In our previous report, Capcom’s consumer games division director Katsuhiko Ichii spoke of the company’s goal to make Monster Hunter 4 be the best selling title in the series, along with their goal to continue building on what makes them unique. In an interview with Mainichi Shinbun Digital, chief operating officer Haruhiro Tsujimoto shares his own thoughts on Monster Hunter 4 and the company’s future.
“There’s a limit to how long something can be continuously developed on the same hardware,” Tsujimoto says. “The Monster Hunter series started out on the PlayStation 2, then on the PlayStation Portable. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd [which was a huge hit] had reached the end of the line, and in order to meet new expectations, it was required for us to switch platforms.”
“Games have ideal release periods, which also determine when their development begins. This resulted in our judgment of seeing the 3DS as the most desirable [platform for Monster Hunter 4].”
With regard to hardware development, Mainichi Shinbun asks about his opinions on the PlayStation 4 and the next-generation consoles. The chief operating officer replies, “While planning out game content, we will develop and judge which hardware is the most suitable. However, for the sake of the players, having it be a multi-development is the most ideal.”
The term “multi-development” immediately triggered a question many have wondered: does this mean Monster Hunter 4 will come out on the PlayStation Vita?
“No [plans] for now,” clarifies Tsujimoto. “We want to have as many people as possible play it on the 3DS, and we are only thinking about making it succeed.” He further states that the company’s goal is to reach a total of 2.8 million units sold after seven months of Monster Hunter 4’s release. On the 3DS, this shouldn’t prove to be much of a problem, as Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate alone has sold over 2 million copies on the platform, despite being the third version of Monster Hunter 3, handsomely beating Capcom’s original forecast for the game.
During the interview, Tsujimoto also spoke of Capcom’s current focus and their goal for the future.
“Several years ago, we utilized outside [companies] to help expand our content,” he says. “However, what’s more important now is to increase the playtime, and external development wouldn’t have the accumulated know-how, in that regards. Motion productions and others that wouldn’t cause a problem, will be continued through outside developments.”
“Utilizing online features and distribution will be important in increasing playtime,” reiterates Tsujimoto. “Since it takes about two, three years to release new games, it will be important to have other development aside from games in order to keep the interest going. This may be stretching it, but games aren’t a necessity to life. With that in mind, we’d like to continue offering players something that can provide dreams and emotions.”
Monster Hunter 4 will be slated for release on September 14th for Nintendo 3DS.
Published: Aug 23, 2013 04:30 pm