Monster-Hunter-Tri
Latest
Monster Hunter Tri servers go down April 30
The Monster Hunteth, and the monster taketh away. On April 30, just over three years after the game's release, the online multiplayer servers for Monster Hunter Tri on Wii will be disabled.Capcom's hope is that the people still playing the action RPG on Wii will migrate to Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on Wii U and/or 3DS, of course. That comes out March 19, giving you a safe, six-week overlap period to secure your hunting fix.
Nintendo 3DS circle pad attachment coming to Japan on Dec. 10
In the midst of revealing a new color for its latest handheld, the 3DS, Nintendo also let slip some other interesting information during its pre-Tokyo Game Show presser this afternoon in Japan. For one, the bizarro second analog nub will be arriving at Japanese retailers starting this December 10, and it'll run customers ¥1500 ($19.50). Moreover, the Japenese console manufacturer revealed several titles that'll support the attachment, kicking off with Monster Hunter Tri G on Dec. 10th. Following Monster Hunter comes Biohazard Revelations (Resident Evil: Revelations outside of Japan), Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble, Dynasty Warriors VS, and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. And finally, the "Slidepad" will require a single AAA battery for use, which indicates to us that it won't bolster the battery of the 3DS it's attached to. We're making sad faces as hard as we can right now.
Monster Hunter Tri players have spent millions of hours hunting monsters
Gaming and caffeinated beverage-centric news site Coffee With Games has once again compiled a number of statistics for Monster Hunter Tri, Capcom's Wii-based online action-RPG -- which celebrated its first birthday last week. The results are, well, startling: Out of nearly 70,000 players who have reported playing the game through Wii's Nintendo Channel, an astonishing 6,313,120 total hours of play time have been logged. That's an average of 90 hours and 25 minutes for each reported player. Of course, that figure's predicated on the idea that those 6.3 million hours are spread evenly among the player base. There's a good chance that a majority of the crowd played the game for a much more modest amount of time, while about 500 people have played the game unceasingly for the 8,800 or so hours that the game's been out. Oh, man. We accidentally bummed ourselves out, there.
Monster Hunter Tri with Classic Controller Pro bundle back at retail
If you've been waiting to jump on the Monster Hunter Tri bandwagon or are just looking for an excuse to pick up a sexy black Classic Controller Pro, this post is for you. Capcom has announced that the Monster Hunter Tri / Classic Controller Pro pack is now back in stock at retail -- and with a cheaper suggested price of $50. Even better, Amazon is currently offering the bundle for just $40. That's a brand new controller and more hours of gameplay than you can shake a giant sword at for just two Jacksons.
Monster Hunter Tri has occupied over 50 hours per player on average
Monster Hunter Tri has already sucked away over a million hours of gameplay time from users, according to stats from the Nintendo Channel. In just 63 days from release, the monster hunting epic stole a full million hours from users who reported logging in to the game over 330,000 times. The high number isn't necessarily a record breaker (Super Smash Bros. has garnered 100 times that, and players have spent 17 billion hours on Xbox Live), but where Monster Hunter Tri stands out is the per player duration: players of the game have spent an average of 52 hours in the game so far. By comparison, Super Mario Galaxy 2 has eaten up 1.8 million hours of free time over 710k times, but the average time played there is about 20 hours -- more players, less time each. There are only four games ahead of Monster Hunter Tri in terms of played-per-person time, and all of them have been out for much longer. In other words, monsters aren't the only thing being hunted in this game -- free time had better watch its back as well.
Nintendo Australia drops Wii price
Nintendo of Australia is dropping prices left and right! That is, if you imagine a DSi on the left and a Wii on the right. The company announced a substantial price drop for the Wii console today, from its original AU $399.95 (US $369) down to AU $299.95 (US $277). The new price is still painfully expensive compared to other regions, but it's better. And EBGames is sweetening the deal by throwing in The Bigs 2 and Overlord: Dark Legend. The price drop is taking place concurrently with the release of Monster Hunter Tri, making Capcom's ARPG essentially the unofficial "launch" game for the new, cheaper Wii. If you buy that and the black Wii, it's sort of like you bought a bundle! [Thanks, Alejandro]
Review: Monster Hunter Tri
There was a time, back in the late '90s, when geeks and doe-eyed adolescents would accept anything from Japan with open arms. It was a time when DragonBall Z, Final Fantasy and Hello Kitty were in their prime, and a time when Japan-crazy teens would pay top-dollar for Pocky, just so that they could experience a sliver of the culture. Times have changed, and "Big in Japan" is not the game-selling bullet point that it used to be. A perfect example is the Monster Hunter franchise, which, despite its runaway success in Japan, has never really taken off in the West. Nevertheless, its latest title, Monster Hunter Tri, has piqued the interests of many American Wii owners asking the age old question: "Can I start with the new game, or do I need to go back and play the first two?" Luckily for newcomers, there is almost no story to the Monster Hunter franchise, so you can throw any trepidation about prior plot points out the window. The games act more as a simulation of the day-to-day life of an average, dinosaur-slaying wage-earner, trying to make a living by taking whatever temp jobs he can get. Tri gives hunters a little more motivation than previous titles, by putting players in charge of restoring a fishing village that has been ravaged by earthquakes and sea monsters. From time to time, you might check in with villagers or deliver some resources to fix up the farm, but that is about as deep as the story ever gets. Don't expect for a villager to recall something that happened in Monster Hunter 2, because nothing happened back then, either. %Gallery-86439%
Monster Hunter Tri guide introduces a monster of questionable huntability
Monster Hunter Tri is dangerous business. So dangerous, in fact, that Capcom felt the need to warn us about some of the harder-to-hunt monsters. In the last entry in its "Dangerous Guide to Monster Hunting," the publisher introduces the "Alatreon," which sounds like something that should only be taken on by the craziest, death-wishingest of hunters. After the break, you can see footage of the dragon tearing around a lava pit, where it apparently lives. At Capcom-Unity, you can read all about how these things " mercilessly tear apart whoever touches their sharp scales," and are so powerful that "their actions can affect the very weather." Okay, now who's ready to go swing a sword at one of these? The post also features links to the other entries in the "Dangerous Guide," so you can read up on the other creatures you'd have to be a reckless idiot to fight.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Monster Hunter Tri launch
This week on the Nintendo Channel, the usual Nintendo Week program does something a bit different and covers the Monster Hunter Tri launch at New York City's Nintendo World Store. Director Kaname Fujioka and producer Ryozo Tsujimoto were on hand to chat and sign posters and attendees could even throw down in a tournament. If the video on the Nintendo Channel is any indication, the event was a great success. Head past the break for the full list of this week's content.
Ubisoft holds top UK sales spot with Conviction
Despite sales for Splinter Cell: Conviction and Just Dance slipping 46 and 31 percent, respectively, the two Ubisoft titles maintained their dominant positions on the UK all-formats chart for a second week in a row. The top three didn't shift at all, as the PS3 and PC release of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City last week helped to keep it in third. Wii Fit Plus stepped up a spot to work out at fourth, while Monster Hunter Tri was stuffed and mounted in fifth place. According to Chart-Track, Tri is the most successful launch the franchise has seen on the isles. The only other new title on the chart last week was Dead to Rights: Retribution, which broke and entered at No. 22. Check out the complete UK top 10 after the break. Source – Ubisoft are No1 and No2 for second week [GFK Chart-Track] Source – Latest UK Software Charts [GFK Chart-Track]
Monster Hunter Tri devs won't be at UK launch due to volcanic ash cloud
The London launch event for Monster Hunter Tri will no longer feature director Kaname Fujioka or producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. The pair's travel plans were thwarted by the unslayable monster Eyjafjallajökull. However, even though volcanic ash has kept the Capcom staffers from flying in, that doesn't mean there won't be any festivities on April 23. The event, which runs from 9AM to 9PM, will still feature a GAME store "transformed" in celebration of the game. And more importantly, it'll still feature free swag bags for the first 50 in line. In addition, in lieu of having Tsujimoto and Fujioka sign games live, the first 100 people to purchase the game will be sent autographed covers for their games.
Monster Hunter Tri launch trailer is all over the place
Monster Hunter Tri arrives in North America this week, and to mark the occasion, Capcom sent out this strange trailer. It starts off kind of somber and beautiful, with some haunting chants, and then it suddenly transitions into FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. Then some shots of a hunter hanging out with Cha-Cha, doing some fishing, then FIGHT FIGHT. Presumably, the actual game spreads out the violent bits and the relaxing bits, but put in rapid succession like this it seems a bit psychotic. How's that for a back-of-the-box quote?
Meet Monster Hunter Tri's producer and director at UK launch event
If you're in London and eager to get started hunting monsters and, uh, holding a Classic Controller Pro, you'll probably want to be at GAME's Monster Hunter Tri London launch event on April 23. Not only will the game be there -- the first 50 people in line will receive a bag full of Monster Hunter stuff. And then you'll have the opportunity to have some of that stuff signed by producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Kaname Fujioka. Nintendo would like to remind you to wear your "best 'hunting' attire" to the event, so you look nice and ridiculous when you meet the developers. %Gallery-86439%
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Monster Hunter Tri developer's voice
We thought it prudent to take a break from the WarioWare D.I.Y. highlighting of the last few weeks even though there's a new video in the ongoing series this week, with Alex Neuse from Gaijiin Games. See, this week some of the developers from Capcom show off a great deal of Monster Hunter Tri, documenting some of the weaponry, multiplayer features and, of course, the monsters in the series' latest. It's an enlightening few minutes of footage, so check it out above. When you're done, head past the break for the full list of this week's Nintendo Channel content. %Gallery-86439%
Capcom supporting Monster Hunter Tri with downloadable quests
Capcom wants to ensure you continue hunting after the release of Monster Hunter Tri, by releasing limited-time quests after release, in the form of "Event Quests," "Gigantic Monster Quests," and "Arena Quests." According to a post on Capcom-Unity, Event Quests will be offered "on an ongoing basis," but require players to achieve a certain hunter rank before taking part. "Gigantic Monster Quests," however are only up for one day, allowing parties of hunters to take on the enormous "Jhen Mohran" monster. Arena Quests allow only two players in a party, fighting a single monster. Some of these arena battles will offer better rewards for quicker completion. Capcom will announce each month's quest schedule on the first Friday of each month on Capcom-Unity, so set your bookmarks, monster hunters.
Nintendo collaborated with Capcom on the Classic Controller Pro
In a new Iwata Asks feature with Capcom's Ryozo Tsujimoto and Kaname Fujioka, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed just how closely Nintendo worked with Capcom to ensure the success of Monster Hunter Tri. Not only did the hardware manufacturer create a new controller, the Classic Controller Pro, but it actually consulted Capcom about it. "I'm just gonna go ahead and say it," Iwata said, "but we even discussed where the best place for the analogue sticks would be." Fujioka expressed the team's relative shock at Nintendo's openness. "To be honest, when we were first asked that, I thought, 'Is it all right for us to decide?'," Fujioka said. We said what we thought would be a good spot for the analogue sticks, and when it turned out just like that, I was surprised." Of course, that spot is "exactly where they are on the PS2 controller," but that's due to Capcom's choice!
Monster Hunter Tri ads mock non-monster hunters
It's rare for someone to berate you for not being tough enough for a Wii game, but that's exactly what Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri spokes-character Ironbeard does in this surprisingly funny series of ads. The Scottish huntsman mocks people for thinking that hunting real, regular-sized animals is hard when there are monsters to be hunted in Capcom's upcoming Wii game. Not only are these ads, which you can view after the break, funny, they're also kind of effective. We don't want to look at this fictional character with shame! We want him to be proud of us for being man enough to hunt giant fake monsters. [Thanks, Kieran!]
Monster Hunter Tri demo disc will be available to all
Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri was a big focal point at yesterday's Nintendo Media Summit, but there seems to be a bit of confusion surrounding the demo disc shipping March 8. It turns out, that isn't the GameStop pre-order incentive it was made out to be. Instead, the demo disc will be free for all -- a GameStop pre-order will net you a card with 500 Wii Points on it. As for getting the demo disc, you'll be able to walk into any GameStop location and grab one starting March 8.
Mario, Metroid, Sin and Punishment, more dated in Europe
Here's some great news for those of you in Europe interested in playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. Nintendo announced that Galaxy will be available in Europe on June 11, not long after America's May 23 date. And Sin and Punishment will be out in Europe (under the slightly altered title Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies) on May 7, exactly one month before North America gets its hands on that Treasure. The bad news is that Metroid: Other M is dated simply "Q3." It's due June 27 in North America. We've collected all the European release dates for Wii and DS (including a "summer" date for Dragon Quest IX!) after the break. [Via Eurogamer]
Monster Hunter Tri releases April 20, will be free to play [update]
Update: Capcom sent word that the Monster Hunter Tri demo disc will be freely available to any GameStop patron starting March 8. If you pre-order the game, you'll also get a 500 Wii Points card. Original post: At today's Nintendo Media Summit, Nintendo dropped some pertinent details about Capcom's very successful and Wii Speak-compatible hunt-em-up, Monster Hunter Tri. The game will release on April 20 in North America as two versions: bundled with a Classic Controller Pro for $59.99 (while supplies last) and as a standalone game for $49.99. The game will also ditch the pay-to-play model for online play, as used in Japan, in favor of free online functionality. Additionally, GameStop pre-orderers will receive a demo disc on March 8. Additionally, GameStop will offer free demo discs starting March 8 and those who pre-order will get themselves a card with 500 Wii Points on it. Considering Capcom was beating itself up over whether or not to charge for online play, we're glad the publisher finally came around and went with the option that requires us to spend less money. Just imagine -- with all the money we'll save, we can import even more delicious ramen! %Gallery-86439%
