• Tsujimoto claimed to know many overseas players who have extreme interest in the monster behavior component of Monster Hunter 3. The question is, he said, how many of these types of players are there are.

• The overseas version of the game won't see much in the way of customizations or changes from the Japanese version of the game. Tsujimoto also explained how Capcom's promotional staff are considering what areas of the game to promote to Western gamers in order to get them aware about the series.
  

• One aspect about the game that Tsujimoto believes helps appeal to new players (both Western and Japanese) is the new Wii-specific control scheme. He believes the control scheme allows players to experience the "invigorating" feel of the game using the fewest possible buttons and without too much practice.

Well, the trailer was awesome.
 
I've just been sitting here waiting for the game to come out. Just sitting and waiting.

I don't see the game selling any better on the Wii than it has on the PSP over here..  the new control scheme may help, but the problem with the series is that it's deeply inaccesable.  It's not a pick up and play game, it requires vast knowledge of what armour you should be using for certain areas, what weapons are best for taking down specific monsters, etc..  There's a lot of working out stand and numbers through some very convuluted menu's, a lot of which is difficult to understand and even find because of the menu's.
 
There's nothing wrong with a game being complicated and deep, but Monster Hunters problem is that it does as little as possible to get new players into the game, it expects you to learn things right away and remember them, it's not like something like Phantasy Star Online, or World of Warcraft where you could start playing, kill enemies and learn as you go.  
 
Ontop of that the gameplay is very unforgiving, slow paced and difficult.  The series definitely has its fans over here, but without some massive gameplay changes, I don't ever see it capturing a bigger audiance.

If they want to make it a success in the West they should have put it out on 360, PS3, and PC with a strong online component.  The majority of the Wii owners in the West aren't the kind of people to buy this.

@PureRok
 
It is a cool trailer. Here's the in game opening cinematic which is pretty awesome also:
 
 

They've also said before that they'll be working with Nintendo to market the game in the West, reportedly using their experience in marketing pokemon. Gotta slay them all? They've also pushed Monster Hunter Freedom Unite much more than previous parts. It should help.

Playing the PSP version of Monster Hunter, I just didn't get it. I can see the depth, I can see the potential, I can kinda understand it, but it just feels so archaic to me. So long as Monster Hunter is Monster Hunter, I can't see it ever breaking through in the West.
 
I think it's admirable how Capcom are trying to push it, but I think they're wasting their time personally.

This game charges an monthly fee for online coop. There's nothing else to be said about Monster Hunter Tri.

" @VicRattlehead: Dude that was back in the ps2 days. I could understand a monthly fee in that generation but now all platforms are offering online play by default. We'll see. I hope you're right and i'm wrong. this series NEEDS to be online. It's the only way to truly enjoy those games. "

@demonbear
 
It's also important to remember demonbear that Nintendo do not charge a subscription fee like Microsoft, and that does play a role in the quality of the online service they can provide, As well as that, the specifications of the Wii don't help at all also, The fact is the PS3 and 360 are far better suited for online play, which is why Capcom have had to invest heavily in creating a robust online mode.  If it works well, I am happy to pay, I just hope the tickets are priced at a decent level, 
 
 
It might be wise for Capcom to revise the current pricing they have in Japan. It's looks too costly. 100-200 Nintendo Points should be knocked off all of these prices in the West:
 
 

•  30 days - 800 points
•  60 days - 1,500 points
•  90 days - 2,000 points

Um, no, it wasn't just the PS2 days, Monster Hunter Frontier on PC is still active with updates and re-releases and still has a fee. In Japan. And plenty of other games also, obviously, not that you need me to tell you, you're already aware of that much... And I do believe his point was that it's possible that it won't have a fee over here, rather than going about how it had a fee back then... It remains to be seen how they handle it. I mostly want it for the single player anyway, but free online will certainly be welcome, and I'll definitely at least use the 21 day free period they'll at the very least be offering, then maybe purchase the occasional month when I feel like taking on the online bosses or whatever other extras it has. I'm sure FFXIV will have a fee, just like FFXI, since these fees had nothing to do with being "in the PS2 days" and everything to do with extra revenue.

Call it what you will, i'm not paying for online coop on the freakin' wii....

Well I guess CAPCOM will have to go cry in a corner...

Well I guess your opinion is fact.
 
The actual fact that actually remains is that in this generation, regardless of platform (PC, Wii, whatever else they plan on making an online enabled Monster Hunter for), CAPCOM charges for their online services, in Japan (so far, it remains to be seen what they do for the West). If players think it's worth it, they pay, if they think it's not worth it they don't pay, just like it happens with every other purchase one ever makes. Being all bitter because you clearly want it, but want it for free, then going on whining about said fees and the "freakin' Wii" is a whole other subject.
 
For the record, it's more than mere coop considering the lobbies and everything is run by CAPCOM, and sure, it doesn't attempt to be a full-on MMORPG, but it also costs less than one of those depending on what you pay. I don't know what goes in running such servers, I don't know what kind of server set up CAPCOM has, I don't know their operating costs and profit margin, and neither do you.
 
Now, as you say, CAPCOM couldn't care less, though being succesful here would certainly be welcome for them also. Still, whining further about how you believe the world should cater to what you believe should be done isn't going to change the world, so, just sit tight until they actually announce the pricing for the West, then see if you're willing to pay that much or not, and leave it at that...

" @Al3xand3r: Of course they won't, they dont even care about the sales in the US, this game is made for the Japanese audience. If this game sells 10k copies in the states and break even with the localization costs, they'll be happy.  But the fact remains : online coop, on this gen, should be free. Thats it. Now, if its an mmo thats another deal. "

I'm sure it's more about the potential for extra revenue rather than being "viable" to keep it Japan only. It's an endeavour well worth taking on, just in case it succeeds, but I'm also sure they could just as well keep profiting from Japan alone. After all, Monster Hunter games sell there enough to be considered a worldwide success in the hard numbers. The Wii edition willl reach a million sales in the coming months, and the PSP games sold much more than that. Even far more "expensive" franchises remain Japan only (Yakuza anyone?), Monster Hunter getting over here probably has more to do with it being far cheaper to translate. I mean up until the third at least, where they clearly make an extra effort.

" @demonbear said:

" @VicRattlehead: Dude that was back in the ps2 days. I could understand a monthly fee in that generation but now all platforms are offering online play by default. We'll see. I hope you're right and i'm wrong. this series NEEDS to be online. It's the only way to truly enjoy those games. "

The bolded part is wrong. Microsoft isn't. "

All they need to do is have a bunch of action pre-rendered cinematic commercials that make the game seem like a fast paced action game, air them on TV and you've sold a gagillion copies to kids.

Oh I think it's going to take a lot more than that CowMuffin.