No charge to play Monster Hunter Tri

By Robert Purchese Published 5 October, 2009

If you live in the West, at any rate.

Capcom is likely to scrap the online charge for Monster Hunter Tri when the game heads West.

"It's something that we're looking into at the moment and there are a few factors to consider. Firstly, Monster Hunter isn't as popular in the West, so it might put people off. Secondly, Japan doesn't have Friend Codes, so Capcom run all the servers and the monthly fee is essentially to pay for those costs," Capcom's Chris Kramer told GamingUnion (via Kotaku).

WiiSpeak support is another area the publisher is looking into for Monster Hunter Tri's Western release, although there is nothing set in stone just yet.

That Western release won't be until early next year. Japan, however, has been playing since August, although the Wii-exclusive hasn't whipped the nation into a frenzy in the same way the PSP games have.

Monster Hunter Tri is an action adventure based around killing monsters over and over for better equipment, as statistics are measured by the armour you wear and weapons you wield. The kick, therefore, comes from teaming up with friends to take down the biggest beasts for the best rewards.

Our hands-on impressions of Monster Hunter Tri will tell you more.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (18) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Evolution #1 2 years ago

    Japan doesn't have friend codes? Jesus Ninty...

  • varsas #2 2 years ago

    Japan does have friend codes but not for this game as it's run through a subscription system that obviously has unique id via accounts.

    On the article, this is an excellent idea that would hopefully draw in gamers; it's effectively the first MMO on Wii!
    Edited by 1 at 05/10/09 @ 09:53

  • JohnnyWashnGo #3 2 years ago

    I love monster hunter on the psp and am looking forward to this on the wii. That being said, I wouldn't pay for online access, so this news is pretty special.

  • penhalion #4 2 years ago

    I wouldn't bother with this game as it's guaranteed to loose it's servers in a few years time. It's Phantasy star online all over again. Nintendo, unlike Microsoft and Sony, don't have their own game agnostic premenant online service. So all servers are provided by the games companys and we all know how fickle they are.

  • oldschoolsoviet #5 2 years ago

    YOU DANCER !

    /looks at sealed NMH & Madworld

    Soon my pretties, soon......

  • schnide #6 2 years ago

    Why the hell are they keeping this Wii only? Surely it'd be huge on Live or even PSN too?

  • JahB #7 2 years ago

    @schnide

    totally agreed. i'd happily pay a monthly fee for a 360/PS3 version, but i'm not gonna get a wii to play the rehash of Monster Hunter PS2

  • swissorc #8 2 years ago

    Wow didn't know japan didn't have friend codes lucky lucky bastards. Am surprised that Tri has not performed well though. Good reviews, good install base and recognised brand very strange.
    Oh well looks like we'll miss out on the fourth installment and all wii owners are doing is paying towards development costs of the immenant PS3 port or Monster Hunter 4 which no doubt will be PS3 exclusive. Cynical I know but probably true

  • INSOMANiAC #9 2 years ago

    Ill definitely give this a dabble, I would have enjoyed the psp ones a hell of a lot more with duel analogue and I believe your supposed to use the classic controller mainly for this one.

  • Eraysor #10 2 years ago

    I love how Nintendo have always picked the system with the worst online capabilities for a game that would be incredible with voice chat and decent matchmaking.

    Then again, the whole reason this game is Wii only is because Capcom can't be bothered to redo the engine.

  • KDR_11k #11 2 years ago

    Tri sold worse than the PSP versions because MH is a social game in Japan, people meet up and play local multiplayer with their own characters. Tri outperformed the PS2 versions by far AFAIK.

    Nintendo, unlike Microsoft and Sony, don't have their own game agnostic premenant online service. So all servers are provided by the games companys and we all know how fickle they are.

    I recall hearing that Sega shut the Chrome Hounds servers down.
    Edited by 1 at 05/10/09 @ 11:26

  • Hunam #12 2 years ago

    No monthly subs and voice comms will push me into getting this easy.

    /hopes

  • Hulle #13 2 years ago

    Good news indeed.. No fee means it'll make it easier for me to convince my mates to play the game. Fingers crossed for voice chat too.

  • erp #14 2 years ago

    This is excellent news! I'm really looking forward to this.

  • drumbaby #15 2 years ago

    "although the Wii-exclusive hasn't whipped the nation into a frenzy in the same way the PSP games have."

    What a shame...

  • CaoSlayer #16 2 years ago

    I hope at least they include a pay to play system in the future so they don't have to close the servers again.

    Seriously, this is not good news.

  • freakzilla #17 2 years ago

    WOW! Japan is really far behind in term of online gaming.

  • CANCEROUS #18 2 years ago

    Either way I'm looking forward to this coming to wii.. I actually gelt a sense of glee when xapcon annouced it was coming to wii n not ps3 don't get me wrong I like Sony but it goes to show just cos you got the horse power don't mean your always going to win