Will Monster Hunter 4 be a 3DS Exclusive? (by Carl B.)

September 19, 2011, by Carl B. - Monster Hunter is insanely popular in Japan – the series alone has made Sony's PSP relevant in the region. There's no doubt that Capcom's recently announced Monster Hunter 4 will have a huge impact in Japan, but what are the chances that this 3DS project stays exclusive to the portable? The answer may not be as clear cut as Nintendo loyalists have hoped.

I'm willing to bet that Monster Hunter 4 will eventually be released on a platform that isn't Nintendo 3DS. The series is just too popular for Capcom to limit its sales by restricting it to one platform.

Monster Hunter Tri was a Wii exclusive to an extent. It was only available on Wii for a while, but then Capcom "re-mastered" the game for PSP. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd isn't the high intensity, online focused Monster Hunter edition that its Wii edition is, but it is the same game more or less.

This leads me to believe that Monster Hunter 4 is merely a timed exclusive, or maybe an exclusive outside of Japan. Capcom needs to help at all to market the title in Japan, so they can release it on any system – it would sell great on iPad. Outside of Japan, however, Monster Hunter hasn't been nearly as successful. It's strange, considering the amazing quality of the series.


Nintendo helped out with the marketing of Monster Hunter Tri in North America, and even published the title in Europe. It's not crazy to think that Nintendo would do the same, under one condition: Monster Hunter 4 doesn't see release on a platform other than 3DS in Europe and North America.

Of course, there's also the possibility that Monster Hunter 4 won't even come to a Sony's PlayStation Vita. When asked why Capcom hasn't announced Monster Hunter 4 for Vita, Sony's global President, Hiroshi Kawano, didn't know what to say.

"I don't know. You will have to ask Capcom," Kawano said.

Do you hope Monster Hunter 4 comes to PlayStation Vita? Let us know in the comments section below.