How Monster Hunter Took Over the World

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As Monster Hunter Wilds approached its worldwide release, it shattered pre-order records on Steam and PlayStation. Remarkably, it continued the successful legacy of its highly acclaimed predecessors, 2022’s Monster Hunter Rise and 2018’s Monster Hunter: World. The impressive sales figures have solidified Capcom’s distinctive and enigmatic role-playing game series as one of the most significant video game franchises globally.

Back in the day, around a decade ago, the concept of a Monster Hunter game becoming this globally recognized phenomenon would have felt like something out of this world. Fast forward to 2004, when the game first dropped, and it seemed downright unbelievable. The initial release received a mix of opinions. It wasn’t until the following year, when the series transitioned to the PSP, that it truly took off… primarily in Japan. As a gamer looking back on this journey, I can say it’s been quite the ride!

Indeed, you’re correct. For quite some time, the Monster Hunter series had been a prime example of games that were more popular in Japan compared to other regions globally. The reasons for this popularity will soon be clear in our story, but despite Capcom’s attempts to globalize Monster Hunter, it remained predominantly a Japanese sensation. However, as the successes of Monster Hunter World, Rise, and now Wilds demonstrate, their efforts were not in vain.

This is how Monster Hunter went from a domestic hit to a global force.

In the year 2016, around the release of Street Fighter 5, Capcom decided to restructure internally in order to gear up for the upcoming generation of video games. Instead of their old MT Framework, they would be using the RE Engine, a fresh update. This wasn’t just a matter of switching tools; it also meant focusing on creating games that catered not only to local, region-specific fanbases but also to a global market.

According to Hideaki Itsuno, a former game director at Capcom famed for his work on Devil May Cry, several elements played a part. “It was primarily the switch of our engine and the fact that every team had a clear objective set at that time: to produce games designed for worldwide audiences, providing enjoyment for everyone.

During the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, it seems like Capcom was putting their all into catering to what they envisioned as the “Western games market.” While games like Resident Evil 4 were indeed successful, spin-offs such as Umbrella Corps and the Lost Planet series, which focused heavily on guns and sci-fi themes, appeared to be following late-2000s Western gaming fads without much success. After a few years, Capcom understood that they needed to create games that would appeal to a broader audience, not just fans of traditional Western genres.

All teams were given a very clear goal to make games that reach the global market.

In his words, “What I believe is that our objective was solely about giving it our all and being completely focused, aiming to create exceptional games that could resonate with people worldwide.

Itsuno highlights that the period preceding 2017 was crucial. He explains, “During this time, we experienced significant shifts within our organization and in our game engine. All these transformations converged approximately around that year.” When Resident Evil 7 was released in 2017, it sparked a new era for Capcom.

Among all current series, none epitomizes this new company’s ambition for global triumph quite like Monster Hunter. Although it had a dedicated fanbase in the West, for years, Monster Hunter was significantly more popular in Japan than other regions. However, it wasn’t intended to be solely successful in Japan; external circumstances played a role in its regional popularity disparity.

Initially, Monster Hunter experienced significant growth as it transitioned from PlayStation 2 to the PSP with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Interestingly, the handheld gaming sector has traditionally been more popular in Japan compared to Western markets, a trend evident in the success of devices such as the PSP, Nintendo’s DS, and more recently, the Switch. The preference for handheld games in Japan can be attributed to various factors, but what particularly resonated with Monster Hunter, as stated by series executive producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, was the ability for Japanese players to easily connect and play with friends due to Japan’s advanced wireless internet infrastructure, which was years ahead of what was available in the United States at that time.

20 years ago, Japan boasted robust network environments for connecting and playing online games together, as Tsujimoto notes. While it’s important to acknowledge that not everyone in Japan may have had access to these opportunities, the shift towards portable gaming systems helped expand the community of people engaging in multiplayer gaming experiences.

Monster Hunter, emphasizing teamwork as a key feature, understood that seamless friend collaboration was crucial for enjoyable hunts. The most effective method for this at the time turned out to be portable consoles. Due to Japan’s advanced internet infrastructure, Monster Hunter initially focused on the domestic market, although this wasn’t necessarily their original plan.

This established a kind of cycle. The Monster Hunter games predominantly sold well in Japan, so to meet the demands of this audience, Capcom produced Japan-exclusive content and organized Japan-exclusive events. These actions made Monster Hunter appear as a brand primarily targeted towards Japan.

Monster Hunter did have fans in the West, and they were enviously looking from the outside in.

However, it turns out that Monster Hunter did indeed have a following in the Western hemisphere, feeling left out as they watched Japanese players enjoy exclusive content and quests. As the West’s internet infrastructure developed, online gaming became almost essential for console gamers. Seizing this opportunity, Tsujimoto and his team decided to unveil their most advanced and globally accessible Monster Hunter game yet.

In 2018, Monster Hunter: World was launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms, marking a significant shift for the franchise. Unlike previous games designed for compact handheld consoles, this title showcased grand-scale, high-quality console action with enhanced graphics, expansive environments, and naturally, larger monsters.

In discussing the globalization of their series, particularly Monster Hunter, Tsujimoto states that their strategy aligns with the game’s initial concepts as well as the meaning behind its title. Essentially, they named it “Monster Hunter: World” to signify their intention to captivate a global audience and introduce first-time players to the thrilling world of Monster Hunter.

It was equally important for Monster Hunter: World not to favor one market over another in its approach, as it was intended to be released globally at the same time. This meant there would be no exclusive content only available in Japan, a decision made to meet global standards that people worldwide have come to expect from international game titles.

They didn’t just aim to release Monster Hunter: World simultaneously in other regions as Japan (though that was important), but rather, Tsujimoto and his team delved into various aspects of the game to find alternative ways to refine the Monster Hunter formula, with the goal of attracting a wider global audience.

According to Tsujimoto, we conducted focus tests and user tests globally, and the insights gathered from these interactions significantly shaped our game design system and contributed to the game’s overall success as a global title.

As a gamer myself, let me share an insight from the playtests that significantly elevated the gaming experience – the introduction of damage numbers when I struck monsters. Small adjustments to an already winning formula took Monster Hunter to new pinnacles it had never scaled before. In the past, Monster Hunter games usually moved around 1.3 million to 5 million units, excluding re-runs and special editions. However, Monster Hunter: World and its 2022 successor, Monster Hunter Rise, surpassed an impressive milestone of over 20 million copies sold each.

The rapid expansion of player base for Monster Hunter wasn’t due to chance; instead, Tsujimoto and the team adapted the game in a way that maintained its distinct (although admittedly complex) characteristics while making it more accessible to a broader audience without compromising on essential aspects. This strategy is evident in the latest installment of the series, Monster Hunter Rise.

Essentially, Monster Hunter is a game centered around action, and the feeling of achievement you get from perfecting that action is key to the experience. However, for beginners, reaching that point of mastery can be challenging. Therefore, when designing games like World, Rise, and now Wilds, we pay close attention to understanding where players might struggle, gather player feedback, and conduct our own research to make these games more accessible for newcomers. This includes streamlining difficult aspects and implementing new systems that help beginners progress smoothly.

In less than half an hour after its debut, Monster Hunter Rampage garnered 738,000 simultaneous players on Steam, surpassing Monster Hunter: World’s previous record by more than twofold. This suggests that Capcom’s newest installment could soon outmatch even the impressive feats of World and Rise. With a barrage of favorable reviews and the anticipation of additional content, it appears highly probable that Monster Hunter Rampage will continue the series’ global conquest.

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2025-02-28 16:28