14 DAY TRIAL // If you live in America and you're not sure if you're willing to pay to play Monster Hunter Tri online, then fret not, you're not the only one. Not only would most players have to sit down over a cup of tea and a biscuit to ponder the decision, but it seems that Capcom isn't very sold on the idea either. In Japan, the game is a pay-to-play with fees of 800 Wii Points, or $8 for one month of online play, 1,500 Wii Points, $15, for two, and 2,000 Wii Points for three. But it looks like that might not be the case for this game in the US.
Monster Hunter G for the PlayStation 2 has a similar concept in mind, but has never made it State-side either. Massively multiplayer role-playing games have a pretty fix tradition of a standard fee, but the content and online experience is completely different from that of an RPG with a multiplayer mode. Role-playing titles that support online play are mostly a one-time investment, this being the original purpose, but Capcom does have a reason to need the monthly fee.
Most corporate decisions regarding pricing have a blank stare directly into the profit section of the chart, but it seems this time Capcom needs the extra money to try something new. The game will not use Wii's Friend Codes, and, instead of hogging Nintendo's servers to host the online sessions, it will do so on its own servers. Still, when 1UP talked to the TGS Capcom representative, it said that chances were very high that the game would make it to the US as a free, online experience, considering the past experiences in America with Monster Hunter G.
This is a very strange decision, indeed. Since it'll be using its own servers, it will need the extra money to maintain them and it would make sense to demand a monthly fee. Otherwise, like many other games, it would just end up shutting down servers one at a time, as the costs would continue to rise and the income would stagnate. The fact that it charges the Japanese customers and not the Americans because they're not used to paying fees for simple RPGs sounds like the preferential treatment one gives to a spoiled child.
“We can push anything on the Japs because they're just gonna shut up and take it, but since the Americans will scream at the tiniest finger prick, we'd better rolled them in packaging foam.” The game did great in Japan and was even one of those select few that won a perfect score from gaming magazine Famitsu, but the final American verdict will have to wait until next year, when it's released in the United States. Let's just hope the title won't be packed in a box with sharp corners.