laili-bosma
Latest
Capcom hopes grassroots movement will endear Monster Hunter to the west
Despite its unbelievable popularity in Japan, Capcom's Monster Hunter series hasn't taken off to the same degree in western countries. Not to imply that the games don't have a dedicated stateside following – rather, the numbers just can't compare.With Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate's North American release on the Wii U and 3DS right around the corner, Capcom will be attempting to grow interest in the brand the old fashioned way, by going to shows and talking to people about the game face to face."We have a full on booth, a Monster Hunter dedicated booth, at PAX, we have a Monster Hunter dedicated booth at Wondercon, we're also going to be attending C2E2 in Chicago, we have events that we're planning on doing at Capcom's offices in the near future," senior product marketing manager Laili Bosma told us during SXSW Interactive. "We're also looking to hopefully do a summer tour with Monster Hunter across the country."Bosma gave the off-screen/cross-region post-launch patch announced in February as an example of how Capcom is actively listening and responding to the needs of western audiences. "Capcom is very dedicated to the brand, obviously in Japan being as huge as it is. But, the team is also dedicated to trying to make it work here in the US," Bosma said, though she recognizes that there's no magic fix for transporting popularity overseas."It's not magical, it's not going to happen overnight," she added. "My goal here is to try to get as many people to experience it first-hand, and for us to answer those questions as much as we can, and then hopefully grow that audience one person at a time."
