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Rumor: Monster Hunter Franchise "Handheld" Exclusive for 3 Years on 3DS

ugoo18

Member
The 3DS didn't sell as poorly as the Wii U is at the moment. There's definitely a move away from consoles in Japan, but I think the time to save the Vita is well passed anyway. And pretty soon retailers will start making the decision for Sony so far as its survival, as some have already. (with reports of department stores in smaller towns/cities getting rid of their Vita section)

Are there actual links saying that about department stores and the Vita because i haven't seen any news about that on GAF or any other gaming site i've visited.
 

Erethian

Member
Are there actual links saying that about department stores and the Vita because i haven't seen any news about that on GAF or any other gaming site i've visited.

It's only anecdotal reports at the moment from posters in the Media Create thread. The specific retail chains were Aeon and Ito Yokado, and there's no indication yet whether it's widespread or just in smaller cities where demand can't justify the retail space. But it's a worrying sign however you look at it.
 
Killing Vita off without a proper attempt to revive could also send a bad message to third parties. While Sega and Sony are different companies, Sega lost a lot of good will with third parties after the way they treated the Saturn. The few third parties still investing in Vita likely wouldn't be too pleased if Sony officially abandoned the device before they were done with it.

There's also another thing at play here. It's becoming increasingly apparent that Japan doesn't want home consoles any more. The PS3, and Wii U's performance in Japan thus far indicates that. So if Sony wants the PlayStation brand to still remain relevant in their home country Vita is going to have to start living up to its name, and show some signs of life.

With all of that said, Vita is probably one of, if not the cheapest PlayStation Sony has made. It uses off the shelf materials rather than being built from years of expensive proprietary Sony R&D like the PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS3 were. Having not invested billions into the platform means Sony can cut their losses and not look entirely bad.

But what damage would ex-Vita supporters do to Sony's future prospects?

If the Vita fails, the large Japanese publishers will have likely moved onto the PS4 and maintained congenial relations with Sony (they can't afford to make their big-budget titles exclusive to one platform). As will have all of the major Western publishers who have supported the Vita (for the same reason--for budget reasons). It seems like the only support that Sony would permanently lose is from niche Japanese developers like Gust. And I'm not sure those companies would have decided to support the PS4 anyway.
 

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
The 3DS didn't sell as poorly as the Wii U is at the moment. There's definitely a move away from consoles in Japan, but I think the time to save the Vita is well passed anyway. And pretty soon retailers will start making the decision for Sony so far as its survival, as some have already. (with reports of department stores in smaller towns/cities getting rid of their Vita section)

Its almost as if the retailers doesn't care at this point of time. I wonder how does a Sony executive feels when he walk into a store and see these.

QfDWtMpl.jpg
Xbb3vENl.jpg
 
It's only anecdotal reports at the moment from posters in the Media Create thread. The specific retail chains were Aeon and Ito Yokado, and there's no indication yet whether it's widespread or just in smaller cities where demand can't justify the retail space. But it's a worrying sign however you look at it.


1328464145916.gif


Not true. Stop using anecdotal evidence to substantiate claims.
 

Takao

Banned
But what damage would ex-Vita supporters do to Sony's future prospects?

If the Vita fails, the large Japanese publishers will have likely moved onto the PS4 and maintained congenial relations with Sony (they can't afford to make their big-budget titles exclusive to one platform). As will have all of the major Western publishers who have supported the Vita (for the same reason--for budget reasons). It seems like the only support that Sony would permanently lose is from niche Japanese developers like Gust. And I'm not sure those companies would have decided to support the PS4 anyway.

Bandai Namco's various PS3/Vita games could've easily been PS3/Wii U but aren't. They are showing a tiny bit of faith (they are ports after all, so it's not exactly much faith) that Sony isn't going to cut and run. Bamco has a bunch of franchises that appeal internationally, but they have more than don't. They could take some of those "only relevant in Japan" IPs and go elsewhere instead of bringing them to PS4.
 

sense

Member
i personally think sony released the vita knowing very well it was going to be an uphill battle with the boom of the smartphone market. i am fairly confident they are in this for the long run. this is almost like the perfect handheld and they could just support this for like 6 -7 years without having to release another one. what else can they add in another handheld besides better graphics? everything is covered with this one. you are going to see slow growth and i won't be surprised if monster hunter is announced for vita after 4 releases for 3ds. as the price goes down more and more people will adopt it.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Bandai Namco's various PS3/Vita games could've easily been PS3/Wii U but aren't. They are showing a tiny bit of faith (they are ports after all, so it's not exactly much faith) that Sony isn't going to cut and run. Bamco has a bunch of franchises that appeal internationally, but they have more than don't. They could take some of those "only relevant in Japan" IPs and go elsewhere instead of bringing them to PS4.

Bandai/Namco has shown an incredible amount of faith in Sony so far with it's continued Vita support which I daresay is better than their 3DS support at the moment.

However that's just Scamco being Scamco with their scattershot release plans.
 
Monster Hunter is my most anticipated game so far this year. I can't wait. While the Vita is certainly struggling, it could pull up. I don't think it'll get Monster Hunter, but I would personally buy one for Phantasy Star Online 2 alone. If it was released in North America of course.
 

Erethian

Member
Many on here from japan have said things such as this as well as picture evidence. Even the mods have accepted and have discussed this

It's also not being put further as some nationwide, all-encompassing trend. At least in terms of stores removing their Vita sections entirely; the Vita section being reduced, or pushed to the back of the store where there is less foot traffic, is definitely happening nationwide. Just as it does with all systems that put up horrible sales numbers over an extended period of time.

Unless a company does something like pay retailers to continue giving a failing system prominent retail space.
 
Vita is one of the devices Kaz Hirai likely had a huge hand in. He's also said that gaming is one of the pillars of his plans for Sony. Conceding the entire dedicated handheld gaming market to Nintendo would go against that.

It would also hurt Nintendo in the long run. The market for dedicated gaming portables has shrinked considerably. Even if Vita isn't doing satisfactory numbers now, it still brings in new customers to a market that is in heavy decline.

I personally think that Sony is planning on keeping the Vita around for some time, maybe even for the launch of the 3DS successor. Going by expectations, I'd expect the next Nintendo Handheld to be similar in processing power to the Vita, maybe a bit better (not much) That is if Nintendo doesn't merge Handheld with consoles in the next round.

I am disappointed by Vitas sales. I'm not hugely excited about it, but being a Dreamcast owner I know how frustrating it is to see an amazing piece of hardware fail and it's parent company doing nothing about it... one could say the same thing about WiiU, but I'll give it a few months before calling anything.
 
.. one could say the same thing about WiiU, but I'll give it a few months before calling anything.
Nintendo never let any of their Hardware fails,
The DS is a miniature 64 with a touch screen
The Wii is two GC combined the the magic of scotch
The 3DS is VirtualBoy's Vandeta

Failure means that they'll face the wrath of Yamauchi.
 

maverick40

Junior Member
this is on igns vita page:

A Japanese source gave us the following translation of Game Lab’s blurb:

The reason for the delay of the 3DS game Monster Hunter 4 isn’t to spend more time to improve the game’s quality: it appears that they’re considering a simultaneous release on PS Vita. Now, Sony is added to the mix in addition to Nintendo to discussing this point with Capcom.
********** further hypothesizes “that Monster Hunter 4 might hit another platform.” Why? Because Christian Svensson, an executive at Capcom, was quoted as evasively saying, in part:

“For [Monster Hunter 4], we haven’t announced a release of that title in the West at this time nor have we discussed any platforms beyond 3DS. You’ll note [Monster Hunter 4] has moved its release date in Japan with a single SKU to later than originally announced. That team is laser focused on getting done what needs to happen to make that a fantastic from the ground up 3DS Monster Hunting experience. As such, any other discussion on this topic at this time at this point is moot.”

source
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
this is on igns vita page:

A Japanese source gave us the following translation of Game Lab’s blurb:

The reason for the delay of the 3DS game Monster Hunter 4 isn’t to spend more time to improve the game’s quality: it appears that they’re considering a simultaneous release on PS Vita. Now, Sony is added to the mix in addition to Nintendo to discussing this point with Capcom.
********** further hypothesizes “that Monster Hunter 4 might hit another platform.” Why? Because Christian Svensson, an executive at Capcom, was quoted as evasively saying, in part:

“For [Monster Hunter 4], we haven’t announced a release of that title in the West at this time nor have we discussed any platforms beyond 3DS. You’ll note [Monster Hunter 4] has moved its release date in Japan with a single SKU to later than originally announced. That team is laser focused on getting done what needs to happen to make that a fantastic from the ground up 3DS Monster Hunting experience. As such, any other discussion on this topic at this time at this point is moot.”

source

He could be talking about the wii u. Also gameslab isn't a particularily trusted source... We've been through this song and dance several times. The deader the Vita became thye less likely it would occur.
 
I'd love the wrath of Yamauchi to actually still exist.
The wrath still exists and to make sure it's eternal Yamauchi ordered that the Nintendo's new building contains a secret Yamauchi Sphinx sculpture in a torture room, In one of the Nintendo directs Iwata's hair appeared to be white and messed up because he was filming close to the sculpture room.
 
Nintendo never let any of their Hardware fails,
The DS is a miniature 64 with a touch screen
The Wii is two GC combined the the magic of scotch
The 3DS is VirtualBoy's Vandeta

Failure means that they'll face the wrath of Yamauchi.

That's why I'm not calling it now. Nintendo has proven that they can pull a console from irrelevancy to at least mediocrity (Gamecube, 3DS)
Sony did the same for the PS3, which was a total clusterfuck at launch. The PS brand only recently kicked into effect to bring people to the PS3, it was Sonys insane push of exclusive titles to bring the PS3 back on track prior to that.

I do hope they'll put the same effort into the Vita at some point.
 

maverick40

Junior Member
That's why I'm not calling it now. Nintendo has proven that they can pull a console from irrelevancy to at least mediocrity (Gamecube, 3DS)
Sony did the same for the PS3, which was a total clusterfuck at launch. The PS brand only recently kicked into effect to bring people to the PS3, it was Sonys insane push of exclusive titles to bring the PS3 back on track prior to that.

I do hope they'll put the same effort into the Vita at some point.

with what studios though? The majority of sonys 1st party studios are making games for the ps4
 

War Peaceman

You're a big guy.
While I'd question whether the rumour is accurate, it will likely be that case that Monster Hunter is handheld exclusive for the next three years anyway. There just isn't a reason to make a Vita version. It would be more expensive (unless they put no effort into it), have a significantly smaller audience, fragment the user base and just be all round silly.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Change my statement Vita doesn't even have spin offs.
So it's a contract about not putting MonHun on Vita rather than having it exclusive on 3DS or not on Sony platforms, kay, guess you can expect it on PS3 to at least remote play then.
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
So it's a contract about not putting MonHun on Vita rather than having it exclusive on 3DS or not on Sony platforms, kay, guess you can expect it on PS3 to at least remote play then.

Neh I don't think there's a contract. I think Capcom simply decided not to any MH on the Vita's a launch, and after seeing the sales didn't even bother to put spinoffs on it.
 

BriBri

Member
The wrath still exists and to make sure it's eternal Yamauchi ordered that the Nintendo's new building contains a secret Yamauchi Sphinx sculpture in a torture room, In one of the Nintendo directs Iwata's hair appeared to be white and messed up because he was filming close to the sculpture room.
In a world filled with depressing news, you at least made me chuckle.

I'm guessing Monster Hunter 4 will come out for the Wii U since the Japanese version did reasonably (obviously not exceptionally, but factoring in the install base and that the game isn't new) and since Nintendo are doing the hard work for the west.
 

Oersted

Member
Capcom vs anonymous gamelab source:

“Other than what we’ve already announced, we don’t have anything that we’re planning,” said Tsujimoto, asked if Monster Hunter 4 might appear on any other console besides the 3DS.
The way that we work with Monster Hunter games is that we see them as single entities, so we don’t develop for one platform and then think about porting it to another platform. The situation with the 3DS and the Wii U is that we wanted people to play this game a lot, so that’s why we have taken this [multi-platform] approach with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. But it doesn’t mean we’ll do that with new entries.”



“The series did start out on Sony platforms, but it’s just realistic to think that it can’t continue on one platform forever,” says Tsujimoto. “With Monster Hunter 4, it actually just came down to timing - we were developing a new Monster Hunter and the 3DS hardware had just come out, so we figured it was probably the best platform for us to develop it on. You have two screens, with action on top and menus on the bottom, and there’s the 3D view as well. It just made sense to put it onto 3DS.
 

Mr Swine

Banned
Bandai/Namco has shown an incredible amount of faith in Sony so far with it's continued Vita support which I daresay is better than their 3DS support at the moment.

However that's just Scamco being Scamco with their scattershot release plans.

Has any Bandi/Namco game sold as much as their 3DS games that keep selling each week?

i personally think sony released the vita knowing very well it was going to be an uphill battle with the boom of the smartphone market. i am fairly confident they are in this for the long run. this is almost like the perfect handheld and they could just support this for like 6 -7 years without having to release another one. what else can they add in another handheld besides better graphics? everything is covered with this one. you are going to see slow growth and i won't be surprised if monster hunter is announced for vita after 4 releases for 3ds. as the price goes down more and more people will adopt it.

That would be fine and dandy if Vita was selling half as good or at least on par with the 3DS. It isn't doing that and even if Sony slashes the price it will be only for the short term and not the long term as it was for the 3DS
 
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