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We're scared for Nessie, our underwater ally, because after Capcom sponsored a hunt for South America's Bigfoot and giant anacondas to promote Monster Hunter Freedom 2, we just know they're going after her next as the company announced its plans to release Monster Hunter Portable 2G.
No, it's not a full sequel, but it will build upon the Japanese hit by featuring new monsters, fields and systems. While the game doesn't have a release date, we won't be surprised if this one never makes it our way. But one thing is for certain, all mythical creatures now have nowhere to hide.
As part of their marketing for Monster Hunter Freedom 2 Capcom has decided to sponsor a real life Monster Hunt. The exhibition will travel to Guyana in order to seek out didi - South America's version of Bigfoot - and giant anacondas. We're not sure how financing a wild goose chase will help sell a PSP game. Presumably by having news sites and blogs reporting on it.
What could these summer school students be studying? If you guessed Monster Hunter Portable, you're absolutely right! The course was held at a school in Tokyo and producer Ryozo Tsujimoto was there to look on and greet the gamers. At the end of such rigorous "study," there was a special quest for download, and a t-shirt to don. If only real school could be this cool ...
Do you really, really love Monster Hunter games? If so, you might want to at least browse over the newest offerings at Play-Asia regarding a Monster Hunter 2nd Summer PSP bundle. If you shell out the cash for the bundle, which is an overpriced $250, you get a fancy blue PSP with the latest Monster Hunter game. But when faced with the Final Fantasy VII slim PSP on the horizon -- why would anyone want this instead? In fact, let's open it up to discussion -- if you could get a custom PSP designed after any game you wanted, what would it be? A zany WipEout PSP, perhaps?
Nothing, not even the mighty Wii Sports, could get close to the awesome sales of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd. Japanese sales for the first half of the year have been tallied up and surprisingly, this PSP game rose to the top of the list.
It should be comforting to publishers to see a PSP game do so well. Hopefully, this will encourage Japanese publishers to continue developing for the platform. The top three games for PSP this year so far include Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops.
Asia got some pretty awesome loot for their pre-order bonuses. Posters, scarves, gold rings ... So what does America get? A Watermelon Pet Poogie plush.
Cute? Yes. Exciting? Not really. To get your pre-order bonus, stop by a GameStop.
Over 6,500 people showed up to a recent Monster Hunter Portable 2nd tournament held in Tokyo. Of course, one could argue that if the game had Infrastructure support, the need to meet up with other systems physically wouldn't be needed ...
The festivities don't end there, though. Capcom is continuing their "Monster Hunter Fest" with similar tournaments to be held in Osaka, Sapporo and Nagoya. The finals will return to Tokyo on June 10th.
Ryosuke Tsujimoto, producer of the Monster Hunter series, spoke to GameTrailers about how the Monster Hunter series gained in popularity. Word of mouth was crucial to the game's success, and PSP was the ideal platform due to its portability. People would look at the screen, say "sugoi," and buy their own copies.
Not to beat a dead horse, but once again, we'd like to remind Capcom that because multiplayer is so crucial to the game experience, they should've done more and include Infrastructure. Regardless of our frustration at Capcom's lack of foresight, we do admit that the game looks quite marvelous graphically.
Every week we give you the lowdown on what's happening in the PSP import scene. You then can choose if you want to buy some, and use your PSP's ability to play games from any region. This week, we a visual novel and more map software for Sony's GPS. If you're brave, check out the full details.
People are enamored by Monster Hunter, even with its suspicious lack of online gameplay. Why, you ask? 1UP's Milkman describes his personal Monster Hunter obsession on his personal blog: "I love a game where you try and collect the coolest gear possible. It's why I loved Diablo II, and it's why I played the sh-t out of Phantasy Star Online and Final Fantasy XI."
Considering how Monster Hunter Portable 2 includes content from the never-released-in-America Monster Hunter Dos, Milkman seems overly eager to get his hands on the game. Interestingly, the series has improved on its transition from PS2 to PSP due to the lack of a second analog stick. On the console, attacks were relegated to the right analog, which felt unnatural: "I like the controls a lot better on PSP too, since it dispenses with the analog nonsense and just puts the attacks on the buttons." Do you share Milkman's enthusiasm for the title too?
See tons of new screenshots and artwork from VG Gen.
We're all bummed by Monster Hunter Freedom 2's lack of Infrastructure. It's absolutely mind-boggling. Sure, we can use tunneling services to trick the game, but Capcom should have known better. 1UP's Milkman agrees, and constantly brings the issue up in his latest interview with Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. Capcom's excuse is absolutely terrible: "The reason we went with Ad Hoc wireless play for the PSP version was because the reason for having a PSP is the ability to take it out on the town, or to play with groups of friends while sitting down. Like when you go to the arcade with friends, you go to play with people in the same vicinity -- you don't go to play with people across the country. So we really wanted to focus on having ad hoc multiplayer, so you could sit with a group of friends and talk about strategies. And that's what the real fun part is."
Excuse me? That simply doesn't make sense. Should World of Warcraft be limited to Ad-Hoc play because that's what "the real fun" is? Sorry Capcom, that doesn't cut the mustard. Tsujimoto does offer a concession: "But in the future, it's something we can think about if the fans want something like that and let us know." But we did let you know!
Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is set to destroy America. The Japanese release was a massive success, selling over a million copies within days. With more than 350 missions, 700 weapons and 1,400 pieces of armor, Monster Hunter offers gaming that just doesn't seem possible on a portable. If that weren't enough to satiate a hungry RPG player, downloadable quests will be offered for those want an even longer journey. Could this game be too big for its own good?
Although the game offers so much to do and see, it's unfortunate that Capcom isn't adding Infrastructure support for this massive sequel. Even with the pretty graphics and impressive-looking gameplay, the lack of true online multiplayer can be a deal-breaker.
Doesn't that Monster Hunter bracelet (pictured, right) look hot? In celebration of the Korean release of the insanely popular RPG, one random purchaser of the game was treated to one of the sexiest pieces of swag we've seen. According to Ruliweb, ten others were treated to some impressive action figures.
However, no one walked away empty-handed. Like the Japanese, Koreans were treated to other swag items for pre-ordering. Early adopters received some premium posters.
Capcom hasn't announced any incentives for the impending US release. But, if we're lucky enough, we'll also be able to get our hands on some swag of this caliber.
Like Pocket Monsters that live in a PSP instead of a capsule, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd continues to be immensely popular in Japan. The sales charts for last week show that Capcom's Monster killer has gone on to sell another 64,368 units bringing it's total sales up to 1,000,599 units. If ever there was a game that was obviously in line to get a sequel, this is it. Luckily for US gamers, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd will be coming to the US, so you only have to add to the Japanese sales if you're impatient.
They said it couldn't be done, but the PSP is about to have two platinum titles on it's hands and they both are Monster Hunter games. Capcom announced today that they have shipped 1million units of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd just weeks after the games release. In addition, the original Monster Hunter is just about to hit the same milestone shortly. The news of this makes the inevitability of a Monster Hunter 3 all too real. Now that Japan has it's killer app for PSP, let's hope more games begin to climb to this milestone and raise the low software sales on PSP in Japan.
Asia got some pretty awesome loot for their pre-order bonuses. Posters, scarves, gold rings ... So what does America get? A Watermelon Pet Poogie plush.
Doesn't that Monster Hunter bracelet (pictured, right) look hot? In celebration of the Korean release of the insanely popular RPG, one random purchaser of the game was treated to one of the sexiest pieces of swag we've seen. According to Ruliweb, ten others were treated to some impressive action figures.
