No Fees for Online Play

BY ARCHON

Finally we have confirmation that there will be no fee for online play of Monster Hunter 3 in North America. This is big news, and can only help futher drive sales of the Monster Hunter franchise here in the Western world. Nintendo also announced an official release date of April 20th.

Some background: The Monster Hunter series is a best selling and well know franchise over in Japan. Monster Hunter 3 for the Wii sold half a million copies on its first day of release in the isle across the Pacific! So charging the rabid fanbase to play the game online is a good business move. Games like World of Warcraft prove that this pay-for-play model works. In Japan, a 30 day ticket costs 800 Wii Points, a 60 day ticket for 1,500 Wii Points and a 90 day ticket for 2,000 Wii Points. So if you wanted to play online with your buddies, it costs you actual cash beyond the initial purchase of the game.

Charging players to go online here in the States in contrast, would be a disastrous move. One of Capcom's biggest reasons for developing MH3 for the Wii is its huge install base. It is the best selling current generation console by leaps and bounds! And they want Monster Hunter to be as successful here as it is in Japan. Charging for online play would pour cold water all over those plans.

But it looks like we need not worry. In today's media summit, Nintendo announced that online play will be free for North America. Hunters rejoice!