[BishopLamont]

Bridge titles are a matter of why not? Rather than why? Simple as that.

test account: you repeat the same things too often, I know I tend to do that too, especially if someone doesn't get my point. Nothing against you, it was meant to be a joke kind of.

Because i think these games are such known and big that they would be able to support themself. People already know what the games are about. The reason for using an old platform is to maximize sales. The PSP isnt completely dead. Not any less dead than what the DS was at the release of B&W 2. The things you mention there are things that can have a positive effect. I always argreed to this. But i dont think that they are always very necessary to achieve great sales. Another example, do you think that New Super Mario Bros 2would have sold much less if it wasnt for Super Mario 3D Land?

DQVIII (PS2) > DQIX (DS)
MHP3 (PSP) > MHtriG (3DS)

All switching to competitor's platforms, which means bridge titles are needed. Especially since mainline DQ and MH Portables have been on non-Nintendo systems for so long, bridge titles sends a message that its changing. Pokemon and Mario doesn't need bridge titles because everyone knows they'll be on Nintendo consoles. Arguing about this isn't really worth it anyway, whether they're needed or not doesn't even matter, because bridge titles, spinoffs and such are a good way of milking the franchises, setting up the userbase for the mainline games is a positive side effect. Of course these big games don't need bridge titles to sell well, but they guarantee a safety net of an active existing fanbase on the platform, changing its sales from fantastic to monstrous.

You can bet when Final Fantasy jump ships to 3DS/Wii U there'll be bridge titles too aka remakes.

[electroplankton]

I agree, but i dont see why this matters much. If people buy a system based on their own believes of which games that will come, then it is their own choice and responsibility.

Imo, this has always happened. There are platforms that are more likely to receive certain brand or genres given the history of predecessor. It's not something out of reality.

Because i think these games are such known and big that they would be able to support themself. People already know what the games are about.

Monster Hunter IS big, but it still has to prove its strength outside PSP. Dragon Quest went from Nintendo to Sony and then to Nintendo, from home to handheld, without losing its userbase, but actually increasing it. Monster Hunter became a phenomenon on PSP; it may also never reach the peak of Portable 3rd, regardless the platform. The choice to make a bridge-title makes more sense now.

The reason for using an old platform is to maximize sales. The PSP isnt completely dead. Not any less dead than what the DS was at the release of B&W 2.

Maximize sales now with a high risk to deteriorate the IP with too much waiting for a new chapter?

The things you mention there are things that can have a positive effect. I always argreed to this. But i dont think that they are always very necessary to achieve great sales. Another example, do you think that New Super Mario Bros 2would have sold much less if it wasnt for Super Mario 3D Land?

Mario is a brand that sells along with the console during its whole lifetime. Monster Hunter is not. Monster Hunter has to achieve certain sales within a year or so. They're totally different brands.

By the way, just to clearify, i'm not saying that this is the best solution. It is just what i think could be a good solution (not that it really matter much at this point because TriG is already out on 3DS, but still). The reason why i asked to begin with is because i wanted to hear other people's thought on it =) I also asked to hear people's thought on how MH4 could potentially affect TriG's sales.

Sure, it's good to compare opinions.

[Lord_Byron28]

I think a more interesting question is if people think mh4 will sell on par or higher than the psp iterations?

[metalslimer]

I think a more interesting question is if people think mh4 will sell on par or higher than the psp iterations?

In the long run I think it will outdo previous Monster Hunter games. You'll have the benefit of being on the system with Pokemon, Dragon Quest, and 2d Mario to add more potential customers. And by Spring of next year PSP will be completely dead.

On par or higher than ~4.8M? I doubt that.

Well its pretty much impossible to sell that much as fast as MHP3rd did with the 3DS userbase probably not being more than 9-10 million by the time it launches. Over time with best rereleases and such I see it breaking that amount.

[Spiegel]

I think a more interesting question is if people think mh4 will sell on par or higher than the psp iterations?

On par or higher than ~4.8M + whatever the game has sold on PSN?

I doubt that.

[electroplankton]

Imo, MH4 will hardly sell 4.8mln or more. Clearly, Portable 3rd did not sell those copies out of the blue. Doubling 3G sales could be a good deal (3-3.5 mln units) but we have to know something more before doing such projections.

[metalslimer]

Imo, MH4 will hardly sell 4.8mln or more. Clearly, Portable 3rd did not sell those copies out of the blue. Doubling 3G sales could be a good deal (3-3.5 mln units) but we have to know something more before doing such projections.

I think it depends on how long there is until the next game comes out. If MH4 is on the market for years by itself it will continue to sell, but obviously it will be cut off is say there is a 4G release sometime in 2014. Like you said though, it's really hard to tell as fast as things shift.

[Lord_Byron28]

Imo, MH4 will hardly sell 4.8mln or more. Clearly, Portable 3rd did not sell those copies out of the blue. Doubling 3G sales could be a good deal (3-3.5 mln units) but we have to know something more before doing such projections.

Yeah, I think the major first thing would to see how 3ds fares the rest of this year. Nsmb2, oni training, animal crossing, 3ds XL and holiday boost are too many wild variables to see where the 3ds ends up. On top of that I don't think we've seen all of the 3DS holiday lineup.

I will say that initially, I figured mhp3 would be the peak of the mh series but I'm not so sure now. If capcom allows adequate time for mh4 to breathe I think its possible it will exceed it. Personally, I think capcom should hold off on releasing mh4g or mh5 for a little bit after mh4 so they don't run the series into the ground regardless but who knows. Looking at the mh3g comparison graphs with the psp titles is one reason why I think its possible since it seems to be doing much better than 2g. Also, the fact that this time they will have a system with mario, pokemon and possibly dragon quest. On top of that mhp3 wasn't a completely new game it did have some rough basis on mhtri. Meanwhile mh4 is a completely new slate. While not likely since those level of sales are rare but I think it has a better chance than most games and better chances than I initially thought.

[BishopLamont]

On par or higher than ~4.8M + whatever the game has sold on PSN? I doubt that.

MH3G will do nearly 2M, I don't think its a stretch to say MH4 will do roughly double that. The 3DS userbase will be much more active than the PSP was when MH first appeared on the system, you can see that already with how MH3G is selling. Either way, I think if MH4 doesn't reach MH3rd numbers its due to the fanbase not the platform, if it doesn't do it on the 3DS, it wouldn't do it on the PSP or the Vita either.

Yeah, I think the major first thing would to see how 3ds fares the rest of this year. Nsmb2, oni training, animal crossing, 3ds XL and holiday boost are too many wild variables to see where the 3ds ends up. On top of that I don't think we've seen all of the 3DS holiday lineup. I will say that initially, I figured mhp3 would be the peak of the mh series but I'm not so sure now. If capcom allows adequate time for mh4 to breathe I think its possible it will exceed it. Personally, I think capcom should hold off on releasing mh4g or mh5 for a little bit after mh4 so they don't run the series into the ground regardless but who knows. Looking at the mh3g comparison graphs with the psp titles is one reason why I think its possible since it seems to be doing much better than 2g. Also, the fact that this time they will have a system with mario, pokemon and possibly dragon quest. On top of that mhp3 wasn't a completely new game it did have some rough basis on mhtri. Meanwhile mh4 is a completely new slate. While not likely since those level of sales are rare but I think it has a better chance than most games and better chances than I initially thought.

When I see MH3G selling nearly hand in hand to SM3DL and especially MK7, there's no doubt that MH4 will do big numbers, at least 4M. You don't get much bigger than Mario Kart.

Thinking about this holiday, I refuse to believe Animal Crossing will be the only big game and Pokemon/NSMB2 is too early to be major factors this holiday, there has to be another big title. Maybe a big third party title will blindside us like MH3G did last holiday?

DQ remake? Too early since DQM. FF remake? Possibly.

But then again Nintendo could trying to give the Wii U the spotlight this holiday.

I think people are forgetting just how rare a game selling 3+ million really is. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is the only Monster Hunter game to sell over 3m with its first release much less the 4.8m bar being setup. Just try to keep that in mind. :P

MH is established now though, and its still hot. We're also in the era where big properties do huge numbers, thanks to social features, better marketing and a bigger market. The potential is greater than ever. This isn't just any franchise we're talking about, its Monster Hunter. There's never been a third party game to single highhandedly revive a console and also help propel a console to market leader status from the announcement alone. Nothing has risen so high and so fast as MH has.

MHP3 is the only game to reach 3M because the franchise is still young, and Capcom released it faster than it could grow. MHP2 combined sold like 5M didn't it?

[donny2112]

I think people are forgetting just how rare a game selling 3+ million really is.
(since 1995)

Pokemon - 7 games (combined gens)
Dragon Quest - 4 games
Brain Training - 2 games
Final Fantasy - 2 games
Mario Kart - 2 games
NSMB - 2 games
Animal Crossing - 1 game
Monster Hunter - 1 game

+ Wii Fit and Tomodachi Collection

= 23 games


4+ million:

Pokemon - 5 games
NSMB - 2 games
Dragon Quest - 1 game
Brain Training - 1 game
Animal Crossing - 1 game
Monster Hunter - 1 game

= 11 games


Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is the only Monster Hunter game to sell over 3m with its first release much less the 4.8m bar being setup. Just try to keep that in mind. :P

[test_account]

Bridge titles are a matter of why not? Rather than why? Simple as that.

Sure, but my point is not why they excist, only that i dont think that they are always needed to achieve great sales for games that are huge.

test account: you repeat the same things too often, I know I tend to do that too, especially if someone doesn't get my point. Nothing against you, it was meant to be a joke kind of.

Its ok if it was a joke. I didnt mean to sound rude earlier. Sometimes i repeat myself to get my point across as you mention. But it can also be that i answer to different people. I dont know if they have read the previous things i've written, so it might be that i reply basically the same to different persons.

:)

DQVIII (PS2) > DQIX (DS) MHP3 (PSP) > MHtriG (3DS) All switching to competitor's platforms, which means bridge titles are needed. Especially since mainline DQ and MH Portables have been on non-Nintendo systems for so long, bridge titles sends a message that its changing. Pokemon and Mario doesn't need bridge titles because everyone knows they'll be on Nintendo consoles. Arguing about this isn't really worth it anyway, whether they're needed or not doesn't even matter, because bridge titles, spinoffs and such are a good way of milking the franchises, setting up the userbase for the mainline games is a positive side effect. Of course these big games don't need bridge titles to sell well, but they guarantee a safety net of an active existing fanbase on the platform, changing its sales from fantastic to monstrous. You can bet when Final Fantasy jump ships to 3DS/Wii U there'll be bridge titles too aka remakes.

DQIX did actually sell ~600k more than DQVIII.

I agree that it isnt too much to argue about because it comes more down to speculations. Personally i think that games that are huge can stand on their own without needing bridge titles. I think that MH4 is one of these games. But of course it didnt hurt to have TriG on the 3DS, so it could have been a smarter move than to make 3rdG on PSP instead. Impossible to know for sure.

I'm not so sure about bridge titles of Final Fantasy by the way. Maybe the 3DS will see some sort of remake or spinoff, but i dont expect to see anything like that on WiiU. I expect that it will get stuff like XIII-3 (if that comes out), or go directly to Final Fantasy 15.

Imo, this has always happened. There are platforms that are more likely to receive certain brand or genres given the history of predecessor. It's not something out of reality.

Sure, i didnt mean that it didnt happen. But unexpected things can happen, so everything isnt always guaranteed regarding software support. That is why i wouldnt recommend people to buy systems just based to probabilities of software support. I mean, it is nothing wrong doing this, but at least it is worth keeping in mind that unexpected things can happen.

Monster Hunter IS big, but it still has to prove its strength outside PSP. Dragon Quest went from Nintendo to Sony and then to Nintendo, from home to handheld, without losing its userbase, but actually increasing it. Monster Hunter became a phenomenon on PSP; it may also never reach the peak of Portable 3rd, regardless the platform. The choice to make a bridge-title makes more sense now.

Yeah, it isnt proven that much yet, but i dont see many reasons why it should do much worse on another system if it has the same criterias as the PSP. The 3DS has all of this, and even more (touch screen etc.).

Maximize sales now with a high risk to deteriorate the IP with too much waiting for a new chapter?

Only if the developement cycle had been greatly affected. MH4 might still have made it out for spring 2013 regardless. But who knows.

Mario is a brand that sells along with the console during its whole lifetime. Monster Hunter is not. Monster Hunter has to achieve certain sales within a year or so. They're totally different brands.

Different brands indeed, but i do think it is a fair comparison because both franchises are huge. People love this type of gameplay, so they know what they will get out of these games.

Sure, it's good to compare opinions.

Indeed :)

[Sammy Samusu]

*stuff* Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is the only Monster Hunter game to sell over 3m with its first release much less the 4.8m bar being setup. Just try to keep that in mind. :P

I was about to post this.

I think 3M for MH4 can be achieved, but I doubt a MH game will ever top 4.5/4.8M again.

[thehypocrite]

I was about to post this. I think 3M for MH4 can be achieved, but I doubt a MH game will ever top 4.5/4.8M again.

Of course, Capcom made sure that it will never happen again.

[cw_sasuke]

Of course, Capcom made sure that it will never happen again.

How.... ?

[BishopLamont]

How.... ?

Bet coz he thinks Capcom didn't release MH3G on PSP.

[Lord_Byron28]

Edit: sorry double post off my phone

[Brazil]

Bet coz he thinks Capcom didn't release MH3G on PSP.

Well, he's right. They didn't.

[thehypocrite]

Bet coz he thinks Capcom didn't release MH3G on PSP.

You win the fictional internet cookie. I think capcom should have done this:

MH3Gp for PSP/PSVita
MH3DSGenerations for 3ds.
????
Profit.

[Spiegel]

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is the only Monster Hunter game to sell over 3m with its first release much less the 4.8m bar being setup. Just try to keep that in mind. :P

You also should keep in mind that MH is a recent franchise and it is or was still growing until recently.
Iirc (it's been a long time and I could be wrong) you thought MHP3 would behave as MHP2G did and not sell as huge as it did with the initial release and yet it exploded in the first week.

The fact is that the last two MHP games on a console with a big and established MH fanbase sold >4M. Dropping to <3M would be a failure for Capcom and I can't see that happening.

And this is not a "lol 3DS, Capcom suxx, they should release MH on Sony systems" claim. If MH4 don't sell 3M easily it's all on Capcom for mismanaging the biggest third party series in Japan.

[BishopLamont]

Well, he's right. They didn't.

I know they didn't, I'm saying thats his reason.

You win the fictional internet cookie. I think capcom should have done this: MH3Gp for PSP/PSVita MH3DSGenerations for 3ds. ???? Profit.

Thank you.

MHP3 sales on PSP is already lower than what MHP2 was doing in the same time frame, I doubt your hypothetical MHP3g would have sold nearly as much in the end. Sure you could say its due to MH3G on the 3DS, but then wouldn't MH3G sales be higher if that was the case? Not to mention you're fracturing the fanbase, confusing them, and causing potential harm to MH4.

[cw_sasuke]

You win the fictional internet cookie. I think capcom should have done this: MH3Gp for PSP/PSVita MH3DSGenerations for 3ds. ???? Profit.

And how much would "MH3DSGenerations" or MH4 would have sold in your prediction ?

[Bruno MB]

I don't understand all this talk about Monster Hunter.

I need to buy a crystal ball too.

[thehypocrite]

And how much would "MH3DSGenerations" or MH4 would have sold in your prediction ?

Probably over a million in Japan. The PSP/vita selling 3+millions.

MH4? guessing. Depends on the platforms. If they make 2 versions (3ds & vita) over 4 millions total in Japan.

[Brazil]

I know they didn't, I'm saying thats his reason.

I know you're saying that's his reason. I'm making a joke based on your post's wording to break the ice.

[Lord_Byron28]

Thinking about this holiday, I refuse to believe Animal Crossing will be the only big game and Pokemon/NSMB2 is too early to be major factors this holiday, there has to be another big title. Maybe a big third party title will blindside us like MH3G did last holiday? DQ remake? Too early since DQM. FF remake? Possibly. But then again Nintendo could trying to give the Wii U the spotlight this holiday.

I think there may be some 3rd party titles that pop up but I don't see anything close to mh3g level being anounced. For the holidays it appears there is paper mario, luigi's mansion and animal crossing. Given nintendos dev team and output this year I think this is likely all that will be released other than maybe a surprise digital title. Also, given nintendos track record, I'm more than sure they think luigis mansion/paper mario(does anyone have sales data for previous titles in these franchises) are good for the hardcore meanwhile animal crossing can be their big casual title. However, I think there may be a few nice 3rd party titles. Only notable 3rd party title I can think anounced for the holidays is project xzone in october.

Slightly off topic but given nintendos track record, their handling of animal crossing since wild world has been apalling. City folk took so long with development and it was pretty lackluster. I'm curious given again how abnormally long ac3ds has taken to develop if they've permanently damaged the series. Given wild worlds success its amazing how collosal of a mess up nintendo did with it. Although it may just be the ac fanbase prefers handheld iterations over console iterations like pokemon/monster hunter.

You win the fictional internet cookie. I think capcom should have done this: MH3Gp for PSP/PSVita MH3DSGenerations for 3ds. ???? Profit.

I think that would fracture the fanbase and while it would look good. I think it would damage the series long term stability. It also sends a mixed message as to where the next mainline title will go.

You also should keep in mind that MH is a recent franchise and it is or was still growing until recently. Iirc (it's been a long time and I could be wrong) you thought MHP3 would behave as MHP2G did and not sell as huge as it did with the initial release and yet it exploded in the first week. The fact is that the last two MHP games on a console with a big and established MH fanbase sold >4M. Dropping to <3M would be a failure for Capcom and I can't see that happening. And this is not a "lol 3DS, Capcom suxx, they should release MH on Sony systems" claim. If MH4 don't sell 3M easily it's all on Capcom for mismanaging the biggest third party series in Japan.

I think if capcom manages this series well it could easily be the next dragon quest/pokemon in the long run. As for platform choice, I don't see any other really viable choice for them to have gone for mh4. Vita is dead in the water and the consoles are winding down(wii is dead in the water) and are sluggish on top of the fact that mh fans haven't taken as well to the console iterations.

[cw_sasuke]

Probably over a million in Japan. The PSP/vita selling 3+millions. MH4? guessing. Depends on the platforms. If they make 2 versions (3ds & vita) over 4 millions total in Japan.

I dont think fragmenting the userbase would be such a wise decision, after all expecting it to sell more just because its on two plattforms isnt that likely either. So far i think Capcom handled the MH situation quite right and made it clear as soon as possible that the upcoming titles will be on 3DS. They will have release 2 MH titles on the system in a little more than two years afters it launch, which will have probably sold + 5 million copies together. This is without concluding a potential MH 4 console release, which probably will at least add another million (Ps3/WiiU).

If Pokemon and DQ can do great numbers on a single device, i dont see how Capcom made the wrong decision with MH.

[metalslimer]

Im sure this has been rehashed to death in these topics, but since I'm new here I have to say that making a portable coop series on two platforms that cannot play together has always seemed like the stupidest way to kill off a successful series like Monster Hunter. And please don't try and use the MH Frontier or Wii as an example of the series being on multiple systems because it's not the same at all. I mean this is an extreme analogy but it would be like Nintendo releasing Pokemon Black on one system and White on the other system where the two couldn't trade pokemon and battle.

If they were going to make MHP3rdG a PSP game than they would had to put the mainline series on Vita as to not split the base since they can play cooperatively multiplayer. Instead Capcom made the best financial decision available to them to release on the successor to the most successful Japanese system of all time.

Also as for titles selling 3 million being rare it would be a huge disaster if MH went from being the most successful non Pokemon/Mario series to sub 3 million in a single go. I don't see why Monster Hunter should have some huge breakdown when something like Pokemon has proved its success for years and I see nothing wrong with the management of MH so far that says it should experience such a drop.

[Lord_Byron28]

Im sure this has been rehashed to death in these topics, but since I'm new here I have to say that making a portable coop series on two platforms that cannot play together has always seemed like the stupidest way to kill off a successful series like Monster Hunter. And please don't try and use the MH Frontier or Wii as an example of the series being on multiple systems because it's not the same at all. I mean this is an extreme analogy but it would be like Nintendo releasing Pokemon Black on one system and White on the other system where the two couldn't trade pokemon and battle. If they were going to make MHP3rdG a PSP game than they would had to put the mainline series on Vita as to not split the base since they can play cooperatively multiplayer. Instead Capcom made the best financial decision available to them to release on the successor to the most successful Japanese system of all time.

I think after mhtri, capcom will likely keep the mainline titles on handhelds. Spin offs such as the frontier series can be released on consoles but I think main mh games will remain on portables from now on.

[metalslimer]

I think after mhtri, capcom will likely keep the mainline titles on handhelds. Spin offs such as the frontier series can be released on consoles but I think main mh games will remain on portables from now on.

It makes complete sense. The first two titles were on the PS2 and were before the series even blew up, and the third title was used to keep costs low and have a system possible of reusing assets for the PSP version (and of course probably some deals with Nintendo). There is seriously no reason to keep making console versions anymore unless they really want to target the west with the franchise (which after Dragon's Dogma's western flop I doubt).

[thehypocrite]

I dont think fragmenting the userbase would be such a wise decision, after all expecting it to sell more just because its on two plattforms isnt that likely either. So far i think Capcom handled the MH situation quite right and made it clear as soon as possible that the upcoming titles will be on 3DS. They will have release 2 MH titles on the system in a little more than two years afters it launch, which will have probably sold + 5 million copies together. This is without concluding a potential MH 4 console release, which probably will at least add another million (Ps3/WiiU). If Pokemon and DQ can do great numbers on a single device, i dont see how Capcom made the wrong decision with MH.

I don't think doing that is splitting the user base at all. Using your argument it could be said that they did just that by putting the game on 3ds when they cannot play along with the millions that have it on PSP. They can offer different versions and experiences depending on the platform. What they need to stop doing is having the main installments on consoles. That's just stupid.

Im sure this has been rehashed to death in these topics, but since I'm new here I have to say that making a portable coop series on two platforms that cannot play together has always seemed like the stupidest way to kill off a successful series like Monster Hunter. And please don't try and use the MH Frontier or Wii as an example of the series being on multiple systems because it's not the same at all. I mean this is an extreme analogy but it would be like Nintendo releasing Pokemon Black on one system and White on the other system where the two couldn't trade pokemon and battle. If they were going to make MHP3rdG a PSP game than they would had to put the mainline series on Vita as to not split the base since they can play cooperatively multiplayer. Instead Capcom made the best financial decision available to them to release on the successor to the most successful Japanese system of all time. Also as for titles selling 3 million being rare it would be a huge disaster if MH went from being the most successful non Pokemon/Mario series to sub 3 million in a single go. I don't see why Monster Hunter should have some huge breakdown when something like Pokemon has proved its success for years and I see nothing wrong with the management of MH so far that says it should experience such a drop.

The fact that the 3ds is the successor of the ds doesn't guarantee a bigger success for capcom. Heck having their marquee brand on a lower spec ed machine than other available and competing platforms, leave them open for the competition to push them out as the go to brand for that type of experiences. That's a risk they are taking by not having the game on PSvita, that can bite them in the ass.

[test_account]

I don't understand all this talk about Monster Hunter. I need to buy a crystal ball too.

Dont you have one? I've seen you do predictions before, this is nothing different :)

[metalslimer]

The fact that the 3ds is the successor of the ds doesn't guarantee a bigger success for capcom. Heck having their marquee brand on a lower spec ed machine than other available and competing platforms, leave them open for the competition to push them out as the go to brand for that type of experiences. That's a risk they are taking by not having the game on PSvita, that can bite them in the ass

Oh man is this serious? Do you really think the Japanese handheld market cares about specs? Is there something inherent in that franchise that makes it need to have the best specs possible to succeed? As far as I can tell Dragon Quest 9 was the best selling game in the series and came in on the lowest spec machine last generation. No PSP RPG even came close. Also why would putting the game on Vita (a platform selling underwhelming numbers at best) help them in any way possible? I thought this generation had taught us that specs mean very little when it comes to how a franchise sells.

Using your argument it could be said that they did just that by putting the game on 3ds when they cannot play along with the millions that have it on PSP.

They had to split the base at some point unless you are advocating making PSP games forever.

[Spiegel]

Don't bring the bad sales of Vita to the conversation because if we go into conjetures (with MHP3G Vita released and MH4 announced) we would be looking at a completely different landscape for the system.

MH is on 3DS and it's not worth discussing other possibilities.

[gogogow]

I don't think doing that is splitting the user base at all. Using your argument it could be said that they did just that by putting the game on 3ds when they cannot play along with the millions that have it on PSP. They can offer different versions and experiences depending on the platform. What they need to stop doing is having the main installments on consoles. That's just stupid. The fact that the 3ds is the successor of the ds doesn't guarantee a bigger success for capcom. Heck having their marquee brand on a lower spec ed machine than other available and competing platforms, leave them open for the competition to push them out as the go to brand for that type of experiences. That's a risk they are taking by not having the game on PSvita, that can bite them in the ass.

They can't keep putting MH on the PSP till infinity. And yet you complain that 3DS is low spec....They would have to move the franchise to another platform and they chose the 3DS, not like there's any other choice left for them.

And there's no such thing as "main installments". Have you played MH? MH/MH2ndG/MHTriG/MHTri/MHP3rd, they all play the same. It's not DQI-IX vs. DQM/Joker etc.. They just named them differently because they were on different platforms.

[Dash Kappei]

Probably over a million in Japan. The PSP/vita selling 3+millions. MH4? guessing. Depends on the platforms. If they make 2 versions (3ds & vita) over 4 millions total in Japan.

Releasing MH4 also on Vita would net them 0 gain, besides the money lost on development.
Why the hell would they do that?

[donny2112]

Iirc (it's been a long time and I could be wrong) you thought MHP3 would behave as MHP2G did and not sell as huge as it did with the initial release and yet it exploded in the first week.

I don't specifically recall, but I wouldn't be surprised if I thought that. MHP3rd was just shocking (to me) how much it sold (i.e. > 4m) compared to the rest of the series.

Dropping to <3M would be a failure for Capcom and I can't see that happening.

> 3m seems very likely. It just seemed like with the 4.8m number being tossed around that anything less would be seen as disappointing. 4.8m is a huge, huge number for sales, so just didn't want that to get lost in the expectation talk. :)

[Man God]

4 Million is on the high side of expectations but is probably doable with a best release.

[airmangataosenai]

Oh man is this serious? Do you really think the Japanese handheld market cares about specs? Is there something inherent in that franchise that makes it need to have the best specs possible to succeed? As far as I can tell Dragon Quest 9 was the best selling game in the series and came in on the lowest spec machine last generation. No PSP RPG even came close. Also why would putting the game on Vita (a platform selling underwhelming numbers at best) help them in any way possible? I thought this generation had taught us that specs mean very little when it comes to how a franchise sells.

Huh? MHP3 outsold DQIX by a fairly substantial margin even before it received a budget re-release. Meanwhile Monster Hunter 3rd is languishing around 1.5 million and will probably max out with releases max around 1.8 million, behind even Final Fantasy XIII (Which at this time had to deal with a much smaller userbase on the PS3). You can point to their original low target sales if you want but barely surpassing those absurdly low expectations is still pretty bad when you consider that less than 1 out of every 3 fans of the previous game have taken the plunge. 2/3 of a userbase abandoning or at minimum currently ignoring a franchise is staggering when you consider how loyal they were when the franchise was on PSP.

[Truth101]

I see the Carnival of Stupid is in town.

[9thwonder]

Releasing MH4 also on Vita would net them 0 gain, besides the money lost on development. Why the hell would they do that?

Uuuuuummmm what?

[schuelma]

What is everyone arguing about?

[airmangataosenai]

I see the Carnival of Stupid is in town.

Seems so.

[electroplankton]

Duckrolling, it's hard to say how Monster Hunter 4 will be able to sell. We need whether there will be other entry in the series on 3DS (an International Version of 3G for example) or on other platforms (Portable 3rd G on Vita), whether 3DS will get some spin-off to strengthen the fanbase, whether there will be bundle, promotion, etc. etc.

[gogogow]

Huh? MHP3 outsold DQIX by a fairly substantial margin

MH is not an RPG.

[supersergioconte]

Do you guys believe the recent announcement of mh's release date means no mh on vita????

i thougth during tokyo gameshow capcom would announce somethin mh related for vita for the holiday season but the spring release of mh4 ...

[thehypocrite]

Oh man is this serious? Do you really think the Japanese handheld market cares about specs? Is there something inherent in that franchise that makes it need to have the best specs possible to succeed? As far as I can tell Dragon Quest 9 was the best selling game in the series and came in on the lowest spec machine last generation. No PSP RPG even came close. Also why would putting the game on Vita (a platform selling underwhelming numbers at best) help them in any way possible? I thought this generation had taught us that specs mean very little when it comes to how a franchise sells. They had to split the base at some point unless you are advocating making PSP games forever.

So you are OK with splitting the user base if it goes to 3ds but not the other way around, you're making no effort to hide your bias.

They can't keep putting MH on the PSP till infinity. And yet you complain that 3DS is low spec....They would have to move the franchise to another platform and they chose the 3DS, not like there's any other choice left for them. And there's no such thing as "main installments". Have you played MH? MH/MH2ndG/MHTriG/MHTri/MHP3rd, they all play the same. It's not DQI-IX vs. DQM/Joker etc.. They just named them differently because they were on different platforms.

Right cause MH has no effect in moving hardware, oh wait PSP proves you're wrong.

Releasing MH4 also on Vita would net them 0 gain, besides the money lost on development. Why the hell would they do that?

Wow you've made me laugh, thanks for that.

[Magicpaint]

Huh? MHP3 outsold DQIX by a fairly substantial margin even before it received a budget re-release. Meanwhile Monster Hunter 3rd is languishing around 1.5 million and will probably max out with releases max around 1.8 million, behind even Final Fantasy XIII (Which at this time had to deal with a much smaller userbase on the PS3). You can point to their original low target sales if you want but barely surpassing those absurdly low expectations is still pretty bad when you consider that less than 1 out of every 3 fans of the previous game have taken the plunge. 2/3 of a userbase abandoning or at minimum currently ignoring a franchise is staggering when you consider how loyal they were when the franchise was on PSP.

MHP3 is not an RPG.

Also your post is a very elaborate way of suggesting that MHTriG = bomba.

[metalslimer]

Huh? MHP3 outsold DQIX by a fairly substantial margin even before it received a budget re-release.

Um...since when did Monster Hunter become an RPG. And did you really just say its terrible that MH hasn't sold more than it has based on MHTri selling 1.5 million to the current userbase? Did you expect the game to reach a greater 50% attach ratio?

So you are OK with splitting the user base if it goes to 3ds but not the other way around, you're making no effort to hide your bias.

You're twisting my words completely. I only said that if they were going to put a game on a new system they should stick with that system. They had to split the base at some point. If it was going to be on Vita than they shouldn't make any 3DS games. If anything the talk of higher spec systems hurting the series somehow shows a bias.

Don't bring the bad sales of Vita to the conversation because if we go into conjetures (with MHP3G Vita released and MH4 announced) we would be looking at a completely different landscape for the system.

This is true, but we are talking about the series being on both platforms. Would MH be as much of a platform changer already on another system? Maybe, but like you said this whole platform discussion is pretty meaningless at this point.

[Chunky]

Um...since when did Monster Hunter become an RPG. And did you really just say its terrible that MH hasn't sold more than it has based on MHTri selling 1.5 million to the current userbase? Did you expect the game to reach a greater 50% attach ratio?

This, plus the fact that 90% of the content was in the previous two games.

[KillerTravis]

You win the fictional internet cookie. I think capcom should have done this: MH3Gp for PSP/PSVita MH3DSGenerations for 3ds. ???? Profit.

You do know Monster Hunter 3G is basically Portable 3rd but with water levels and some extras right? It would've never sold as much as you think. In fact, I'm surprised it sold that well on 3DS.