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Capcom Explains Why The Monster Hunter Series Migrated To Nintendo 3DS

monster_hunter_4_cover_artCapcom has explained why Monster Hunter migrated to Nintendo 3DS. The company’s popular action role-playing game series debuted on PlayStation 2. The series then branched out into PlayStation Portable with titles like Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, after which Capcom decided to reach more potential customers by expanding to Nintendo’s 3DS.

“There’s a limit to how long something can be continuously developed on the same hardware,” Capcom COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto said in an interview. “The Monster Hunter series started out on the PlayStation 2, then on the PlayStation Portable. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd [which was a huge hit] had reached the end of the line, and in order to meet new expectations, it was required for us to switch platforms.

“Games have ideal release periods, which also determine when their development begins. This resulted in our judgment of seeing the 3DS as the most desirable [platform for Monster Hunter 4].

“We want to have as many people as possible play it on the 3DS, and we are only thinking about making it succeed.”

The next installment of the series, Monster Hunter 4, is scheduled to launch exclusively for 3DS in Japan on September 14. The firm confirmed it doesn’t have current plans to bring the upcoming game to Sony’s PlayStation Vita.

195 thoughts on “Capcom Explains Why The Monster Hunter Series Migrated To Nintendo 3DS”

    1. Of course they can’t port it to the PS Vita…

      If I remember correctly, the Capconians and our Empire made a deal that stretches to 2015…

            1. The gamepad begs to differ. It screams potential and innovation. What has the other two wannabes done other than tinker with better social networking or ripping off nintendo?

                1. Just with the original Wii, Nintendo has made a crazy new controller they claim is “innovative”, yet they haven’t done anything innovative with it.

                    1. In terms of consoles and the first party titles for their consoles, definitely. They should either get out of the console market and focus all their attention of their handhelds, or create a focus group dedicated to finding a solution to make themselves relevant again.

                      1. Personally, I would like that. It seems they are mostly focusing on handhelds anyway. So Yeah.

                      1. dont try, drones lack mental sense. just let him play with his knife, dangerous in a retards hand…….

                        innovation, all these drones just state gimmicks, do you think anybody actually wants to play that shit, well he probably is one of those pathetic losers that play wii party with their mothers.

                        innovation, nintendo hasnt done any real innovation worthwhile, just gimmicky bullshit that everybody hates, i good innovation for example is like xenoblade, last story. changing shit that matters, fresh ideas. ooohhh lets rehash mario and zelda that seem to get worse every time.

                2. Your Mii avatar made me assume you lack intelligence and your comment proves my assumptions. The Gamepad is a rip-off and a gimmick. It screams, “Please buy me casuals! I’m like an iPad!”. The other two “wannabes” or the console that are actually relevant have done many more small innovations to improve the overall experience of the console.

                  1. its not a tablet if it is anything its a old computer screen that works wireless and has buttons and able to play nintendo games. and the wii u gamepad is nothing but a screen without the wii u…. well it works like a tv-remote controll

                  2. my problem with sony and microsoft not so much sony is there like its a dvd player go online ect.what happened to the simple feature ofput in a game and play it i don’t want a multi functional console thats what a PC is for i want somthing dedicated to games only.. also what happened to graphics dont matter the gameplay does.. people these days with there cod

                  3. pc wins considering i can play most nintendo console games on my computer and all the worth while xbox and ps3 games are also on the pc my only reason to buy any console is cus i’ve played every mh game excluding frontier (btw capcom frontier for Americas and Europe pls we have money and we want y0u to take it) and i plan to play the new one whether an emulator pops up or i actually buy a 3ds (witch ever comes first) but seriously frontier for pc pls ull make billions capcom

          1. Except Capcom knows how to make use of the 3DS hardware to it’s full potential. Look at Resident Evil: Revelations.

          2. Did you just insult the best ever console to grace us. The 3DS has relegated your beloved PSvita into a controller. Luigi Mansion 2, MH3U, Fire Emblem Awakening, MH4. 2 years the 3DS is outselling all comers world wide with gaming supremacy and creativity. Aldarazz, Pikmin 3 is the best selling Console game in the US, wait on every console. This week Nintendo has 25 games in the top 30 in Japan. Your face and Aleous when Crytek announced the new CryEngine for the WiiU, how is your unreal engine 4 that runs on the WiiU lol. Thanks for returning so we can rub what we told you in. Nintendo DOMINATION season :).

            1. Pikmin 3 is the best selling console game? Stop making things up. Nintendo isn’t dominating at all with the Wii U. The system has flopped and is on the brink of being discontinued. Also, only a little kid who has limited experience with video games would consider the 3DS the best console ever.

              1. Like I’ve said countless of times in ths site, we should all wait to mid 2014 to make any final judgement on the Wii U…

                If the Wii U is still in the same position from today to then, High Command should retreat our forces and plan for a whole new weaponry to unleash upon the world again…

                And meanwhile, focus more effort on the beacon of victory that is the 3DS…

                But my loyalty and faith in our Empire is solid enough to claim success for the Wii U…

                1. wii u is a sad attempt to turn tvs into giant DSs they should quit the tv console game and focus on hand helds since they have a monopoly on it anyway (ps vita was a bigger joke than wii u) and with the 3D tvs existing they can make some way your 3ds can connect to it if u really need a bigger screen

                  1. The only thing our empire needs to do next time is combining innovation and power into one then we will have the perfect console…

              2. 3ds is the best handheld. Better than the PSVita. He’s not making things up except the Pikmin 3 statement.

                You are an idiot. Period

                    1. What’s an opinion, isn’t this world just based on different kinds of facts that oppose each other? Cake is overrated!

              3. Oh really?

                http://www.google.com/search?client=wiiu&hl=en&rls=com.nintendo.wiiu:8047+US&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=3ds best selling system

                Take a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD look. I dis agree with your comments sir, and you lack intelligents over the systems so I’m gonna fill you in the short way.

                If it really wasn’t for atari and nintendo, the gaming community wouldn’t been born ok. If it wasn’t for nintendo battling sega for rights over the gaming community with their commercials and slogan “Sega does what nintendon’t”, we wouldn’t have two of the best legends of video game history around. If it wasn’t for SEGA going 3d on the Sega CD, Gensis (Sonic 2, Sonic CD, Sonic 3D Blast and a few others)…You wouldn’t have seen Playstation get ideas for the CD rom games to present to nintendo and while I’m at it, thanks to nintendo turning down the offer, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE YOUR PLAYSTATION! Also, and this is fact you xbots and drones, if it wasn’t for nintendo selling Rareware, which fucked all those nice games up to where they are shitty now, 360 would have never came and the original xbox would have gone BANKRUPT.

                That’s right, because of these “rehashes”, or in terms to the wanna-be hardcores/trools/trolls, “kiddy” or “baby games”, you wouldn’t exsist today without nintendo. You fools should be thanking the great system maker despite of its current system and all games you all get! ALL SYSTEMS HAVE GAMES REHASHED, now you think about that and look reeeeeaaaaaal hard, I’m pretty sure you’ll see alllllllll those games, milked just as much as nintendo was. AGAIN SIR, YOU HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AND BY YOURS PERSONALLY!!! NOW GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE AND CRY TO YOUR MAMMA WHO MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY, THE PLAYSTATION/XBOX360 and have a nice day!!

                  1. Thank you for acknowledging that. Wish they would change their minds over who really created their systems though. I used to be a only nintendo fan boymyself, I know how it is to criticise other systems without knowing them. Thanks to my younger brother, I might still been one today. I do get around other systems like 360. Man I miss SFXT, gears, Blazblue, Dungeon Siege 3, Dragon’s Dogma (got boring fast though), Street Fighter 3 third strike online as Snowman009…yeah, I miss it really.

                1. we aren’t talking about nintendo’s past that was awesome (btw nintendo wouldnt have existed without a thing called the pc) we’re talking of their bleak future in NON-hand held console gaming

                  p.s. lets all agree pc wins better online better graphics higher range of games and compatibility with almost any type of controller and mouse keybored will always stomp controller in fps and pc can play any nintendo game ever made excluding 3ds witch lets face it is only a matter of time b4 someone gets through and makes a solid emulator and people start pumping out iso’s

                  p.p.s. u don’t see xbox360 and ps3 sales dropping because someone can just download their console and most of their games their sales drop because daily more people realize pc is better and they aren’t slaves to the new console every few years trap

                2. Good on a lot of points, but “xbox” isn’t something that can go bankrupt. Microsoft owns it and even if the original xbox failed miserably, there is no way it would have made them go bankrupt, if the even can lol.

              4. first of all the 3ds is not a console its a handheld .
                secondly your right WiiU is kinda a flop
                thirdly 3DS is great shat up xD
                better then vita anyways don’t get me wrong i like sony but there vita is a failure
                and the only game i want on there is FF10 and psp games maybe even cod and assassins creed other then that just going to use it as a handheld ps1 or ps2

          3. Agreed in full my friend. No offense to people who like feel of 3DS, but monster hunter on 3DS….. lame sauces. Love the game but hate the platform, again sorry but 3DS is ugly and should feel bad for being so.

        1. hahahahaha, the Vita has no business battling with a machine that has a game more profound that all vita games combined, fire emblem awakening :).

            1. You’re comparing a fighting game with a Tactic RPG(amazing in my opinion), to have a more balanced comparison let’s do a SSB vs. Persona, which one is cooler?

              1. *Rolls eyes*

                So why not say anything to the comment I replied to, which said that one game was better than every game on another system? Hypocritical double standard much? I think so.

                Also, um… What fighting game? Persona 4 Golden and Fire Emblem Awakening are both RPGs. One is just a tactical RPG, whereas the other is a turn-based, JRPG.

                1. Scuse his lack of gaming knowledge he is a new refuge from the Xbox nation that’s why he thinks is a fighting game.

                    1. Not all will be flops but rehashes yes. All those games are rehashes. So you can’t ignore one and bash the other that expose your fanboism.

                      1. Noob? Lol what are you 12? I like how you can’t give evidence or an explanation to the point you made so you try to change the subject.

                    2. Rehash means “to put (old ideas or material) into a new form without significant change or improvement.” Every company is guilty of this and not just Nintendo. Look at EA or Activision, even look at the yearly sports franchises and CoD. You can argue that Nintendo doesn’t change much with some of their IPs but the same can be said about every major publisher and AAA games in general. The most interesting games coming to PS4 for me are the indies and KH3 but for KH3 that’s not out till possibly 2016 at the minimum. Most everything else on the twins are identical and the same as before but with few small changes and prettier graphics (do we really need another Killzone?). Beyond: Two Souls and Watch Dogs are the only non sequel or remake you mentioned and Batman Arkham: Origins and Watch Dogs are also available on Nintendo.

                      You’re counting the chickens before they hatch. The Wii U is not even a year old yet and it just needs games and thankfully it’s getting some. I wished it was more in a timely manner like it previously was going to be but everything, EVERYTHING went out of whack from both 3rd parties and Nintendo.

                    3. The Reason why you're wrong

                      GTA V: Rehash of GTA IV But with better ragdoll physics and less annoying cheats.

                      Watch Dogs: Eh, it’s barely unique to warrant an excuse from being mediocre.

                      Beyond: Two Souls: Utter garbage with a butthurt Ellen Paige still cleanly whipped from the Last of Us fiasco trying to make her own game but failing miserably.

                      Batman: Arkham Origins: The exact definition of a rehash, as it hasn’t changed the gameplay of the last two games whatsoever.

                      Wolfenstein: The New Order: It’s just a modern shooter with a classic IP plastered over it.

                      Meanwhile the only thing Nintendo is responsible for rehashing to death is the New SMB, and that’s about it.

                1. You are immature enough to tell someone you dont know to change their name. From you, I see where Donald Trump got his shitness from

              1. X is the only ambitious game in that line-up. Can’t blame Smash Bros. and Mario Kart for being so similar to their predecessors. But the rest of that line up is full of lazy, unoriginal rehashes.

                1. how do you know that smash bros. 4 and mario kart are the same? Last i heard these games are still not released yet…think about it…

            1. Rehashes and flops? LoL you crack me up. Has there ever been a 4 player 3D Mario? Nope, not a rehash. DK Tropical Freeze is a sequel, will you be enjoying GTA 5? Wonderful 101 is new. Sonic the Lost World is a rehabilitation of Sonic not a rehash. I’m sorry if you dont like any of those games, thats a you issue. I will be enjoying them and their new ways of entertaining me with characters that I love.

            2. For just exclusives, The new and wild Wonderful 101. One remaster to a highly acclaimed game, Windwaker HD. 2 Sequels to 2 very High selling and spectacular games , DKC: Tropical Freeze and Super Mario 3D World. We need games like these that make us happy, and clearly no else will make them.

                    1. Yeah… The Last of Us, BioShock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Ni No Kuni, Injustice, Splinter Cell, DmC, God of War: Ascension, Metro: Last Light, Dragon’s Crown beg to differ. The fact you think Pikmin 3 is the only good game released this year shows you’re a fanboy completely detached from reality.

                      1. 2 games from that list are not rehashes. Ni no ku ni and the last of us dragon crown was released later than pikmin 3 morron.

                      2. Those games are for platforms that have been out years longer than the Wii U. Why compare something older, to something that hasn’t had a full year of release. Dumbass. And all those games you stated we’re either FPS or sequels, whilst Pikmin 3 had enticing innovation. Something you fail to look at.

                      3. @KirbyKid – How does that justify a console having one quality title in 9 months?

                        By the way, Ni No Kuni, The Last of Us, Injustice, and Dragon’s Crown are neither FPS nor sequels.

              1. Says the one with the Mii avatar. Which by the way, has a beard. That would make you either a grown man, that would absolutely pathetic, or a little kid trying to look tough.

                    1. Who me? Or the immature kid? Hadn’t seen him in a about an hour or so. His allotted Internet time must have expired and his mom told him it was time for chores….

                      1. its for kids and topump maximum moneys from parents. I’m sure its a good game .. but I will spend my money on W101 and WW HD.

          1. First party Nintendo games are always quality. NSMBU, Mario 3D World, etc, You’ve got SSB4 coming up, when the new Zelda comes out it’s curtains for the flop nonsense. It’s in no way flopping, struggling yes but it will make it to water and swim. Just like the 3DS. Even IF it stays selling shittily, it will never be discontinued. Gamecube didn’t sell well either and it’s one of the best consoles ever with an amazing line-up of classic games. Point is, Wii U also has MH3U which is an awesome game. A new DK, etc etc lot of good games on it already with more to come.

        1. it wont the twice the price 4ds and its xL counterpart will kinda like what apple does with iphone i5 then the i5s(most likely developed b4 the i3 but they need to take your money once every 6months) then the i6, i6s, i6ss (because they have most of the world dancing in the palm of their hands by now)……i45s^12…..iphone billion ….now bow down to apple the almighty supreme rulers of the Earth-Mars Union(EMU for short)

      1. Thats kind of retarded of Capcom to say. I’m sure they had a pretty good fan base on the Sony consoles and they left them in the dust by switching hardware. Whos to say they wont do it again to Nintendo fans?

      2. or maybe it’s skipping the vita because it won’t sell as much as the 3ds version cause hardly anybody has a vita.

      3. Knowing Capcom they’ll do the same to Nintendo until that 2015 deal is off, so I’m not surprised if they do this to us. Good to know that Capcom in their Monster Hunter series is doing well, if not I may say better…

          1. Schmeerkin Beerkin IV

            Beerkin. I don’t even own one I just think te twin sticks and better graphics would suit this game.

      4. I guess i can finally clean my ass with vita and do something useful with that waste of money. Heck its even black so no one can tell the difference when i sell it after my ass is clean.

        1. Dearest me that language…

          Please do it already and send it!

          We can’t have rectal wastes spread out our Empire’s sacred floors!

      5. Vita needs a killer app. I think Sony want Killzone Mercenaries to be the killer app, but I don’t know. It may end up like Resistance: Burning Skies or Black Ops Declassified….*shudders*

        God of War Vita could work. Or if Naughty Dog makes a Vita game.

        1. Sony dosnt want to support the vita. They are not even making a gran turismo on vita why should capcom.

          1. Sony is supporting the Vita a ton. It’s the larger third parties who aren’t really doing much. At least not in the west.. YET.

            The PSP, which was very successful, didn’t get a Gran Turismo game until very late in its life cycle. The Vita doesn’t need to get EVERYTHING within the first year or two of its life.

            1. But people knew even before the console was released that a PSP gran turismo was coming it just took a lot of years to be released. So in short never say you don’t have plans for games people want if you are a first party.

              1. ? Soooo who’s to say that the Vita isn’t getting a Gran Turismo game? It’s just that the devs are focusing on GT 6 for the PS3 at the moment (and a PS4 project).

                Like you said, it could take years to be released. The thing with Sony hardware is that they have long life-spans. From PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3, they have all proved to be long-lasting and supported right down to the end.

                The Vita isn’t going to be any different. Sony will continue to support it years into the future. A GT Vita can come in 5 years for all we know.

        2. No, no, no. I have played parts of Killzone Mercenary on the Vita and it is FAR superior to Resistance Burning Skies and Black Ops Declassified (both of which I have also played).

          KZ Mercenary is truly the first handheld FPS done right. It controls well, the online matches are great, and it brings some new ideas to the FPS genre. Plus those graphics… my goodness, I don’t know how Guerrilla Games is able to extract power from every system they touch.

          This video is from the closed beta… It looks good, but in person it looks even better:

          http://youtu.be/Xw4a0rKmp_8

          That said, I don’t think KZ Mercenary will be the killer app for the Vita, but it definitely shows that there’s great potential just lying in wait on the system.

        1. It takes time to get into and a lot of dedication. Nobody’s blaming you. Personally I thought of making this my first MoHun game though… It’s worth a try considerig I have friends who have been playing them for 200-500+ hours each.

      6. Stupid excuse which can be summed up in one line from the article:

        “We want to have as many people as possible play it on the 3DS, and we are only thinking about making it succeed.”

        The 3DS sells a tremendous amount, has the most systems out there for the current generation of gaming handhelds, and they want the most money they can get from the game. Simple. It was a business decision.

        The Vita is a new platform, so that whole “changing to a different platform” argument is bunk.

        1. He means a new platform that brings money. The vita is in the same ballpark and unless Nintendo and Sony change their future and Sony isn’t even trying.

      7. I liked when the troll said that other consoles were getting more games than the wiiu, and then proceeded to produce a list full of games coming for other consoles that the wii u is getting.

        I guess theyre only rehashes if they’re on a nintendo console. If they’re on any other system theyre relevant, apparently.

      8. it would actually be smart if they made a wii u version, the 3ds doesnt have the best online, you could do the whole thing that MH3U did. nintendo is stupid, that game will help the worst console ever not the best handheld. so why not put on both.

        also smash bros should just be on wii u, way to go to ruin the wii u system seller. just get it on 3ds, why buy a shit u????

        nintendo lost its touch so bad that they have lost touch in there mentalism “ddduuuurrrr”. nintendo cant make there ips good anymore either, mario galaxy, yeah but then they will make a 3rd one, with mario wearing a cow suite.

        1. You’re dumb and you shouldn’t even be here.
          “Nintendo lost their touch” well… it’s not even true and Sony lost it when the PS3 came out and all those “ZOMG lololo badass FPS and OMG Gay of War is so hardore and original that we kids will love it” so yeah, gtfo.

          1. no they did and everyone knows except the blind corporate cock suckers such as yourself. where is all the games on nintendo?? all the franchises they have, the 3rd party, good online. sony has most exclusives and has more variety, got all 3rd party too. nintendo is stuck with shovelware, gimmicks and same old shit and thats it, they gone down the toilet.

            1. “sony has most exclusives and has more variety”

              In a world where shooters, fighting games, racing games are variety sure.

      9. I do own a 3DSXL and as of the 8th September, a Vita too. And if I had the choice, I honestly would have preferred a Vita version. It is just such a beautiful, powerful piece of kit that would have made MH4 look gorgeous (the 3DS game looks a bit crappy in the trailers) and using analogue sticks AND having two of them, would feel very comfortable for long play sessions. Also, I would be able to import it from Japan as Vita is region free. Oh well.

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      11. Honestly, I’d like it on wii u too…I bought both and it served me well until my 3ds has gone missing, now I can’t take my hunts on the go. If this game comes here and have a wii u version with the 3ds AND have transport between the two…instant sell on me. I love fighting these monsters and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

      12. I could have sworn that I read an article that said they switched to the Wii from the ps2 because of lower development costs and because it was easier to develop for over the cell processor in the ps3. I think they should not have abandoned Sony completely, I mean monster hunter 3 ultimate could have been on the ps3 as well, and even the vita. that way they can reach as broad an audience as possible, assuming they don’t also reach out to microsoft. The bottom line is that they could make it multi-platform if they wanted to, i am a little surprised that they didn’t.

      13. So many god damn trolls its actually legit to kill them with fire.

        TL DR version of the comments: Nintendo haters are butthurt that MH4 will be exclusive on the 3ds and still whining like the idiots they are about how ”3ds is weaker and hold back the games” almost copying their comments from MH4 youtube videos.

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      19. Anyone else feel like this won’t sell well in US/Europe? Just don’t want this to hinder more MH games coming over due to poor sales. Wishing for the best and hoping we see next gen releases soon to follow. Just have to wait for frontier g I guess. Anyone else considering buying a DS for this game? Or will you put that money towards a console/pc? Not trying to invite hate to this thread, just wanting to see what people think.

      20. @Markos Paella. Are you fucking retarded? Do you know what FPS is?
        Last of Us is a third-person shooter you moron.

      21. Sounds like a bunch of shitty excuses. The real reason is because Capcom is doing everything it can to avoid a true graphical update. The game has looked the same since the original PS2 launch, and Capcom has been moving the series backwards in terms of consoles to avoid making better graphics.

        From PS2 to PSP, to Wii, to 3DS. The Wii U, 360, and PS3 versions of the games are all ports and HD remakes, so they weren’t obligated to make higher quality models. I’m the last person to say that graphics are what make a game, BUT IT’S BEEN TEN YEARS, AND THE NEWEST GAME IS NEARLY IDENTICAL TO THE FIRST ONE. WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT’S NOTICED THIS? I FEEL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IS TAKING CRAZY PILLS.

        1. They don’t want to, and they are not supposed to tell the truth from their mouths. They have to keep a good image towards other companies, hence they still have a couple of games within SONY’s platforms such as MHFrontierG.

          The only sad thing is… others easily believe this utter bullshit without knowing further.

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