London Monster Hunter Center Opens in July

Officially open for monster hunting in July, Capcom's Monster Hunter Gathering Hall in London will be the premier destination for Londoners with a passion for killing giant dinosaurs and making armor out of their carcasses.

Capcom Europe is now officially serious about making Monster Hunter into a genuine success. Announced earlier this year, Capcom will be opening up the Monster Hunter Gathering Hall in London on July 3rd, which will be open from 10 AM to 8 PM seven days a week. It's located on 121 Charing Cross Road, which I hear isn't too far from the Tottenham Court Road tube station in central Londontown (notice how I used the word "tube" - see, I understand your crazy lingo, too). Judging from Google Street View, it's also near a Japanese restaurant - so hey, if you want to really feel like a Japanese gamer, this will clearly be the place to be.

If you've got a copy of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, which comes out toward the end of June worldwide, you can get into the Gathering Hall, where you can download exclusive quests and get schooled in the Monster Hunter ways from friendly staff on hand. It's meant to replicate the social nature of the game and get hunters to play together in person, just like they do in Japan.

Renting a bar or a gallery for a night to promote a game is one thing and pretty much common practice in this business, but renting a space for an extended period of time is a whole other thing. The place will be open until September 1st, so that's a huge investment. Hopefully it'll pay off for Capcom.

In any case, if you live in London you won't have any excuse for complaining there's nobody to play Monster Hunter with. Of course, anyone around the world can play the game online through unofficial means (via a Japanese Adhoc Party account on PS3 or through Xlink Kai), but if you're in London why not do it the real way, with real people.