Capcom announced yesterday that Monster Hunter World has sold over 8 million copies. This number includes both physical copies as well as digital downloads. These massive sales have boosted the companies net sales by 46.5% year-over-year. What’s particularly impressive about their sales figures is the fact that up until MHW, Monster Hunter had primarily been a Japanese-market franchise. Its success shows just how much western audiences appreciate the game and want to play it.
It seems Capcom themselves were extremely impressed with how well MHW sold saying:
“In this business, the phenomenal success of Monster Hunter: World (for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) from the previous fiscal year continued, with the title gaining further popularity through the expansion of its user base. In scoring a worldwide smash hit, the series solidified its position as an international brand and strengthened our base of IP.”
Sometimes it seems strange how little Japanese executives understand about non-Japanese gamers. You’d think they’d have their marketing people do some studies on this topic. Titles like Monster Hunter and Secret of Mana 3, the Mother series, and other Japanese-market only games have cult followings internationally. Releasing more of these franchises overseas just seems like a no-brainer as they would undoubtedly do well. With the way gaming news is spread nowadays, many gaming influencers or gaming media outlets would surely hype up an international release of these titles. This would help spread awareness of these games to more mainstream gamers.
Monster Hunter World launches on PC August 9th and will easily push their total sales over 10 million. Hopefully, the success of MHW leads to Capcom and other Japanese developers giving a second thought on bringing other previously Japanese-market only games overseas.
Featured Image Source: PushSquare
