Monster Hunter Wilds is gearing up for release in 2025 and it’ll be one of the biggest games of that year, but this much-beloved franchise could, and probably should have died if it wasn’t for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The franchise belongs in the top-tier gaming but the journey there was quite surprising, it fought hard to get there but without Sony taking their PlayStation into the portable world, it would have collapsed.
Believe it or not, next month actually sees the series turn 20 years old. Yes, back in the heady days of September 2004, the franchise was first unleashed on the PlayStation 2. It did well, eventually reaching over a million copies sold, but it felt niche.
The battles were slow and arduous, it could be cruel and unforgiving with moments of screaming at the walls after a 30-minute fight ended in defeat. Yet core mechanics were there; the core gameplay loop of going out to fight, returning, upgrading your weapons, getting more items from your farm and upgrading it where possible.
It was satisfying, yet for the technology of the time it didn’t really have a home on the PlayStation 2. This wasn’t a split-screen multiplayer game and online console gaming was in its infancy. Make no mistake, this game shone as your team provided new ideas, tactics or simply learning how to fight the same monster without the one guy with a great sword throwing you across the map. The game needed a team and with the fights being as long as they are, a console which can easily be put away would hugely help.
Monster Hunter Needed a Perfect Storm
So before we go further, this isn’t an indie darling that eventually made it big. No, Monster Hunter is made by Capcom if this failed it would be like if Jack Quaid had never become a good actor. If ever a game series was a nepo-baby, it’s Monster Hunter.
Yet that perfect storm would arrive, a place where Monster Hunter could proudly stand out from the crowd.
The upgraded port of the first game, now titled Monster Hunter Freedom, was a shining light of the PSP. The graphics were incredible and comfortably defeated anything the Nintendo DS had to offer at the time, and honestly it wouldn’t have come close to making it onto the console.
In a post-Nintendo Switch era and the rapid rise of technology on mobiles, it’s easy to forget, but back in 2006, graphics like these on a handheld were absolutely mind-blowing. Nintendo’s DS felt antiquated by one game; this was a genuine technological statement of a game.
The worlds and areas felt so fast and detailed, the 10-15 minute missions were ideal – but with fights that lasted far longer adding variety.
The fights themselves could be frustrating, yes: I got stuck on the first Rathalos for ages, but they were undeniably thrilling. Huge beasts with admirably wild AI, in areas that felt both epic but not unnatural. You were just exploring this world with these monsters just so happening to be there.
Even camera control by using your index finger on the d-pad above the one analogue stick wasn’t irritating. It was perfect (he says, trying to not remember the pain of the insanely long loading times).
Monster Hunter had its market and with how the PSP ultimately struggled for incredible games it only made the series stand out more. Monster Hunter only needed to build.
Telling Developments and Confidence in the Formula
Now, to get to the image above, from the mega-hit that was Monster Hunter: World, Capcom had to be careful with the series’ development. They nailed it with the next entry, as Monster Hunter 2 was released in 2006 but tellingly outside of Japan, the PS2 version didn’t exist. The upgraded version for the PSP was the only version of the game that made it overseas.
Again, though, when you’ve impressed the audience, just do more, and do it better. That’s what the series did: it had a better upgrading system, many more monsters, different locales, and more everything, which was all it needed. I also remember this game being a bit more forgiving than the first title, which was no bad thing, I might just have gotten a bit older though and for difficult games, that is a huge deal.
With the game selling 2.4 million copies, the trend was very much upward. But, let me ask you a question, what does a franchise do to ensure the next title sells 3.8 million? The answer was, surprisingly, to release an enhanced edition of a game that was already an upgraded version of a game only released in Japan.
Monster Hunter Freedom: Unite though did exactly that. Now, it was either 2 or Unite – but I suspect it was the latter – that introduced an ability to save parts of the game directly onto the PSP. This reduced the now notoriously long loading times to a vastly more manageable level. I can remember sighing with relief upon realising how much of an impact this had. If the loading times of the original PSP title put players off, I would completely understand it.
If this had remained a peak then it would have been understandable, but for as much as the PSP was an ideal console the next move would see the Sony relationship turned away. To this day, I do wonder how the lack of Monster Hunter impacted the PlayStation Vita, the vastly less successful version of the PSP.
The Telling Sign of the Nintendo Era
Yes, the juggernaut that was the Wii proved the next spot for the Monster Hunter franchise. Unfortunately, this is where I personally stopped playing Why? I lost interest in gaming, college kicked in, my voice got deeper and people started to find me tolerable. I was invincible!
This move to Nintendo must have seemed like a risk at the time; the Wii was very popular, yes, but Monster Hunter was not a casual game. This didn’t sell quite as well (1.9m), although there is a huge caveat to this, as the Ultimate version of the game sold considerably more (2.6m) and it also got moves to the Wii U and 3DS.
Now, quite staggeringly, those two titles’ sales figures put together don’t match the incredible sales of the Japan-only Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, which sold a staggering 4.8m. Yes, it was on the PSP, with a PlayStation 3 remaster coming nine months later. This release adapted the third title, but it did remove the water-based combat with some new story/content in place of it. From here on, the series was established and consistently growing enough for its blockbuster status to be very warranted, but the PSP across its first three generations proved a key base for its success.
Monster Hunter World sold just over 25 million copies, while Monster Hunter Rise sold 14.7 million – yes, Capcom’s baby made it big.
Would they have continued it without the PSP, though? I doubt it, as the series just didn’t work elsewhere for the technology at the time. It gave the series bragging rights and a platform where it truly stood out. It grew up to be a giant, but its childhood was tumultuous, but oh, how it went on to thrive.
Anyway, this piece was very much inspired by reflecting on my reaction to Monster Hunter Wilds, so go back and relive our coverage of the State of Play.