Why Monster Hunter Is So Damn Popular In Japan

[wraggster]

Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise is huge in Japan. Outside Japan? Not so huge. There must be reasons for that. There are, apparently.

One of the biggest reasons seems to be the game's ad hoc network play. For Monster Hunter, this type of play is so popular that friends often meet up just to play MH. Capcom's Keiji Inafune explains to Game Informer:

It’s important to bear in mind that the game wasn’t initially a success in Japan. When it first came out, it still had people playing together cooperatively, but it was based online in a much more limited way compared to PSP. When it moved to the PSP and you could have four people sitting around together to play on an ad hoc network, that’s when it really took off in Japan. So you’d get friends playing together and get people of different skill levels and experience levels helping each other out and interacting that way. This plays a big part in why it was so successful in Japan—it’s a game that takes a long time to find interesting. There’s quite a long ramp to get to the point where you’re actually into the game. If you’re playing with four other people in that way, you’re much more likely to hit that point than if you’re by yourself. For the U.S., really, we need to convey how fun it is to play to people and to get to the point where you find the game interesting. Probably playing on infrastructure mode isn’t really the way to do that, that’s my feeling. It’s about getting people together and having them go through this experience together.

Monster Hunter is obviously fun to play — however, we think the hard sell is going to be convincing Western gamers they need to play with a bunch of friends together in the same room to truly enjoy the experience. Though, it's possible. Anything is possible.

Well, not anything.

http://kotaku.com/5130851/why-monste...pular-in-japan

[mike_jmg]

It is fun to get togheter with your friends and play on adhoc, just went out to play with a friend of mine some Dissidia FF, I kicked his ass all over again BTW.

But also this opportunities are very scarce cause only two of my friends own a PSP so I have to make the most of this rare chances I have.

This is why I'm always complaining that most PSP games don't have infrastructure gameplay, most times I have no one to play against with.

This is diferent in japan as to my understanding most people in japan are all tech savvy and a lot of them own PSPs.

[kojiro7]

Monster hunter is a boring game to me,though I am a japanese games fan

[Justise]

The Best Multy-player PSP game is Takken Dark Urection.
Why?
Because you can play with your friend with only one game! If you have a second game, it will save you some loading, and allow you to chose your arena, but it is still a fact that your friend don't need to own the game to play with you!

While Monster Hunter is fun when you are playing with your friends, it is extremly boring at single player. After all, the games purpose is "Farming"... So the deal is to speak to your friend, so both of you will buy that game with the boring single player, just to play multy-player whenever you have the chance to meet, both of you happens to have your PSP with you, and both of you happen to have that UMD with the boring single player on your PSP.
That will never happen!...
...unless you are a member of an Otaku club in Japan, a you know that some people are having their PSP with them all the time!
Concluson:
This game can only be popular in Japan.

[animekid4]

xlinkkai much?

[Buddy4point0]

It's definitely fun multiplayer.
It's alright single player, but mainly only if you're working to get better to play with friends.

Due to the fact that not EVERYONE has it in america, there are much less people to play with making it much less fun.
Because everyone in Japan has it, it's much more like an MMO because anywhere you go you pretty much have people to play with.

[ICE]

I heard it was a great game so I got the second one on PSP and quickly found myself nodding off.

[zanco]

I heard it was a great game so I got the second one on PSP and quickly found myself nodding off.

Let me Guess. You couldn't beat a Yian Kut Ku? lol

This game is fun, you just need to give a chance, one simple chance and that's it. Many people are missing the fun of the game because all they want to do is whack away, whack away and whack away, and as a result they game whacks back at them really hard and they end up dissing the game. Just try to understand the game, learn its mechanics, once you do that you will enjoy it very much and once you start playing multiplayer, you will enjoy it even MORE!

[acn010]

its from for me!

[Mauragon]

That game is a keeper.