In the current edition of "Iwata Asks" – a series of interviews that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has conducted with colleagues to give fans insight into the creative processes at Nintendo – Monster Hunter 3 Tri director Kaname Fujioka and producer Ryozo Tsujimoto discuss the process of bringing the hit series to the Wii.
Amongst other interesting details is the fact that the Classic Controller Pro came about as a direct result of Nintendo's interest in seeing this latest entry in the franchise be as successful as popular with both existing fans and those new to the series. According to Iwata, it would be "too bad" if players couldn't get into the game just because they couldn't adapt to the Wii's unique controllers. Even more radically, Nintendo directly involved the Monster Hunter staff in designing the revamped pad, and the positioning of the analogue thumbsticks is a direct result of their input:
Iwata: Someone within Nintendo said, “What? You’re going to ask the development staff of another company?” But since we were going to make a new controller so that people who had played Monster Hunter before could play comfortably, I thought we should at least get the seal of approval from the game developers.
Fujioka: To be honest, when we were first asked that, I thought, “Is it all right for us to decide?” We said what we thought would be a good spot for the analogue sticks, and when it turned out just like that, I was surprised.
Whilst support for the Classic Controller was always in place, the team had problems with its design. Fujioka notes that the original Classic Controller design made the game "somewhat awkward" to play, but the Pro version's form factor has received nothing but praise from those who have used it in comparison.
The collaboration clearly indicates how important Nintendo regarded the development of a new Monster Hunter title for the Wii, which is also evidenced by the level of cooperation between the companies in promoting the release of Monster Hunter 3 outside of Japan as Nintendo picked up publishing duties for other territories.
There's a lot more interesting bits of information regarding the development of the title, how local multiplayer works (especially of interest is the fact that players can save rewards earned during local sessions to their remotes to take back home with them), online play and the tone of the entire multiplayer experience.
We strongly encourage anyone with even a passing interest in Monster Hunter 3 to read the full interview (which is a translation of a feature that appeared on the Japanese Nintendo site last July) by following the link below.
However, while testing or even developing the game, Capcom would have looked at the control scheme, and felt that they were not satisfied with the original CC as in the article it says it as being "awkward to play."
Well, I'm not getting MH Tri straight away but I have ordered the classic controller pro which is very nice to use. Well done Ninty, and Capcom.
It is unusual yes, but I'm glad Nintendo are involving the devs in the development of hardware.
It looks like Caps and Ninty have grown a little close. There were wii zappers bundled with Darkside Chronicles (or at least you had the option to purchase that bundle).
Dude, they get to design their own controller? So we just like, rewarded them for not taking advantage of the Wii's controls at all? The bowguns are just absolutely to use in the Demo, and their is no freakin' lock on what so ever. ON TOP of that, the game being re-released on PSP with new stuff.
Considering the clumsy and awkward controls in Monster Hunter Tri you would think they would have used the opinion of a team that actually understands what makes good controls.
Of course it's still available, and thank god because i'm not a fan of Controller handles. I like it retro, like the Nes and SNES controllers, which is why the original Classic Controller is awesome to me. If only Nintendo made it Wireless and made the L and R buttons Clicky instead of Squishy than I'd be a happy panda
I ordered the classic pro bundle yayz, but I personally don't find anything wrong with the Wii mote setup. it works and it works well, its just that it only felt comfortable with a few of the weapon types oh well, I'll be using the pro while my little brother will play with the Wii mote
I just picked up the Demo from Gamestop this morning. I enjoyed playing it. Not sure if I will ultimately purchase the game or not at this point. I used my Classic Controller to play. Graphics were pretty good as well.
The ability to save the rewards that you earn onto the Wii Remote sounds very useful and practical. Definitely a feature that will encourage gamers to play together.
I kind of thought this was a given seeing as how the Classic Controller Pro surfaced around the same time as the announcement for Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii.
The bit that I found most interesting from the interview was that the team "heard about the CC Pro" meaning that NIntendo started on it before telling them "we're making a new controller for you guys because we heard about your issues" and then asked them for input.
If Capcom had made the controller, then fine, but the fact that Nintendo took this step is quite significant. I'll get some hands-on with the game on Saturday, so I'll be interested to see if it lives up to the hype.
Comments 17
You fixed it, so I won't be mean.
Not sort of surprising, why wouldn't the developing team be somewhat behind the controller when it is being sold with their game?
Because it's a Nintendo peripheral and not a Capcom one - especially unusual for a company which is traditionally very closed about hardware plans.
However, while testing or even developing the game, Capcom would have looked at the control scheme, and felt that they were not satisfied with the original CC as in the article it says it as being "awkward to play."
Well, I'm not getting MH Tri straight away but I have ordered the classic controller pro which is very nice to use. Well done Ninty, and Capcom.
It is unusual yes, but I'm glad Nintendo are involving the devs in the development of hardware.
It looks like Caps and Ninty have grown a little close. There were wii zappers bundled with Darkside Chronicles (or at least you had the option to purchase that bundle).
Dude, they get to design their own controller? So we just like, rewarded them for not taking advantage of the Wii's controls at all? The bowguns are just absolutely to use in the Demo, and their is no freakin' lock on what so ever. ON TOP of that, the game being re-released on PSP with new stuff.
^^^ That is stupid, WTF.
Considering the clumsy and awkward controls in Monster Hunter Tri you would think they would have used the opinion of a team that actually understands what makes good controls.
i honestly don't think there was anything wrong with the classic controller as-is. i guess the bigger z buttons is awesome...
@Kirk
Exactly. Despite all their changes, Monster Hunter Tri still doesn't control nearly as good as it should.
Is the original classic controller still available? I liked that one a lot.
Of course it's still available, and thank god because i'm not a fan of Controller handles. I like it retro, like the Nes and SNES controllers, which is why the original Classic Controller is awesome to me. If only Nintendo made it Wireless and made the L and R buttons Clicky instead of Squishy than I'd be a happy panda
Uhm..that news is one year old.
I ordered the classic pro bundle yayz, but I personally don't find anything wrong with the Wii mote setup. it works and it works well, its just that it only felt comfortable with a few of the weapon types
oh well, I'll be using the pro while my little brother will play with the Wii mote
I just picked up the Demo from Gamestop this morning. I enjoyed playing it. Not sure if I will ultimately purchase the game or not at this point. I used my Classic Controller to play. Graphics were pretty good as well.
The ability to save the rewards that you earn onto the Wii Remote sounds very useful and practical. Definitely a feature that will encourage gamers to play together.
Someone say MONSTER HUNTER?
/me breaks out $60
I kind of thought this was a given seeing as how the Classic Controller Pro surfaced around the same time as the announcement for Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii.
The bit that I found most interesting from the interview was that the team "heard about the CC Pro" meaning that NIntendo started on it before telling them "we're making a new controller for you guys because we heard about your issues" and then asked them for input.
If Capcom had made the controller, then fine, but the fact that Nintendo took this step is quite significant. I'll get some hands-on with the game on Saturday, so I'll be interested to see if it lives up to the hype.
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