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Monster Hunter pillow will give you nightmares
Capcom's Monster Hunter Furu Furu Pillow is officially the most terrifying pillow we've seen today. What appears in the games as a winged, eyeless wyvern (called Khezu outside of Japan) has been transmuted into a tube with a lamprey mouth. That you put on your bed. And look at when you wake up. We suppose it would be better used as an accent pillow on a couch or something, especially if you don't want anyone to use your couch ever. Japanese Monster Hunter fans will be able to bring this abomination into their lives, in white or red, on January 29, for ¥9,240 ($103.52). [Via Andriasang]
Capcom posts strong Q2 2009 earnings, despite 'soft' overseas sales
Capcom has posted its financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2009, and things are definitely looking good for the company. The publisher reported net sales of ¥38.892 billion ($426 million), up from ¥31.236 billion ($342 million) during the same period last year, which amounts to a 24.5-percent increase. The majority of those sales were generated by Capcom's home video games division, which pulled in ¥27.748 billion ($303 million) -- up from ¥16.486 ($180 million); a staggering 68.3-percent increase. Capcom credits strong sales of Monster Hunter Tri in Japan, as well as continued sales of Resident Evil 5, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and Ace Attorney: Investigations to its recent financial success. However, the company stated that overseas sales remained "soft" for the period thanks to the delay of Dark Void and the weak performance of Bionic Commando and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Joystiq readers will recall that Capcom leveled complaints at the same games in its first quarter report earlier this year. It's worth noting that overseas sales still amounted to ¥11.739 billion ($128 million), which accounted for 57-percent of the home video games division sales. We suppose Capcom might consider that "soft," but the suits can't be too broken up about it. Source -- Capcom | Favorable Financial Results for the 6 months ended September 30, 2009 Source -- Capcom | Consolidated Financial Results for the 2nd Quarter of the FY2009
Capcom announces new Monster Hunter spin-off for PSP, awaits money-flood
Capcom surprised attendees of a Monster Hunter competition in Tokyo by announcing a brand new Monster Hunter title for the PSP. Don't get too excited though -- this appears to be a spin-off game, featuring the series' Toro-esque mascots. The game is titled "Monhan Nikki Poka Poka Airu Mura," or "Monster Hunter Diary Poka Poka Airu Village."Other than this logo, no other details were revealed about this mysterious new entry to the Monster Hunter franchise. Considering millions of Japanese people bought a PSP specifically for Monster Hunter, Capcom is bound to rake in a lot of dough when this eventually releases.
Capcom still undecided about Monster Hunter 3 fees
We'll start with the good news about the upcoming Western release of Monster Hunter Tri: according to statements given to MTV Multiplayer by Capcom Community Specialist Shawn Baxter, the North American version of the game will use Capcom-hosted servers, like the Japanese version does, enabling players to connect and play online, free from friend codes.The other part isn't necessarily bad news, but it could be in the future: Capcom still hasn't decided whether to use the pay-for-play model found in all online Monster Hunter games in Japan, or whether to make online play free like it has for those same games in North America so far. It's likely that Capcom will do things the same way as before (which means free online), but with the company not saying anything, we can't be sure yet.%Gallery-34117%
Review: Monster Hunter 3 (Ramen)
No, this is not a hands-on preview of the upcoming US release of Monster Hunter 3. (You'll have to wait until next year for that!) Nor is this a review of the Japanese release. (You can, instead, read our hands-on preview from TGS.) This is the next best thing: a review of the limited edition Monster Hunter 3 ramen -- or "hunta-men" as the packaging states.Available for 200 yen (about $2.20), this packaged instant ramen is surprisingly good, featuring a hearty meaty taste and slight spicy kick. There are even dried meat pieces floating in the soup. While it may actually be beef, we're going to pretend it's dragon meat, because that's what a real monster hunter would eat, right?
Cheat at Monster Hunter 3, get banned until 9999 AD
Even long after Bruce Willis has saved the universe, identified cheaters will still be unable to play Monster Hunter 3. At least that's the case for one Japanese player, who tried to connect online and was given a dismissive prompt (in Japanese; machine translation here), indicating that he'd been banned until December 12, 9999.The message cited "modded data" as the cause for the banning, and while we can't confirm that there was any questionable data on the system, we will say that if you're looking to hunt monsters (possibly around early 2010), you may want to avoid the uber hax!!1! option. We'd hate for you to have to go on living a lootless life for the next couple thousand years.[Via Kotaku]
Famitsu hands Monster Hunter 3 a perfect 40
It's not impossible to earn a perfect score from Famitsu, you know. The latest to earn top marks is Capcom's Monster Hunter 3 (based on translation over at NeoGAF), which comes as little surprise considering everyone and their grandmother loves the franchise in Japan.The true question is: Will it receive such critical acclaim when it hits the States and Europe in early 2010?[Thanks, Victor]
Monster Hunter Tri coming to US, Europe in (sigh) early 2010
Wii owners eager to take sword in hand and slay humongous creatures had best take note of Capcom's latest announcement: Monster Hunter Tri is set to depart from Japan (and assured smash-hit status) and arrive in American and European homes in early 2010. The Wii incarnation will boast both online and offline cooperative modes, as well as "strikingly beautiful" graphics and the challenging quests that fans of the franchise have come to expect.If you consider yourself to be outside that rather large group of the gaming population and have no idea what to expect, understand that among franchises like Devil May Cry and Resident Evil, Monster Hunter stands out as having a remarkably straightforward title. As the titular monster hunter, you'll track down and slay all manner of snarling creatures, only to turn them into better equipment to facilitate more dangerous monster hunt ... ery. Find it, stab it and then make it into a nice hat!%Gallery-34117%
Capcom ships 1 million copies of Monster Hunter 3 for Japan launch
Capcom is anticipating monstrous sales of its Wii-exclusive Monster Hunter 3 in Japan, having shipped one million units of the game to retailers in advance of its launch there this Saturday. As pointed out in a blog post on the publisher's community site, this makes it the first third-party Wii game in Japan to have an initial run of 1M copies.Saturday's also a big day for Wii in general, as it's also when Nintendo launches a version of the system with a gloss black finish -- including bundles which will have Monster Hunter 3 as a pack-in. Wow, it's almost as if Nintendo and Capcom planned it that way. The game is slated to hit the US and Europe before next April; Nintendo claims the black Wii won't be leaving Japan.
Download free Monster Hunter Freedom Unite quests at Comic-Con
Capcom is issuing a call to all PSP-owning monster hunters, revealing that, if they bring their system and copy of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite to next week's San Diego Comic-Con, they'll be able to download eight free quests for the game. The company cautions those planning to do so that only six quests will fit on a memory stick (no file sizes are given), so you'd best bring a second MS Duo along just to be safe.Four of the eight quests are said to be geared toward beginner-level players; the other eight are intended for Monster Hunter vets. Capcom has remarked that these freebies will serve as a taste of what's to come from the game's upcoming DLC, which will hit the PS Store every Friday through the end of 2009. (DLC quests for the game first became available earlier this month.)
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite does monsterously well in Japan
Japanese PSP owners are united in their love of Capcom's latest Monster Hunter installment. According to figures released today, Freedom Unite -- which just launched here in the US -- has sold a total of 3.5 million copies in Japan since its release there in March. Capcom notes that this includes 1 million in sales of the game's "The Best" budget line version. The Monster Hunter franchise is not nearly as huge in the States, but that's something that could change once Sony finally releases its adhocParty app for PS3 here. It enables groups of PSP users to play online with full voice chat, which kinda makes coordinating to bring down the beasts a whole lot easier -- and fun.
Weekly Monster Hunter DLC begins today
Just like its Japanese counterpart, the English language version of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite will feature weekly downloadable content. Best of all, it'll be free! Expect updates every Friday for the next few months. The first content update, available today, is a new "Epic Hunting Quest" called "The Triumvirate of the Sands." This quest will feature the monsters Daimyo Hermitaur, Tigrex, Plesioth, and will take place in the desert (hence the "Sands" part, you see?). Survive and you'll be able to net 12300z.In order to download the DLC, all you need to do is boot up the game in your PSP and click Download from the start menu. No need to log on to the PlayStation Network or download anything from the PlayStation Store. Not bad, huh?
Hunt monsters in Namco Bandai's 'God Eater'
Famitsu scans have revealed the God Eater project whose title was trademarked by Namco Bandai a couple of months ago. It's a multiplayer action game for PSP that appears aimed at the Monster Hunter market (which, let's be honest, every Japanese developer probably should be trying to do on the PSP). God Eater trades out the fantasy setting of Monster Hunter for a more futuristic, industrial venue. It features a mix of mythical creatures and big, robotic monsters. According to Siliconera, God Eater will be out this fall in Japan. The existence of that US trademark suggests that the company will be releasing it here as well.
More Monster Hunter bundles hit Japan
Perhaps there's no real point to releasing these new bundled sets, considering just about every person in Japan already has a copy of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (aka Freedom Unite). If, by some off chance, they don't have one (or even a PSP), then, sure, this looks like a pretty good way of getting into the addicting craze. The new bundles, which include either a radiant red or vibrant blue PSP Brite (both with a copy of Freedom Unite packaged inside), will hit Japanese retailers on July 23 for ¥21,000 ($220).These carnival color PSPs seen in the bundles are not all-new; they've been available in Asia for some time now. Technically, a customer could pick up both a copy of the game and either PSP color (or another) right now, get the same value as next month's bundle and only spend a trivial sum more. Also, it's not as intricate and wonderful as the one that appeared at launch. Why'd SCEI even bother?
Introducing Monster Hunter 3's 'Chacha'
All right, Monster Hunter 3. You got us. We are officially enchanted.This Claymation-style trailer, introducing the new "Chacha" creature, is one of the cutest things we've seen in some time, and definitely the cutest thing we've seen in a long time about hunting and killing large animals.Apparently, just like in the video, the Chacha will follow you underwater, and has a special "dance" attack. In the video, the "dance" appeared to summon a large monster, but we aren't sure if that's what it really does in-game.As much as we enjoy looking at this Monster Hunter stuff, we must still note that the game hasn't been officially dated for North America yet. Please, Capcom? And if it wouldn't be too much trouble, we'd like it in bundle form as well. Thanks!
New Monster Hunter PSP bundle hitting Europe
In two weeks time, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite will make its way to North America and Europe. For Europe at least, the release of this new Monster Hunter title will be marked with a special PSP bundle. Arriving day-and-date with the regular software, the bundle will include a copy of the game, a silver PSP-3000, a Monster Hunter-branded carrying pouch, screen wipe and a branded skin cover. Expect to see this bundle on June 26 -- the official European release date. As for North America, the game will arrive three days earlier on June 23, although no special bundle has been mentioned.
Capcom bundling Monster Hunter 3 with black Wii in Japan
Not only will a new black Wii be out in Japan this summer, prospective owners will have the option of buying it in a bundle with what will undoubtedly be 2009's biggest game for that region: Capcom's Monster Hunter 3 (Tri).The Monster Hunter 3 bundle will be released on August 1, concurrent with the standalone version of the game, and will include the game, a black system, and a black Classic Controller Pro for 33,000 yen ($342). In addition, a black version of the MH3/Classic Controller Pro bundle will be sold for 8,490 yen ($88).Despite the fact that the red DSi is coming out on the same day as Dragon Quest IX, no bundle has been announced for that yet. %Gallery-32281%[Via GAME Watch]
Real Gathering Hall set to cure London's Monster Hunter fever
As Swine Flu has the world on edge, London is preparing for its own epidemic: Monster Hunter Fever. Apparently, the contagious disease, which originated in Japan, is hitting the British Isles -- specifically in London. Symptoms of the disease include insomnia due to lack of ad hoc play, sore thumbs and an insatiable love for talking cats. If you know anyone who is suffering from these symptoms, kindly bring them to the Monster Hunter Gathering Hall in London between July 1st and September 1st for treatment.Those who come will undergo special therapy, whereby they'll interact with others suffering from the same condition, allowing physicians to better understand their disease and discover a cure. Doors swing open from 10am to 8pm all week (except for Thursdays: 10am to 10pm). Admission is only open to those who suffer from Monster Hunter Fever, which means you should have a PSP and a copy of the game on you when you arrive at the hall. Participating patients will also receive a free, complementary injection of soda. So don't forget to ask!
Capcom begins teaching English players how to play Monster Hunter
Are you a Monster Hunter n00b? Don't worry if you are -- Capcom understands that the franchise hasn't been too big outside of Japan. However, things are going to be different this time around. Capcom is trying to recreate the astronomical success Monster Hunter Freedom Unite found in Japan by launching one of its biggest promotions to date. We've already seen viral videos -- what's next?This tutorial is but the first in a series of videos designed to teach Monster Hunter basics to the masses. Capcom is promising a massive adventure that "delivers over 500 hours of gameplay" through "over 400 missions." Does that pique your interest?
Viral vid warns of Japanese monster outbreak spreading to the West
The monsters are coming. Capcom released this viral video not too long ago, and we have to admit it's very cool. This documentary-style video captures the terrifying hunt of four Japanese civilians. They must work together in order to take down these beasts -- but alas, it looks as though the monster infection is spreading beyond Japan.Does this sound familiar? It should. Capcom is trying to recreate the success of this PSP game for the Western audience. So long as Capcom continues this edgy marketing, it may actually succeed.You do know what game we're talking about, right?
