Everyone in Japan plays Monster Hunter in some form. Noteveryoneeveryone, but definitely most everyone that games. This is something that is hard to appreciate or imagine unless you visit Tokyo. Last week I continually pointed out to my co-workers everyone is carrying a PSP, and that everyone seems to be playing Monster Hunter in some form. We looked over so many shoulders to see if they were playing anything else. They never were.
One game they were playing was Monster Hunter spin-offMonhan Diary Poka Poka Felyne Village, which was just released on August 26th. Capcom says that the title has already topped 500,000 shipped units, and that the fan base is about 50 percent female.
Monhan Diary, which focuses on Monster Hunter’s mascot cat creatures, managed to sell about a quarter of a million copies in the first week. It’s tie-in programs with properties like Taiko Drum Muster and Hello Kitty are likely helping the game’s successes. Of course, the bonus special items that can be accessed for the upcomingMonster Hunter Freedom 3also help out a bit. And if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s ridiculously cute — that always helps in Japan.
