14 DAY TRIAL // Comments from one leading executive from Sony linked to the PlayStation division seem to confirm that a Monster Hunter-linked video game for the PlayStation Vita handheld is in development and might be launched during the next few months.
Philippe Cardon, who is the chief executive officer at the PlayStation division in France, told Le Point that, “The games available at launch in Japan do not correspond to the typology of the Japanese public. It lacks a particular game, Monster Hunter, scheduled for the coming months. Had it been there from the start in Japan, the story would have been different.”
He added, “We must put things into perspective and stay calm” and believes that the video games that are being prepared for launch on Western markets are better suited to attract the attention of potential customers.
Cardon was responding to comments about the limited success that the PlayStation Vita had found on the home Japanese market and he echoed the Sony line that the new handheld would perform much better in the West.
The launch of a Monster Hunter video game would surely push sales of the Vita up, both in Japan, where the series regularly tops the software charts regardless of the platform on which it is launched, and on Western markets, where it is played by a group of very dedicated gamers.
Monster Hunter 3 has so far been released on almost all available platforms, and information from Capcom suggest that a sequel is already being worked on and will be offered on the Nintendo 3DS.
It would make sense for the publisher to also launch the game on the PlayStation Vita, given that the two handhelds are set to significantly develop their install base in the coming years.
At the moment, the Vita is selling just a fraction of what the 3DS is managing on a weekly basis.