Monster Hunter is a highly successful franchise from Capcom that will soon see an exclusive title being released for the Nintendo Wii. Previously, Capcom mentioned that Monster Hunter 3 was undergoing the development process for Sony’s PlayStation 3, and it is interesting to see the franchise head on over to Nintendo’s platform instead. I suppose this has something to do with the phenomenal user base that the Nintendo Wii has at this point in time, which consistently outsells both the PS3 and Xbox 360 across all continents. I do remember that Monster Hunter Freedom 2 on the PSP was a phenomenal seller, but logic dictates that sales on the Wii (or even DS) platform would do much better.

According to Capcom, the high development costs on the PS3 was the main reason behind the defection, and this will surely be yet another blow to Sony’s beleaguered home console. Capcom managing corporate officer Katsuhiko Ichii mentioned, “Due to high development cost of titles for PS3, we have decided to switch the platform to which we release our Monster Hunter 3 title”. Well, I suppose the much cheaper (although dumbed down version) of the 40GB PS3 would see a whole lot more consoles move this holiday season in Japan, but it looks like the writing’s on the wall for this title where Sony consoles are concerned.

Interestingly enough, the release of Monster Hunter 3 on the Wii will help Nintendo’s console improve on its online strategy - an area where Nintendo is the weakest among the three gaming consoles. Currently, Nintendo offers online play to a handful of titles only, and other online strategies include offering downloads of classic game titles over the Wii Shop Channel.

Source: Punch Jump

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