom 12Q will be all the rage with North American PSP3 owners? I hope so, ’cause Baby Capcom needs a new pair of shoes!
Hang on to your upgraded armor pants, because Monster Hunter Freedom 2G has now crossed the 2 million mark in Japan since its release on March 27! 2 million in less than a month. Awesome.
There are a little over 9 million PSPs in Japan — this means that 1 out of every 4.5 PSP owners in Japan owns a copy of MH2G. Scary! When you factor in that there have been multiple types/colors of PSPs released in Japan, that number probably comes down significantly. That’s a heck of an attach rate.
I admit that I try and stay away from anything that looks RPG-ish, even when it is one of our totally sweet Capcom games. I have a problem. It’s called OCD, and it’s debilitating and not funny at all, especially when it forces me to collect every last little thing in some game that I didn’t have time to play in the first place while I should be doing things like showering.
Watching the eyes of our Japanese officemates positively *light up* when they get near the game, however, I took another look at Monster Hunter, and I have to say–it looks stunning. Then I remember this is running on a portable–a PSP–and then I think it looks almost unbelievable. Then on top of that I realize there are about 8,000 hours of gameplay there. Then I remember I have a problem, drop it like it’s hot, and run away from the game.
Anyway, it appears many of our fellow gamers in Japan are not as wise as I am, and have been drawn in like moths to the flame once again. This thing just shipped over a million units in under a week. On PSP! Yes, it’s that good.
Read on for the full press release (yes, this is a real press release and we have the dumptruck full of yen to prove it!)…
Monster Hunter Portable 2G went on sale in Japan yesterday, causing the country’s educational system and productivity levels to momentarily dip as players of all ages lined up to get their mitts on the latest portable party hunting madness. Famitsu sent their reporters out into the streets of Tokyo, where they snapped photos of crazy lines in notorious otaku havens like Akihabara and Shinjuku. Famitsu also grabbed video of Capcom’s big 2G launch event in Shibuya, which you can see in the YouTubery above. Highlights include happy words from producer Ryozo Tsujimoto-san (son of the CEO, Kenzo, and brother of the President, Haru), introduction of a new Monster Hunter drink by two cute campaign girls, an appearance by a popular Japanese comedy duo and an amazing Monster Hunter 2G costume! Big ups to Famitsu for taking so many pictures!
Joystiq recently sent us an email from one of their users, asking for Monster Hunter information in the US. I sent Joystiq a rather wordy response about the brand, which you can go read here. In a nutshell: Capcom believes in Monster Hunter in the US and we’re planning on getting behind the brand in a big way. Take heart, hunters! We’ve heard your voices on our forums (and on lots of other forums, like Game FAQs) . We think that with some serious outreach and marketing muscle that we can make this series almost as big here in North America as it is in Japan.
Except for some die hard fans here in the West, you may not know that Monster Hunter is actually a huge franchise. In fact, in a Nintendo DS dominated Japan, the release of a Monster Hunter title is one of the few times the PSP is able to dethrone the DS.
Well, Nintendo can breath easy a little while longer, as Monster Hunter Freedom 2G, set to be released as part of a special bundle with a unique Monster Hunter PSP system in Japan, is now slightly delayed until March 27, 2008, from its original date of March 13th, which is now too late for my birthday.
In our Western Capcom offices, we are often asked for a status update on the possibilities of Monster Hunter Frontier (an online PC multiplayer version of our popular Monster Hunter series) coming to our territories and to this point, we’ve been somewhat vague in our answers.
For most, the end of the year usually is a time for too much eggnog, finally getting to touch a member of the opposite sex thanks to the magical Mistletoe, and making resolutions that you know you will never keep. However, the end of the year also signals the time for the reason you couldn’t keep those resolutions, videos games, to be given the proper recognition they deserve. 1up.com is getting the ball rolling, and among its nominees were several of our very own Capcom titles. The Best Adventure Game category looks really tough, especially as we’re competing with ourselves with 3 games our own games.
Best Action Game Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
Best Adventure Game Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (Wii) Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (PSP) Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations (DS)
Best Console Downloadable Game Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PS3, 360)
Game of the Year Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (Wii)
Cast your vote now for your favorite Capcom games by heading on over to 2007 1up Awards page.
Ever wonder how much damage your Devil Slicer does when you do a forward slash on Lunastra’s head, or what kind of boost you get from filling up the Spirit Gauge? Capcom Unity member Deathslayer31x (aka Brian VanWulfen) sent along this handy video tutorial on how to optimize your slayifying by breaking down the damage formula for Monster Hunter Freedom 2. Brian says “It would be nice if more people knew about this, solving a lot of problems such as which weapon was more useful against this or that monster.” Indeed.
If you’ve still got questions after watching the video, he’s also written an extensive Melee FAQ, sure to titillate aspiring hunters and RPG statisticians alike.
The Capcom mothership in Osaka has firmed up this supposition with the official news that Monster Hunter Freedom 2 has become the first PSP game in Japan to ship over 1.5 million units since its release in February. MH is the first game to hit this number in Japan.
According to latest data we have here, the PSP currently sports an installed base of 6.5 million units in Japan. This means that 1 out of every 4 Japanese PSP owners has a copy of MHF2 in their collection. So, next time you’re sitting on a plastic tarp in Akiba, shouldn’t be too hard to find someone to play with.
Over 4.8 million units of various Monster Hunters have shipped planet-wide since the first game was released in 2004 on the PS2. In fact, for many Japanese gamers, Monster Hunter on Ps2 was one of their very first online console game experiences.
To pile on to the good news, the game also received the “Excellence Prize” in the Entertainment Division of the Japan Media Arts Festival. MHF2 was singled out from over 2000 different entries from more than 40 countries, demonstrating its merits as art. In your face, Ebert!
Except for some die hard fans here in the West, you may not know that Monster Hunter is actually a huge franchise. In fact, in a Nintendo DS dominated Japan, the release of a Monster Hunter title is one of the few times the PSP is able to 
In our Western Capcom offices, we are often asked for a status update on the possibilities of Monster Hunter Frontier (an online PC multiplayer version of our popular Monster Hunter series) coming to our territories and to this point, we’ve been somewhat vague in our answers.
For most, the end of the year usually is a time for too much eggnog, finally getting to touch a member of the opposite sex thanks to the magical Mistletoe, and making resolutions that you know you will never keep. However, the end of the year also signals the time for the reason you couldn’t keep those resolutions, videos games, to be given the proper recognition they deserve. 1up.com is getting the ball rolling, and among its nominees were several of our very own Capcom titles. The Best Adventure Game category looks really tough, especially as we’re competing with ourselves with 3 games our own games.
It’s a scientific fact* that everyone in Japan loves Monster Hunter almost as much as they like 
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