Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Online Play Will Be Region Locked For Wii U

Ugh... can't there be ANY good news lately?!

Oh well, another game I don't have to buy now.

@MasterGraveheart
Right with ya. Everything we here lately for the Wii-U is all doom and gloom. It's a shame all regions just can't play together online but at least it does have online play. Hopefully Capcom aren't going to pull a stunt like Ubisoft and push the release day back a few days before release.

It was the exact same way with Tri. It's not optimal but at least it has online play.

not really that important to me.

You're bustin ma BAWLZ here capcom. I don't even have a WiiU

Ugh. This is the most disappointing news of the lot. Monster Hunter isn't even close to a big franchise here in the UK, but I have a coupe of good friends Stateside that love this series and I was going to get it to play with them. No point in me buying it now

From the interview, it sounds like Nintendo made this decision, not Capcom?

It's fine with me. We will get enough foreign languages as is in europe. I want to team with English people, noone else, no offense intended, I feel I relate more to my own territory and thus will enjoy online more.

ffs nintendo........

oh, come on people, this is only logic.

Gaming with people from the usa (I'm in europe) is something I really like, but it doesn't always work. In shooters it does sometimes, due to compensation algorithms in place, but even then it usually kind of sucks and you know it. It's too laggy.

Now imagine what happens when there's a laggy connection and a game world to synchronize, with the monsters' moves and all that. In tri, if you had a laggy connection, this game of perfect timing and balance was destroyed. It won't be different in Ultimate.

To be honest, I really hope they researched extensively if they might be able to pull it off, but technically, the world probably doesn't have the infrastructure in place to do this at an acceptable, lagless level. So I do want to be sure that when I go online and meet thousands of people, at least we can play instead of gamble if this is going to work. Maybe if they test it and get it to work, we'll see this change in the future.

Glad I'm not living in a country with not many Monster Hunter fans...Oh wait...

wow capcom hast to screw players somehow yes?

You don't even need a flawless connection for a game like this, erv. Lag is fine when you're all doing independent things anyway. Why is it getting so hard for gamers to play together? With 8/12 different gaming systems in the midst and region locking on top, it's making gaming stupidly inaccessible. The odds of being able to play games with someone you meet are getting increasingly lower.

It seems theres no end to the disappointment, I wont be getting this now.

Oh well I'll probably get to play with about 4 people in the UK as no one owns a Wii U.
3DS one for me and maybe get the console version at a later date

I don't see the big deal. Yeah, it's a little lame, but to not buy the game? Relax. Support this game, don't be stupid. If you want exclusives to last on the Wii U, don't freak out over something so small. The game is still Wii U exclusive (and 3ds, but you know what I mean), and it hasn't been delayed.

By being whiny and boycotting the game, you're just going to damage the game's sales, and make Capcom think people don't want the game, or at least not on this console.

May be a slightly barmy idea, but why not have an option to play in your own region or internationally? Wonder why it's region locked though? Seriously, the Wii U needs some good news now

...man i really wanted this game so i could play onliine...im thinking bout not getting...it would of been awesome to play this online and do quest together

I don't think anyone is boycotting it. I'm no longer getting it, as the reason I wanted it (to play with two specific friends) is no longer possible. I'm not trying to send a message to Capcom or Nintendo, I just don't want the game anymore.

well, at least this is the best of the bad news about MH3U...

And the desire for the game dies with one headline. Nice going Capcom.

Yeeeeeh (sarcasm)

The lame think here is that the 3DS version has no online. This may be old news but I haven't heard it before...

@Peach64 i know its disappointing, but i think its better in a way, just look at battlefield 3, on ps3 is where i play it, an because the servers are not region locked, i constantly get people form the middle of the desert in saudi arabia, an also people form the amazon rain forest, an both have terrible internet connections,an so they lag an when i shoot them the bullets dont register quick enough with the server, an then they kill me, it drives me nuts! there are lots of bloody Americans who are garbage,(no offence garbage American players)at the game,an on purpose join European servers so they can have a lag advantage, it ruins the game, granted if dice an ea made the bf3 hit detection server side, instead of client side, this problem would not exist! anyway i think if the game has dedicated servers,then the players on that server would be able to region lock it, if they choose,that way everybody gets s choice! i wonder if the game is p2p like call of duty, or dedicated servers, i think it is the latter.

Wait. Don't all online games have separate servers for Europe, America and Asia? Diablo 3, etc. Playing across oceans would just be laggy.

Pff, I don't understand these reactions. In most games it is impossible to play with people worldwide and now it is a reason for not buying the game????

People are just looking for an excuse for not buying this game.

Well, I only want to play with one friend and he's the same region as me, so no biggie for me. But what I am wondering if I have PAL Wii U in an NTSC region, will it detect my IP and block me from playing online? O.o

I plan on playing with a few friends in my region, so this doesn't effect me, and wasn't tri region locked?

That's a blow, not because I particularly care about playing people from the US/Japan, but because Monster Hunter has such a small fanbase in Europe, never mind Britain and Ireland

I hope it's a technical issue and not Nintendo trolling us, but Mario Kart 7 on 3DS had players from around the world. Just saying.

I can't think of a single 360 or PS3 game that does this either, so it's certainly not 'to be expected'. I'm not moaning or ranting, just disappointed.

oh boy -.- now i'm stuck with European servers only, where all i see is german, spanish, italian, french, russian and hardly any english =/

BOO! HISS! BOOOOOO!!!!

Enough with the complaints. Everybody will have an entire COUNTRY of people to play with!

@Peach64 i know mortal kombat 9 had region lock but that's the only one i can remember.

@LonDonE MH3 was P2P so I think its safe to assume MH3U is too.
@Grubdog This is a very timing oriented game and lag can have a big impact on it, and lag is irritating no matter what your doing online or off.

It sucks for people hoping to play with people they know in another country but you still have plenty of people to play with. I definitely understand the language side of things though, one of my friends from MH3 spoke Spanish and would sometimes forget I don't. Got really awkward when another of his friends joined us and they both started doing it.

Hm... I may go for the 3DS version, then... I know I'll just be able to play it more often. The online was the only thing that made me want the Wii U version, but I probably won't use it as much being region locked. I understand why they did it, but it's still too bad.

it will be on ps3 and 360 soon and that wont be locked,play any one anywhere on these proper games machines.nintendo needs to sort out multiplayer,making nintendo land offline was about the worst idea possible now this,nintendo need to sort out 3 party and the list goes on.

with this in mind "By being whiny and boycotting the game, you're just going to damage the game's sales, and make Capcom think people don't want the game, or at least not on this console."

why should I give my hard earned cash to making capcom rich if its not got the features I was hoping for

you wouldnt by a car if it was promised to be the fastest on the planet and then it turns up with no engine and I have to push it everywhere because it was to much for them to ship it with an engine

my point is if you want to half make a game at least drop the price

What's up with gamers lately? Seems like all Wii U owners, aside from me, get a game only if there is no problem with them.

With that statement PS3 and 360 should have no game sales or very little having a lot of games that freeze the consoles, just to begin with.

Whhhhhhhyyy?!?!? This is so stupid!! Not that I have a wii U but there are friends over seas I would love to play when I get one!

@Araknie It's ridiculous. People would rather pay $15 a month to be able to play on XBox Live with people who speak a different language?

I'm not really concerned about it being region-locked. At least you get online multiplayer.

@Frapp I agree with you. Just because its region locked, you can still have a lot of fun playing with your country.

Don't get me wrong, it's sad, but as long as I can play online with North American people who speak English, I'm good.

@jayblue
It's really not Nintendo's fault at all.

Ugh, more bad news after more bad news. Still getting the game though. This is pretty much like playing an MMORPG with a bunch of regions IP blocked. Hope SEGA gives us PSO2 so I can play with more than just Americans.

Who cares that you cant play accross regions, seriously. I prefer to play with people who speak my language.

...Why? I thought the point of online was to play the game with different people. Apparently one can only play with CERTAIN people.

Eff Rayman Legends, this is the bad news. >:[

In the last few months, the posting community here has been getting a lot more fanboyish. Maybe it's just a natural reaction to a lot of 'bad news', but it's making this place a lot less fun.

It's like talking to someone from North Korea that's been brought up being told their life is the best and everything outside it is terrible. People have a right to be disappointed by this news, but instead they're met with dumb responses like 'could be worse, it could crash your system like all Xbox games do'.

Any half decent match making tool will allow you to filter by country for those xenophobes that don't want to play with anyone that doesn't live on their own street, but a lot of us have online friends in other regions (who speak the same language as us) that we'd like to play with.

Why is this bad news? Most MMO's and games like that have European servers, American servers, and so on. Why do I care if I can't play with my high ping with some people from the States?

No skin off my back since I normally choose the same region option. The closer the connection, the better the gameplay especially with 3 others.

With all this whining about the game being region-locked, people will start getting the impression that Wii U players and Nintendo fans are nothing but big babies who cries over little things in a big way like an small hair on a ice cream.

I'd prefer choice, but after the lag-fest of the Wii version of Call of Duty Black Ops which was dominated by Americans and likely hosted on American servers I understand the move.

Wasn't Tri the same way? It would be great to have global play, but if there was any concern about (a) expense, or (b) performance then I'd rather see online modes locked down by region. Less lag and not having to pay for a subscription would more than justify this move.

@jayblue Lol Nintendo has an exclusive deal with Capcom until 2015 for the franchise so don't get your hopes up... Not to mention Nintendo handles all of Capcoms localisation for the Monster Hunter franchise...

Did you not wonder why there hasn't been a Monster Hunter for the PS Vita yet? Because of this deal with Nintendo...

This week should be renamed happy week,

I'm gonna grab this game my mate has a DS and I'm on Wii U so the online don't bother me I'd rather play with close mates anyway.

@Grubdog You're going to skip a game because of a region lock? Isn't that overreacting much? (Unless you have family & friends in a different region, then it's a little more warranted)

Region-locking is pretty standard in the video game industry. I don't get the big deal... would you rather have unplayable online play due to lag, or have region-locking.

@mudjo Are you also a Vooks member because I'm pretty sure there's more than one dude/dudette in Perth interested - I'm in Perth but ain't me, btw

I'd rather not have to hear other languages that I can't understand anyway! I've had my fill of French and Italian etc. on Black Ops II thanks lol

Shame on you CAPCOM. Not only you cut Online Multiplayer off from 3DS version (a thing you promised as online is important for western players) and now you spoil Multiplayer of WiiU leaving it region locked.

Um... fine, solo it,s just my style.

You don't want this region lock ? Me too ! because i've made this petition just enter you here http://www.change.org/de/Petitionen/capcom-change-that-monster-hunter-tri-ultimate-has-a-region-lock

Don't worry, I'm sure the Miiverse page will be spamed with these complains fior them to release an update.

@Shadx

Thank you for being the voice of reason. MHT was region locked, and that game was fine. If you're worried about having enough people to play with, make sure you buy and play the game, and encourage others to do so. Whining and talking about boycotting doesn't help anyone. If we want more good games, we need to support the few that we do get.

I'm fine with this. I mean it's "Cool" to play with Japanese gamers but at the end of the day, it's more feasible to play with gamers that speak your own language. I'm still getting this!!

Yeah, I remember playing PS0 and ending on a team were the people only spoke Japanese... what fun that was, I could understand squat. seriously this truly is not a big deal at all. If anything it might help build i tight niche MH gaming community.

Well, that's £40 to spend on another game! Specifically, Fire Emblem Awakening when it releases here in April.

This is great news! Lag time sucks and its caused by too many people playing too far apart. Lag time will be a nonissue with this game.

This is disappointing news.....it's not a deal breaker for me but still a negative especially since I enjoyed chatting with different various people from around the world with interesting backgrounds and things to say.

I'll still enjoy playing the game no doubt but I'll miss sharing unique info/experiences with others overseas. Now it's going to be a less cultured gaming experience.....

This ain't a bad thing, i'd much rather the smoother gameplay and lagless multiplayer, compared to getting people who keep disconnecting or lagging hard.

This news doesnt bother me. I tend to hunt with my friends (if the kids allow it ). I have a feeling most of my time will be clocked solo on 3DS at work lol.

Good. These godlike Japanese gamers really shouldn't have to put up with boring western letters and words...

So annoying, but not surprising. Would have been good to have one big thread on here where everybody could get involved.

Why do some people here always assume that another region purely means another language?

@Ildrien
They never cut off online for the 3DS version. It was never there to begin with. They also never promised online for the 3DS version. Be grateful that you're even getting the 3DS version in the first place. Capcom could've just given us the Wii U version and left it at that.

@Fuzzy
They don't understand the concept of "Other people can speak English".

I was going to play with U.S. only anyway. This isn't Nintendo's fault, you can play COD BO 2 with Europeans, even Mario Kart Wii. Besides having a faster connection, and not having language communications problems is for the best. Not everyone can speak english, even in U.S.

This is hardly a deal breaker for me, sure there are some users on here across the seas I would like to play with, but I have plenty of friends in the U.S.

OMG so dissapointed

Thanks for the info!! Pr-order Canceled!! Game purchase declined!!

Well i am getting this for my 3DS so that means no multiplayer for me because none of my friends are getting it,and i guess the Wii U is having its own problems also.

After a few minutes, I pondered over this and came to this conclusion. Yes, it would be nice to have no region lock, but it's like having a radio in your car. Yes, it is nice to have. Some may require a radio before even considering to buy the car. However, at the end of the day, the radio barely matters. The car will run just fine with or without the radio. Maybe your driving experience will be lessened by your inability to loop "Donuts, Go Nuts!" over and over, but the car will get you to your destination. I'm getting the game because I don't feel like I need to play with everybody in the world, nor do I have international friends. Maybe you do, but I don't. As a matter of fact, I'm getting the 3DS version which doesn't even have Wi-Fi. So, I'm pretty much not getting cup holders with my hypothetical car either. At the end of the day. Many choices in your life will matter. This is not one of them. Do what you will and have fun with or without this game.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

Doesn't bother me. I'll at least have someone to play with. That's what matters.

Hunters dont cry!!!! They hunt, no matter where the other companions are located!!! To Hunt a Massive Monster is the essence of life. Do it alone or do it with your friends, just Hunt and shut up!!!!

So you can't have laggy online matches with people that don't speak your language? Yes, that sure is a tragedy.

@Zombie_Barioth LOL totally understand, an i agree, since monster hunter is largely timing based, lag an bad ping times would definitely ruin the experience, however, to have a p2p system, it would mean your experience of the game, would be entirely based ont he host, an his connection, like in cod, an thats a bummer, i would have preferred dedicated servers, but oh well!

Well it's not a huge deal breaker to me. I was only going to get it on the 3DS now anyhow. I was a bit bummed by the 3DS not having online multiplayer, which they totally should have put in, but my son is also getting the 3DS verson so I've got a game partner right there. Maybe I'll see if anyone is up for some 3DS Monster Hunter gatherings in Kansas City.

I saw this coming... they got the game first in japan. they probably would have different weapons again as well... so yea this isnt a surprise. It is what it is my friends.

This isn't a big deal to me. I still plan on buying the game.

This isnt a big deal, because i cant speak japanese lol, and they always have a bad connection with online (on any console)

@Peach64 Does ad-hoc party work cross continent? Perhaps if you were to play monster hunter freedom unite on a PSP, you could then use adhocparty on a PS3 to play with them.

You've probably already considered this though!

I have this game for the 3ds its awsome and im new to monster hunter its a masterpiece