Move aside Mega Man, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter, Monster Hunter is now Capcom’s favorite franchise.
Capcom’s latest Monster Hunter title has been a dream for Capcom. Despite only having been released in Japan less than a month ago on December 1, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for the PSP is already Capcom’s fastest selling game ever.
After selling about 2 million copies in a week, Portable 3rd has gone on to sell at least 629,541 more units and Capcom has shipped 3 million in 17 days. The speed of its sales and shipments are faster than any game Capcom has ever experienced, the company announced.
Capcom’s previous Monster Hunter PSP effort, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, took 6 months to ship 2.5 million copies. Capcom believes Portable 3rd was able to outpace previous entries through cross promotions with Metal Gear and viral marketing, in addition to spin-off titles aimed at women and the release of a Monster Hunter PSP. In the future, Capcom is even planning to hold Monster Hunter festivals around Japan.
Fast-forward to Portable 3rd‘s potential North American release, and it probably won’t be so ravenously snatched up. Freedom Unite evidently sold a few hundred thousand copies in North America, while it sold millions in Japan. It appears that there are societal reasons why Monster Hunter is so popular in Japan that just can’t be replicated in other regions. It’s a fun series, despite some frustrating qualities, so hopefully Capcom will still localize Portable 3rd so that overseas fans can look forward to cramping up their hands again while hunting its new monsters.
Source: Siliconera
