Monster Hunter 3

Monster Hunter 3 is the third installment in the Monster Hunter series and is the direct sequel to Monster Hunter 2. It was first announced for the Playstation 3, but was canceled. Capcom, specifically Capcom managing corporate officer Katsuhiko Ichii, announced on October 10, 2007 that Monster Hunter 3 will be a completely Wii-exclusive title. 

Monster Hunter 3 was announced to be playable at Tokyo Game Show 2008

Changes/Improvements

 * "How the monsters in each field are related, and how they live with each other, plays a large role in the game. In previous games, the situations you encountered in each area were scripted to some extent, but here, everything is constantly on the move in each environment, so your experience changes with that." - Monster Hunter Producer and Director


 * Monsters up to now were largely discrete in nature, not really concerned much about others. In this game, they are constantly being influenced by who and what is around them. If the main boss monster in an area moves just a little, the entire situation nearby changes. Monsters deliberately attack each other all the time." - Monster Hunter Producer and Director


 * New environments, including a tropical island filled with caves, forests, and even underwater sections where you'll hunt sharks and enormous sea serpents.


 * New Suchomimus-Looking Monster, New minion prey, fish, sharks and the "Unnamed Sea Monster".


 * A new village that is a sea port.


 * 4 player online


 * City acts as a lobby for meeting with other players


 * The city in single player has more buildings to visit, and different paths to take


 * Battles will now take place on land or underwater.


 * There is an air gauge while swimming


 * New moves for all weapons new or old


 * New branching for all weapons/armors


 * New movements for Hunters


 * New movements for old monsters


 * New statuses for monsters


 * Different items get different reactions from monsters


 * Go fishing and use your catches as ingredients


 * Use torches to light up dark areas

Online Play

 * Online play will consist of 4-player groups. The "lobby" areas will be in the form of a city, much like the city area of the PS2 Monster Hunter.


 * The city (lobby) area can be developed/expanded over time by the player in offline play.

Development
Keiji Inafune appeared at the end of the trailer saying the following message: "I'm Keiji Inafune of Capcom. We're glad to announce Monster Hunter for Wii. This Monster Hunter 3 is an original sequel to Monster Hunter 2. The images you've seen were created on the actual Wii hardware. Our developers are working hard on development now. Please enjoy playing Monster Hunter with the Wii Remote to your heart's content. And please look forward to the actual release of the game."

Why Wii
Many People are asking why Capcom left PS3 and went for the wii, this is what Capcom had to say:

'''“(Monster Hunter 3 Wii) It was a strategic decision set by the team and our Japanese management to address an emerging market on the Wii. At the time the decision was made, it was in reference to the Wii market in general, no particular sub-segement thereof.”''' - Christian Svensson, Capcom’s Sr.Director of Strategic Planning & Research

On August 23rd, 2008 Capcom had to a bit more about why they went Wii:

'''“I can’t discuss the localization issues at this time. As for the decision to bring it to the Wii, I think there were many. I think it’s fair to say that CJ wanted to bring one of its premier franchises (possibly THE premier franchise when you look at the Japanese market) to the broader audience that the Wii represents. At least, that’s one of many variables that pushed it in that direction.”''' - Christian Svensson

Plans For North America
Capcom knows very well MH does not do nearly as well as it does in japan and this is what they plan to do about it:

"It’s no secret that, in Japan, Monster Hunter is a phenomenon along the same lines as Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh; One in five PSP owners in Japan has a copy of one of the Monster Hunter games! You can see people playing it everywhere; on street corners in Akihabara, on the train, waiting in line to get into the Capcom store at TGS, on school campuses (not during class, mind) and on and on. The publishing company that puts out Famitsu released a Monster Hunter strategy guide that was over 1000 pages!

'''Outside of Japan, the series hasn’t really caught on in the same way. We’ve done respectable business with the games we’ve released so far on PS2 and PSP. We certainly haven’t posted numbers in North America as they have done in Japan – Monster Hunter Freedom 2 for the PSP has sold in excess of 2 million units there – but the games have done well.'''

'''That being said, Capcom is going to be making a major commitment to the Monster Hunter brand over the next two years in the west. Expect to see a significant marketing program dedicated to educating and enthralling gamers of both casual and hardcore natures. We’re not going to let up until there are as many people playing here in North America as there are in Japan! While we have not made specific announcements regarding Monster Hunter 3 in North America (or Europe, for that matter) to date, you can bet we’ll be talking more about it in the future."''' - Capcom PR