In case you didn’t know, Monster Hunter is a crazy-popular series in Japan and, unlike the US versions, has always been online. So it only seems justified that Capcom would place subscription fees, although fairly hefty, onto the fans. Probably because they know the fans would eat that up.
The prices stand at 800 Wii Points for thirty days, 1500 will get sixty days, and 2000 will go for ninety days. Don’t worry; if you aren’t sure that this floats your boat, you can always start with the fourteen-day free trial that arrives with the game.
The game isn’t even going to be localized outside of Japan, so why is this significant to us, you ask? Speculation flying around says that this may be the pricing scheme for Monster Hunter 3, which is being released worldwide. However, as previously mentioned, the pricing schemes for online has not been seen in the US, let alone the online, so the pricing for the game is still anyone's guess.
Does this mean the beginning of subscription gaming for Wii?
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 11
Personally I don't mind the charges for say something like Xbox Live, because it IS a good service and works for all the games.
Paying per-game subscriptions just seems wrong to me, can't they just copy Microsoft's clearly working model?
I'm not sure if they can. They'd need money to do something like that. /sarcasm
Capcom is getting REALLY greedy lately.
Those prices are ridiculous!
I would pay $20 for 6 months, not 3!
I can understand that in games where continual online maintenance is required that a subscription fee is needed, but it usually does act as a major limiting factor as to whether or not I buy something.
Gone are the days when I could simply waste my time away playing games all the time, and when I do play, I want to experience a bit of variety. By paying for something monthly, you feel obligated to get your moneys worth. It would be great if they had two payment options: pay monthly (for the hardcore) and pay per play (for the casual). If there was a pricing model like that, I would consider giving the game a crack.
I think Capcom is entering very murky waters with this...
@Terranigma, I know what you mean there. It seems that the Wii has opened up the floodgates for ports- an unfortunate side effect of putting new controls on what is essentially a spruced up GameCube, compounded by the vastly expanded user-base who have never played these games before.
But here's to hoping we will see more originality soon!
Let's just hope they drop the system for MH3.
Rip-off, totally!
The price of a whole year on MH3 online is the price of a whole year's Xbox Live for all games.
But the difference is that companies like Capcom make no money from Xbox Live subscriptions, so on systems where there's no over-arching subscription system I think they're more than entitled to charge for it themselves.
Look at how phenomenally huge Monster Hunter is in Japan - who wouldn't want to get a little extra value out of that market? If you ask me, Capcom are being extremely sensible in ensuring they have enough money to continue being able to produce the games we love from them.
Of course, the key question is - would I pay to play MH3 online? No. No I would not. Sorry, Capcom.
Is it going to have MMORPG-style updates, events, etc.? Because if thats just for servers, it's not just no. It's hell no.
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