Evolving Monster Hunter: How Capcom’s Belief in the Series Made it a Worldwide Hit - IGN First

[@backfromtheash5882]

when people ask what genre is monster hunter i say its monster hunter

[@mariopot789]

I didn't understand this and found myself really frustrated trying to play the Monster Hunter Games like Traditional action games. The moment I let go and just leaned into Monster Hunter being its own thing I started having an incredible time. They reaaly are their own unique experience which is what makes them special

[@monsterhunter]

💪💪💪

[@backfromtheash5882]

@@monsterhunter oh wow the sapphire start truly lights my way today!

[@dale3445]

It's an ARPG

[@backfromtheash5882]

@dale3445 monter hunter 😁

[@ShmarveyXD]

Monster Hunter has been part of my life since I've been 11 years old. Back then I had NO ONE that even knew the franchise! Seeing just how massive Monster Hunter has become really puts a tear to my eye.

[@YourPalQWERTY]

Same, I had one friend who had the game on the psp and I ended up getting tri on DS and have been loving the games since

[@aradrex8383]

Same, started with 3U. Nobody I knew at the time knew of MH. Then world came out and suddenly everyone knew Monster Hunter. Proud of the MH team for turning a very niche franchise into a global franchise and Capcom’s 2nd best selling franchise after Resident Evil.

[@ShmarveyXD]

@@aradrex8383 I wad afraid that Monster Hunter would be losing it's soul, but come to think of all the things I've seen in Wilds, there is just so much charm to be found don't you think?

[@aradrex8383]

@@ShmarveyXD I agree. Even with world and rise, I feel they have been true to the spirit of the game and kept what makes it fun. I do miss the paintballs though.

[@RifterVix]

Agreed! I've been playing since MH Tri and I just loved each titled that came out since then. It's been a huge part of my own childhood and I talked about it often at the time but none of my friends knew of it since of how niche it was. But now, they all seen it, played it and loved it, so its a lot more fun to talk about it and discuss things related to it I can't wait to play Wilds soon! I'm curious to play the Bow on it, been a DB main with a bit of SnS for so long, but I wanna try the bow next. Playing Risebreak again for the 4th time until Wilds hits stores

[@Valzack]

I'm ready to invest 2000 hours of my life into this game.

[@eddiealva9751]

Only 2,000? 😅

[@ohheyitsak]

Are you counting Beta hours?

[@Jorbinocus]

@@eddiealva9751 fr like at least triple that 😂😂😂

[@xIronPonyx]

you're not alone 😂 we all gonna end up playing this game that much 😅

[@Cloudy573]

I'm glad Wilds is coming out on PC day 1 so I'll be able to easily know how much total time I've spent on it. All of my World/Iceborne playtime was split between PS4 and PC, and my Rise playtime was split between Switch and PC 😅

[@Ms5000Watts]

Thank you dev team, we love you! Also, do not listen to those CRAZY people who said palicoes can't be cute, they have lost their minds and are unreasonable people

[@LucasPalavicino]

hi from twich

[@eberj2003]

Those people are insane!

[@LokiToxtrocity]

Who spoke such heresy about Palicos?!

[@mechadebzilla]

This is why they put Cha Cha and Kayamba in MH3U instead of the cats you had in MHFU and MHP3rd. They got told global audiences wanted funny little green goobers instead of cats.

[@herrscherofgachapain6342]

they're probably tourist

[@Kyu_Ran]

50 MORE DAYS HUNTERS!!!! 50 MORE DAYS TILL WILDS

[@isaacm7934]

Correction 49 days

[@MysticDragonForce]

@@isaacm7934 Correction: STILL TOO MANY DAYS, NEED WILDS NOW!!!!!

[@isaacm7934]

@@MysticDragonForce every Hunter waiting for a wilds me included are the embodiment of the I don't need it spongebob meme

[@Raspotnik]

Second beta soon too! 😊

[@andrewmahabir589]

​@isaacm7934 nope we submitted right at the beginning 😂

[@ahmadbugshan9603]

I really like that the devs didn't care what type or genre of game they were making, they made a game as they wanted, a game they would want to play, a game where you will get immersed and lose yourself in

[@joeking3181]

Coolest part to me is that they speak on cooperative play not being a popular genre in the west back in the day, and now after World’s fantastic success, Helldivers 2 is proving that the west likes this genre just as much as Japan.

[@xGravityONEx]

The fans believed with them. After 3k hours in mhfu I knew this shit had real potential but I never thought that it would actually become this big. Happy Hunting

[@ShadowRz23]

respect to them for listening to the players and making actual changes to the game after the beta from what they heard from us like for example the insect glaive.

[@DRAG0NSPIRIT10]

Ehh, it's only half a win really for the Insect Glaive. Don't get me wrong I'm happy that they added back aerial and more of the buff effects (earplugs when triple buffed for example), but they really shouldn't haven't been removed in the first place. They also still haven't fixed the control scheme that's designed for someone to have 3 right thumbs. As they believe it just makes it a skill for people to learn which I don't think is right at all.

[@CALAMITY0FHYRULE]

​@@DRAG0NSPIRIT103 right thumbs? It's not that complicated?

[@DRAG0NSPIRIT10]

@@CALAMITY0FHYRULE Well three might be a bit of a exaggeration, but it definitely feels like you need an extra thumb for Wilds IG. Unless you claw grip the controller, which realistically none of the long term mains will want to do (myself included). Take for example the new charge attack, it requires you to hold the circle button (basing this on PS5 controls of course) to use. Now, you can start charging the attack mid-combo but it's not really possible to consistently pull that off comfortably. Since you're hitting triangle at the time with your thumb. Now I have small hands, trying to do that combo and charge attack is just going to strain my thumb in the long run. But that's not the only problem, I've seen other IG users complain and the control scheme as they prefer to manually rotate the camera with the right stick. They can't hold a charge attack and rotate the camera at the same time (I know there is a button to quickly adjust it to wherever your hunter is facing). Basically my gripe is that the current IG control scheme in Wilds just isn't that user friendly.

[@thedarkwolf25]

@@DRAG0NSPIRIT10 Agreed, unfortunately they have stated that it won't be changed, I think that was due to a combination of design restrictions and their desire to have that kind of a control scheme. I'll have to either invest in an Xbox Elite controller for PC (or some 3rd party option), or just "get gud" as they say. Either way at least we have our bounce back, and then some!

[@CALAMITY0FHYRULE]

@DRAG0NSPIRIT10 oh that. Yeah I've never claw gripped, too much of a hassle to learn. But I see what you're saying, sort of. I think for me it comes with having played enough in world and rise that I don't always need to see the monster to do stuff, so I'm okay with it being out of sight. Secondly, I use the edge of my hand to adjust the camera if I really need to OR And this is crazy You could use focus mode to re-aim your camera

[@enseventealp]

It's wild to see how much this game has evolved. Going from claw gripping and getting kicked out of the map area. To being able to comfortably look around and not have to watch two to three loading screens to get to a monster is true innovation

[@BadEnd98]

Actually, you back to fancier claw technique with the new IG control scheme 😂

[@mechadebzilla]

Dear IGN, This is one of the best dev interviews with these guys. This is fascinating to hear how they changed the way they receive and process player feedback to inform game design for a broader audience. Wilds is absolutely going to set all kinds of records, win many awards, and live in our hearts. I know i will be playing it for years. Thank you so much for bringing us this interview. Happy Hunting!

[@johnsmith-pu6kn]

im 56 and im ready to invest 10k+ hour of my life for this game

[@VadeInSpiritu]

I just hope the team doesn’t forget about the roots of the series as they become more mainstream. The old aesthetics, sounds, hunter life simulation elements, those are all equally important to the series as great monster design and gameplay. I’m glad to see they’re focusing on environments, ecological interactions, and immersion. Those are some of the elements that made World a success.

[@dzzzzzt]

I loved those---"hunter life simulation elements"---in World! However, I thought they weren't that many and I wanted more. Having a room is great. Seeing hunters walking around, doing chores was immersive. I don't know how it's been with the previous games though. I've only played World and a bit of Rise. I love the MH universe.

[@VadeInSpiritu]

@ Older games had a lot more of that. Not just in the hub, but in hunts too. Like you would have to go on expedition hunts specifically to gather herbs and things for potions or bowgun ammo, specifically to hunt small monsters and cook meat, or to go mining (usually in the volcanic region when you had it). You had to gather more resources and keep them topped off in your inventory. It made it feel like hunting monsters was your career, but part of that was the preparation before the hunt as well. I loved that and still love preparing for hunts, learning about monsters, building for defense against their elements or tricks and offense against their weaknesses. There just used to be a bit more of that.

[@itapproaches3484]

@VadeInSpiritu I get what you mean, but world by far was really different back in the day when it released, it was a whiplash from the 4th gen which isn't a bad thing but, either way, world was definitely more grounded in its approach in previous games where there would be a lot of goofy unserious aspects, neither are bad approaches but you gotta admit there's a lot of differences between games.

[@dzzzzzt]

@@VadeInSpiritu Wow, that sounds amazing. I really love these aspects of doing supporting work outside of hunting monsters. Maintaining the whole operation.

[@jeronym894]

AGREE

[@ohheyitsak]

Building a game based on a vision and the gamers experience > following trends

[@Waker_of_Winds]

I love the way the devs talk about this game and the series in general! It's obvious that they absolutely love the world they are building and aren't trying to chase trends. We as MonHun fans are blessed to have such passionate, talented and attentive devs. They have shown that they are humble, are willing to listen to feedback and change things that the community is not connecting with even if it means more work. This is how you stay on top! You try to out do yourself every time while staying in tune with your fanbase. This game is going to break records and they deserve all the success that's coming to them. Here's hoping to many more years of Happy Hunting! :D

[@countpicula]

Japanes devs are the best. They are honest and are just telling you: “This is what we wanted to do in making this game. We hope you like it. There were things we didn’t quite mail so we had to change them and this is the result. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have. Thank you for your time.” American devs are snake oil hype men: “this is the greatest game in history it has dynamic real time decision making that effects ever aspect of the world and if you don’t like it your a bigot.”

[@thedarkwolf25]

I adore that they are taking into account feedback from overseas players. They could have just stuck with the mindset of MH being a Japanese game and only really focusing on the desires of that market. That they listened to feedback and then implement it, while staying true to what they wanted to make, has me so excited! I can't wait to spend an ungodly amount of time in Wilds!

[@DragonMasonHealer]

TBF, it was the westernization of MHW that helped make the franchise the mainstream hit that it is. So I'm not surprised they value the opinions of western gamers.

[@tompramanaaccount8892]

I just hope that they don't listen too much of them then slowly becoming to look like a different game since western gaming industries are so fked nowadays, at the end of the day Japanese Market is really the one who makes Monster Hunter a Monster Hunter.

[@abyjohan200]

they deserved all the attention they get as of now, incredible effort from Capcom, they did stick to their roots & expanded it in the most seamlessly as possible. back in the day, only a handful of people plays MH at least in my circles, but now? almost everyone talks about it. long may it continue!

[@MetalSonic1389]

The amount of detail that goes into these games are insane love the models of the monsters and the characters

[@_gokceada]

Mind you everyone the beta in February is the old build still! The reason why is because so much stuff got datamined and leaked. I assume they want to keep it under wraps before the game launches.

[@managers6667]

doesnt excuse not having performance update with beta

[@Acro8927]

@@managers6667Would you rather they spend time and resources on a temporary beta or for them to allocate it to the final game?

[@CALAMITY0FHYRULE]

​@@managers6667 why They specifically stated they're doing a second beta to let people who missed the first have another chance.

[@slushie6269]

@@managers6667 it does. they arent putting it in the beta to give them more time to make SURE it works in the full release

[@NecroticGamer117]

@@_gokceada that's not the reason, the beta itself is months to a year behind the main build; it's so old there's barely any HR content outside the roster (and even that's guesswork in HR) to be found in relation to the story after LR There's no point in working on the beta anymore, their brining it back not to test anything. It's just for people who missed the first one...and jesus some of the comments here just shows how little people think of game development if they can say 'no eckscuze, juz makk optimize!!!!' without thinking...

[@reyxo4657]

The community wouldn’t stop shouting about the game bein an open world, but the devs never cared about it, they're just cooking So based

[@ctbeard08]

This is easily GOTY for me. I cannot wait!

[@Crazebandango]

Its the only developers I pre-order from and I still feel like $100 is not enough for the games that the series they develop.

[@joeking3181]

It’s really cool how he speaks on pvp and fps being the mainstream in the west back in the day, and how they believed that cooperative nature of MH is something that could stand tall overseas despite that fps dominance. Now, one of the most popular games is Helldivers 2 which is so similar in that regard, working with other players to achieve an objective and easy to jump into the fun for a round or two before going on with your day.

[@MrJayZenn]

Honestly, them saying not knowing whether they can call wilds is an open world or not just goes to show their focus is just making a game that their fans love by genuinely taking all the feedback they’ve gotten and making it the best version of wilds they’ve envisioned as well as what the fans want. Big W

[@leonidasvonsparta]

Soon I clean my PC , new thermal paste, got a day off from work, will buy food drinks and snacks ... 3 days full of a new monster hunter . Life is good.

[@neboutsuki]

カプコンはこのゲームを作って本当にありがたいです。高校生の時からずっとやってます。

[@WhatNow505]

Ive been playing MH series since mid 2000s and not just the gameplay experience that made me love this series, but the communitty as well. I dont think ive ever come across a community as chill as these people so i must say im very proud to be a part of it ❤

[@Hakuja88]

Wow to see that I’ve grown up with this series since the beginning. Top thing I was 10 years old when the first game came out and I was so captivated.

[@dzzzzzt]

That part at the end about the open world design was illuminating. They haven't made a open world and populated it with quests for the sake of it. This is profound. I love Monster Hunter and these devs. It's rare to see such an ecosystem of developers and community where both sides work together to create such a unique and amazing experience. The devs' humilty combined with their deep expertise is humbling and inspirational.

[@BadEnd98]

I remember the Ecological researchers and the Fisher man with their side quests in MH World, and the treasure, picture hunting too, the world just full of charms

[@FLUFFYHAWAIIAN747]

I have never found a community more wholesome and fun than the MH community!! May it live forever!! This is our Year Hunters!!!

[@leonidasvonsparta]

After 1 year the expansion will appear and after 2 years a new game for portable consoles probably

[@sebastianocampo71997]

Just say YIKES to your co hunters if they die

[@AngelsAegis]

As someone whose been playing these games in release order, by release date, since the original game... it's painful to hear the series' story like one of an underdog. No matter how true it is, I have ALWAYS believed in Monster Hunter. Always.

[@WORTH-IT-MAN]

One of the rare people who started playing on 4U because i never had current consoles and was happily stuck with a 3ds but when monster hunter stories released me being a massive pokemon nerd at the time being 8 years old saw an ad and thought it looked sick then i saw monster hunter 4 U at eb games and thought it was the same series WHAT A SUPRISE I WAS IN FOR. I sucked it took me so dsmn long just to defeat great jaggi and i had to watch an arrekz gaming video on it but i did it then I grinded my way through low rank at a snails pace failing quests at least 3 times for each monster until i beat shagaru magala like 2 years later which i have a literal note book for detailing attack patterns. Still have that save file on my 3ds and i beat high rank village in 2021 and came back in 2023 and cleared high rank hub SOLO with hunting horn. Got to tigerstripe zamtrios though and by god i just can’t win against him and I don’t have time for 40 minute hunts now and it makes me really sad that i’ll never see Gog but i might go back and absolutely minmax the shit out of my gear using chargeblade or something. Anyway I FUCKING LOVE THIS GAME THANK YOU CAPCOM I HAVE IT ON EVERY PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY I OWN. World and rise on ps5 rise and GU on switch p3rd emulated on my phone 4u on 3ds frontier and tri on my laptop i happily but evey single version of this game and have over 200 hours at least on every single version of them.

[@The_Jho]

I’d call this game an immersive world game, it’s to feel as alive as possible, immersing the players in everything around them

[@Raspotnik]

You can tell that these guys are passionate and truely committed. I can’t wait to play Wilds. I think it has the potential to be the best MH game ever made. I haven’t waited for a game like this in years!

[@sansotandrea4063]

Great interview ! It's fascinating to hear devs talk about their games! In particular when it's about MH

[@spectrumbots4268]

Been playing this series since 2018, starting with Monster Hunter and Generations Ultimate!

[@jobywonkanobi]

I bought and played MH:Iceborne on a whim just cause i kept hearing about the series and it took sometime to get used to its quirks im glad i stayed in i ran an insect glaive build that got armor bonuses from jumping and staying in the air as much as possible and i turned into a living buzzsaw. And of course grew to love my big muddy buddy Barroth i mean he whistles like a train when he runs at you thats adorable, hilarious and highly threatening all at once, love em. Looking forward to wilds

[@EzaHazami]

Happy hunting guys!

[@Ookami20]

And that ladies and gentlemen is passion.

[@StefanSeales-j3b]

This is the only game for 2025 am really looking forward to

[@LeftOfToday]

You could make a Palicos only game and it'd be a hit! 😻

[@mikepurmessur420]

Prowler mode defintely should be considered for the expansion or the next portable game!

[@CoolNerd00]

Monster Hunter World introduced me into the series and I’m so glad it did. I got hooked ever since I saw the first trailer revealed at e3. I bought it during release week when it was in stores. Knowing nothing about the series, the trailer made the game look really fun so I just bought it on a whim

[@SilverKyuubiNinetail]

Monster hunter world was my debut into monster hunter and since then and Rise im definitely ready for this one. I never been so eager for a game in all my life.

[@Cthulhudud3]

Great interview! The hype is building.

[@GalesCat]

stoked, been into MH since 2007

[@yeetskeet3]

I've been tip toeing around getting into Monster Hunter, but this will be my first one. I'm very excited!!

[@drumsmaaan]

This game series means the absolute world to me. I've been playing since Freedom and I owe so much to the series!

[@renesingh999]

Tsujimoto-san, please give us back Dante's Charge Blade in MH Wilds. If possible, Dante himself as a Companion in a special event quest, to get the sword and unique armor etc.

[@ghost_ilamas9615]

5:56 thats why we need the old tracking mechanics back so this would add into the excitement of hunting that mysterious monsters!!

[@rongon-100]

Damn its been a long journey, even though i have a few exams for my job coming up, i'll definitely keep my eye on wilds lol

[@UziGameGP]

Been here since Monster Hunter 1! Always hoped one day the west would see the brilliance. With World it was a dream come true.

[@frozone-yeah]

Nice, a new First video posted on my birthday, another great gift today.

[@thatsfetcher]

best franchise best devs cant wait for all the free updates. happy hunting everyone

[@danknado97]

only if DD series had the same love

[@billjones642]

Dark Arisen 2 soon don't worry

[@hovsep56]

if only capcom believed in dragons dogma aswell and din't sabotage that team with 1/4th of the resources

[@binitbs]

Really would like them to bring back hunter arts. I know they are incorporating into some weapons but I still want my charge blade beam saber back.

[@mr-penguinprime]

This all looks super cool

[@wim5210]

Been playing this series since 2010 never skip the series and here we are

[@ahmadshahrul4891]

Anyone from origin ps2 era monster hunter 1st generation 🙋🏻

[@beywatch]

been a fan since MHTri on the Wii. played world and rise and can't wait to play this

[@Chinaeatshit8964]

MHW playtime : 2798 hours😊

[@senjutori]

Proof that creative design should free of any influence from modern reality nonesense *wink at DA the veilguard *

[@pamhakim2143]

The 3 veteran goat hunters

[@W0LF2612]

I effing love MONSTER HUNTER

[@Tony-ty2fw]

In life there are hunters, and then, there are monster hunters

[@Enigmatic_Soldier]

after almost 7000 hours in world/iceborne, 1500 hours in tri and tri ultimate and more than 3000 hours in freedom unite i am so stoked about this game world/iceborne honestly takes the cake for best monster hunter game so far i really hope wilds will surpass that and i think from the many hours from the beta it really has the potential to

[@Alzenryo]

holy sht bruh 7k hours? mine is 1,5k hours and i feels like im playing too much

[@W0LF2612]

Capcom is on the top of the industry. Absolute GIGA GIANT.

[@syn1n_437]

please please capcom bring back the water/boat levels

[@waelxcm]

strarted with freedom unite on the psp! as i played so much with the lance! good ol days!

[@wavytrash]

I love monster hunter and the devs!!!!

[@sysc0mp72]

I am so ready for this game

[@puntacana7550]

Remember guys, IGN gave veilguard 9/10

[@reza2354fa]

Happy Hunting!!!!

[@UselessNekoGang]

My biggest problems with wilds come down to three things: 1. Changes to friendly fire 2. PC Performance 3. No longer having to track monsters Outside of those things I think this game will be a big hit.

[@ಠಿ_ಠ-ತ7ಭ]

nah your just have a shitty poor pc and doesnt even too baby new to monster hunter

[@alidzul530]

i am ready to spent thousand hours to farm that damn gem/mantle 😤

[@andrewmahabir589]

give me Capcom gimme please

[@HoxPlays]

Give me 3 years to invest into Wilds. After that a crossover with MHW/Rise/Wilds where we can travel in between all 3 games in 1 and in between all the villages. But give me the Pierce LBG from Rise 😉

[@Lordjervy]

Hope the sticky meta will comeback because it was nerf in mhr sunbreak

[@Lexgamer]

It's good to hear they are doing things because they want to. Like, listening to fans is great and all, but if you listen to hard you lose the vision and the game gets boring.

[@zaka555]

this game genre is monster hunter, that why this game Unique

[@khaild7856]

trolling if palico wasnt cute (we need prowler mode)

[@alexgalays910]

It's funny how they completely ignore Rise, which is the odd less serious, arcade, B team offshoot.

[@AshApocalyptic]

I can't wait! Hooooooly shit this is going to be incredible!!

[@carlj4046]

If it was a westwrn devs, they canned it during the portable days

[@hvalle1086]

I just wish they did the same to Mega Man

[@bloodwire0]

I now have a reason to re-subscribe to IGN!

[@servantis5989]

GOTY right here.

[@blipblop9094]

i just hope they optimized it, dd2 still plays rough and still cpu heavy. hoping the beta would play great so i can pre order already lol.

[@Deathwish026]

gaming industry could just pause for about 1500 hours if thats cool ?

[@LueyB]

Monster Hunster 4 life

[@danixsan95]

+1000 hours incoming

[@CZ_Aesthetic]

Thank you.

[@justinv28]

I’ll be sinking 5159 hrs into Wildes. This will hold me over till Oct 1st…..GTA6 (that’s if it comes out in fall or this year lol😂)

[@VroooomVroooom-kk6wk]

So what crossovers do you guys want to see? I would like Alien vs Predator or Delicious in Dungeon. Those two are like PB & J for MH.

[@Acro8927]

As ridiculous of a concept I think a Monsterverse crossover would be cool Let us hunt a skull crawler or something

[@leonidasvonsparta]

JoJo, Castlevania,hunter x hunter, elden ring would be cool too

[@HamstringCollector]

​@Acro8927 reward for completing the event quest is Kong layered armour with his godzillaxe as an unga-bunga hammer.

[@Gamerupt313]

None

[@dimasar4142]

we believe in a Japanese Developer

[@KudaLaut-qn1vv]

... It better run well without frame gen

[@pigsmacker213]

Whatever investors told Capcom that people overseas wouldn't "appreciate" cute things like the palicos in a triple A experience. Should have been laughed out of their fucking job bro. How out of touch do you have to be to think people don't like cutesy things in their escapist media hobby?? Like holy shit that has to be the most nonsensical shit I've ever heard. Like did the guy who told them that just randomly forget that the biggest multi BILLION dollar media conglomerates in the world are all mainly known for their cutesy media? 😂

[@TonyJrMl2]

I love Mhw, The enviroment, endemic life, graphic, sound, and music, but something about wild, feels weird. It feels dull. The endemic feels really robotic and some areas feels empty.

[@scoringforeign7073]

So its not open world?

[@HouseCanis]

I love how Capcom MH devs don't give AF about western opinion. Capcom SF devs on the other hands.... :3

[@Pyroxene-W7F]

I just wish the developers would take the mechanics and immersion of the world they so proudly promote into the actual gameplay. As much as I absolutely adore the world of monster hunter. The simplification and ease of the gameplay as to make it more palatable to those unwilling to actually have to learn about the game is sad to see. And honestly a lot of wasted potential as when the game dosent force the player to interact in an immersive and thoughtful way with the world through difficult combat and meaningful decisions. It overall causes the world to feel more like set dressing than anything else and activly detracks from the feeling that the world is alive when you are the only one seemingly exempt from having to properly handle that living world.