Tsujimoto on increasing Monster Hunter’s popularity overseas, localization time, won’t make changes just for the west, more
Monster Hunter is one of the biggest gaming franchises in Japan. But much like Dragon Quest, its popularity has never reached similar levels overseas.
Capcom hopes that it will begin to change the situation with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. On Wii U, users will be able to play with others online. The Wii U and 3DS versions feature save transfers. And in Europe, a Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate bundles will be released.
According to Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, these were all steps taken to enhance the series’ appeal in the west:
“You’re right in terms of us intentionally doing this. It’s always been our wish to make a good start and we’ve always been saying we’ll do this at one point. Monster Hunter in Japan started and developed in a very different way to how it’s been in Europe so far, Japan being a rather densely populated place with a quite prominent culture of visiting each other’s places to play games together. You see kids carrying their consoles taking them to their friends. They already had this basis of playing games through local network, whereas it’s a bit more difficult in the US and Europe where your neighbour is seven miles away. With Wii U, which is online compatible, and with 3DS with its portability, releasing both of them together, we’re giving opportunity and options to consumers to really pick up the version they want and the one that suits them. By doing that we might be able to actually have a breakthrough. That’s definitely our intention.”
The 3DS version of Ultimate will be arriving overseas more than a year after it hit Japan. The Wii U version, however, is just a few months late.
Tsujimoto told Eurogamer that the team has been looking to improve upon localization times:
“We’re well aware of the complaints from the fans about the time difference of releases. We have been trying our best to try to reduce it. So this time, with great help from Nintendo, we’ve managed to greatly shorten the delay in release and at the same time we’re releasing it for both platforms, which is an achievement in a sense. So hopefully we can implement a more systematic way of doing this in the future.”
Capcom does care about Monster Hunter’s appeal in the west, but don’t count on a big change in style just to make the IP more popular in North America and Europe:
“We’ve got a very clear vision of what a Monster Hunter game is. If we were to change the game system and what we believe is Monster Hunter to something else, then we don’t have to name it Monster Hunter. We would just call it something else. In order for it to be Monster Hunter we are obliged to keep the essence of Monster Hunter, but at the same time make some innovations so it doesn’t stagnate. We don’t want to betray the existing fans for the sake of getting new people in. Rather than changing the game itself, we want to expand the way it can be played, for instance, releasing it on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.”
Tsujimoto noted that Capcom won’t be changing Monster Hunter’s difficulty either:
“At the end of the day, Monster Hunter is an action game. It’s got to be challenging. It’s got to be solid in that sense. Not to the extent that it’s heartbreaking. But it’s got to have significant points to it. You have a breakthrough. You hit a wall. You ponder for a bit. And then you breakthrough again. There are significant steps where you are satisfied in each, but it’s never heartbreaking. It’s a matter of balance in that sense.”
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has introduced a new target camera to address difficulties players have had controlling it in the past. According to Tsujimoto, it was only added in once the staff determined that it wouldn’t impact the difficulty of Ultimate’s actual gameplay.
“At the end of the day, the Monster Hunter difficulty is in the action element, not the camera control. We don’t want people to be hindered because the camera control is awkward. We wanted to provide a comfortable environment for the players without spoiling the solidness of the game itself.”
At this point you’re probably wondering if Monster Hunter 4 has a shot at localization. Tsujimoto won’t talk about this at present, though. Instead, he hopes fans will take a look at his “first baby.”
“Of course we’re doing our best to deliver Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate in perfect condition right now, and we’re looking forward to as many people as possible picking up the game. Obviously, the more people who pick this game up will definitely encourage the whole Monster Hunter scene worldwide. So, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate 3 everyone! Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is an amazing game. We’ve put so much effort into it. It’s my baby. So before you talk about my next baby, I’d like you to love my first baby.”
