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Monster Hunter Freedom Unites 3.5M in Japan

Capcom's bestial beat-'em-up becomes first PSP title to reach multiplatinum milestone in island nation; Monster Hunter 3(tri-) getting Wii bundle in Japan.

The Japanese gaming market has seen considerable weakness thus far this year, with stat-tracking firm Enterbrain saying last week that sales in the region are down 24 percent year-over-year. Still, a handful of titles are defying the overall trend, one of the most notably being Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise.

The title pretty much sums up the experience.

The title pretty much sums up the experience.

Today, Capcom said that Monster Hunter Freedom Unite has combined with its greatest hits "the Best" edition to ship more than 3.5 million units in Japan. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite saw initial release in Japan in March 2008, with "the Best" edition following in October. Capcom further noted that "the Best" edition has individually shipped 1 million units. According to Capcom, combined sales qualify it as the first PSP game to have shipped 3.5 million units in Japan.

Traditionally not as popular outside of Japan, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite saw release in the US to middling reviews last month. Capcom plans to release the latest installment in the franchise, Monster Hunter 3(tri-), in Japan on August 1. The game will be available solo or as part of the first third-party game bundle for Nintendo's console..

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.

39 Comments

  • DrPropane

    Posted Jul 22, 2009 9:10 am GMT

    Guess i'll pick this game up. It sounds like im missing out.

  • Sabriel_Ysane

    Posted Jul 17, 2009 9:33 pm GMT

    I'm so addicted to Monster Hunter. I'm actually glad to hear that MHFU has had better success than previous titles. I'll also be picking up MH3 for Wii. Though I rather enjoy it as a psp game, I will still show my support and dedication by buying it on day one of the release.

  • HessMan217

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 1:57 pm GMT

    MHFU is an oustanding game & series. Yes, it is very hard, yes there is alot of grinding, but it truly is alot of fun with a group & the new Felyne fighter helps take some of aggro off you when you play solo.

  • Stabby

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:07 am GMT

    Of course it would do well over there because its A LOT easier for them to play with others... Why can't the dev just have a simple online co-op mode like oh I don't know... LIKE MOST GAMES!

  • Gamingcucumber

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 8:23 am GMT

    So Monster Hunter is the reason why they are buying all those PSP's?

  • jadefury27

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 7:52 am GMT

    it's like pokemon...except you can skin them, and use their body parts too enhance weapons. i have to say there was many nights i dreamt of skinning a pikachu.

  • jadefury27

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 7:50 am GMT

    Monster Hunter Freedom Unites 3.5M in Japan!!!
    (and 15 people in the u.s....)

  • Cicatraz_ESP

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 7:29 am GMT

    The sales of these games never seem to agree with GS reviews for some reason... what's the deal, is this game a gem that I'm missing out on?

  • PenguinGod19

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 7:28 am GMT

    Uh the only "middling" review was from Gamespot, and pretty much anyone who plays MH knows that GS hates this title. I'm frightened to see what they are going to give Demons Souls which is an amazing game in all rights.

    Monster Hunter deserves this success, it's a fantastic game and you deffinitally get more then your moneys worth out of it. It punishes stupidity and rewards patience and stratedgy, its a gamers game through and through.

  • GAMERALL

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:30 am GMT

    The GS review was a total joke.

  • ChidoriBoyU

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:27 am GMT

    @sunraice well they helped me alot in choosing game and 95% are true

  • suntaice

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:08 am GMT

    GS reviewers have no skill lmao

  • xdeath6

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:05 am GMT

    @_F_F_7_ lol. are you god damn serious? are you saying that the game sucks because you dont have the skill to play it? grow up a little buddy. just because this game does not allow you to lvl up and demands alot of skills to play doesnt mean that you cannot improve.While you bash this game about its lacking, we gamers are enjoying ourselves to the fullest. sucks for you.

  • ChrnoTrigger

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 4:10 am GMT

    Middling reviews my butt. Take a look at the critic score...

    ...8.0

    GS seems to hate the monster hunter franchise for whatever reason. every single game in the series has scored somewhere in the 6's.

  • leo316r

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 2:47 am GMT

    @_F_F_7_
    everyone has their own preferences some games maybe good to them to others not.

    so calling others an idiot because you don't like what they are playing is just like a idiot pretending to be a moron

  • _F_F_7_ posted Jul 9, 2009 1:39 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    _F_F_7_

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 1:39 am GMT (hide)

    WTF this game is basically Monster Hunter Freedom 2 with a few ad-ons and a new CG movie. Gamespot is spot on with it's review, this game is terrible! It's repetitive, annoying and repetitively annoying! Maybe if the had an auto-target on-off button then normal people could enjoy the game and die-hard MH fans/idiots can enjoy it too.

  • lilmp89

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 1:38 am GMT

    @Petercairns
    It's a great game, but the learning curve really is steep and takes some time to grow on you. The game has a lot to offer and plenty to do. Using Ad Hoc Party through the PS3 however will let you play with people online. The sales in Japan have to tell you, there will probably be a lot of people =)

  • abuabed

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 1:30 am GMT

    A great game that deserves great sales. I hope Capcom have in mind a new MH project for other consoles like 360 or the PS3, that would be a killer title

  • Petercairns

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 1:04 am GMT

    Kool, looks gud, mayb i should get it.??

  • Harvestbuddy

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:56 am GMT

    criticis outside japan complain too much "ooh i need auto-lock" etc etc monster hunter's about timing and positioning your weapon. if monster hunter was to be based off of NA standards, it'd play out more like Phantasy Star Portable

  • Danishaslam

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:36 am GMT

    Good

  • akhauskinz

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:30 am GMT

    Middling reviews... lmao gamespot, LMAO

  • Limp_Laky

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 9:14 pm GMT

    lol @ gamespot, middling reviews only referring to theirs and gamepro's the last time I checked the rest are at least a 7/10 thats pretty good in my book, especially when psp games dont get the reviews they sometimes deserve.

  • TalesofRaGnArOk

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 8:43 pm GMT

    Didn't realize how slow GS is with gathering news. This is like 2 days old...and their MHFU review sucked. Why do they care?

  • Elite_Bushido

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 7:58 pm GMT

    Monster Hunter Freedom Unite has been out for OVER a year in Japan. ITS BEEN A GREATEST HIT since like Oct of last year..... seriously GS, wtf....
    and @NICKKELANIUS, i bet if i said GoW was a weird game you'd get all pissy

  • brutal_kid

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 7:56 pm GMT

    it's a 81 on metacritic, and so the "middling reviews" is only referring to gamespot's review. they have staff that basically hate the monster hunter style of gameplay and even points to the lack of a lock on as a targeting issue of the game. Get real, it's the point of it. not every person demands automatic lock on. gamespot reviews are really going down into the gutter. they knew they couldn't link to metacritic to show their point that they think monster hunter is a series that doesn't deserve its publicity, so in a sad move they linked to their own review. would the gertsmann staff have done this? i think not.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 7:40 pm GMT

    I like how GS linked the meddling reviews link to their own review only to justify their score, when they usually link to Metacritic in these situations.

  • Dragonknight0

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 7:25 pm GMT

    dang i cant any longer for the wii one!

  • coltsfan4ever

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 7:21 pm GMT

    @Nickkelanius. I dont know if you realize it or not but calling japanese people "japs" is a racist term towards them.

  • NICKKELANIUS posted Jul 8, 2009 7:18 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    NICKKELANIUS

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 7:18 pm GMT (hide)

    japENESE people like weird games, no interest in this title for me

  • jrabbit99

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 6:41 pm GMT

    wow, that's a lot

  • autobot_optimus

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 6:32 pm GMT

    Not sure why they say middling reviews it has a metacritic score of 81 and only 2 places gave it a score of 6 or lower one being Gamespot. Love the game though.

  • Doolum

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 5:41 pm GMT

    what else you want!?
    great stuffs happens to great games.

  • NuKkU

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 5:32 pm GMT

    man how are Monster Hunter games so popular in japan serisously lol they are crazy i would get if Final Fantasy sold this much or any other type of JRPG but Monster Hunter isnt something i expected

  • Genexi2

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 5:31 pm GMT

    And people say the PSP is dead......

  • brian_13un

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 5:00 pm GMT

    Great

  • samuraiguns

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 4:54 pm GMT

    Holy Crap?! The Japanese sure love grinding.

  • XxTerryH15xX posted Jul 8, 2009 4:09 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    XxTerryH15xX

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 4:09 pm GMT (hide)

    lemme guess due to the success of dis capcom will make a MMO like we need more of them!

  • lew_0911

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 4:03 pm GMT

    Dang, I better get one now.

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