If you ever needed a summary of proof that Monster Hunter is huge in Japan, this Wall Street Journal article would be it. The international financial newspaper credits the incredible success of the PSP in Japan over the past year to Monster Hunter. It outlines the appeal of the series, summarizing the mechanics of the game which allow a group of friends play together in co-op mode to battle monsters and gather materials for weapons and armor.

Writer Yukari Iwatani Kane asserts that the Japanese are "uncomfortable with the idea of playing video games with strangers over the Internet," and Capcom "overcame that hurdle" by incorporating the Ad Hoc mode on the PSP into Monster Hunter. This brought in unconventional fans such as a 37-year-old Tokyo architect who held a "weekend retreat" with his 14 friends, which included a doctor and corporate executives, to play Monster Hunter together. Members of fan-sites such as Oyaji Hunters (Old Geezer Hunters in Japanese) "participate in regularly scheduled face-to-face get-togethers."

Statistics obtained by the WSJ from Enterbrain Inc. shows that as of June 8th, 9.3 million PSPs were sold in Japan, compared with 4.75 million units in February of 2007 before the release of the first PSP Monster Hunter game. The combined sales of the two games have reached almost 4 million, and they are the only PSP games that have sold more than one million copies in Japan -- Kane attributes these sales partly to the fact that each player needs one copy of the game to play together. The article finally ends with some negative observations, stating that "Capcom hasn't made a serious effort to market the games in the U.S." and noting that the next Monster Hunter game will be on the Wii, rather than the PS3.

Though the article makes some legitimate points, it is hard to trust someone that contradicts herself ("uncomfortable with the idea of playing video games with strangers" vs. "participate in regularly scheduled face-to-face get-togethers") lists "Evil May Cry" as a popular Capcom series.

Besides Rock Band, we don't really know of any other game that updates its downloadable offerings as frequently and regularly as Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. Every week, Capcom releases a new quest for the insanely popular action RPG. And every week, PSP is the top-selling system in Japan. We're not suggesting that those two trends are related in any way, but we have to say that Capcom is really treating its PSP fans quite well in Japan. We wonder what the Western equivalent of Monster Hunter will be ...

[Via PSPHyper]

The ever-popular Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G continues to expand its downloadable quest collection. The game has been expanded upon quite a bit already, and next up is a trip to the desert featuring a fight against two Dodobrango. This kind of over-enthusiastic support from Capcom is one of the reasons why the game has earned so much popularity in Japan. Perhaps other developers (PSP and others) should take heed of this practice -- building a strong community will reward you with incredible sales.

[Via PSPHyper]

Konami's Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 3, a baseball title, has topped Japan's weekly software charts this week. With a staggering 117,000 units sold, the game has sold double the amount of units over last week's top spot Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou! (another baseball game) for the Nintendo DS.

Other PSP games are doing well. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G is still in the charts since its release back in March. It has, however, dropped down from second place to fifth with 45,000 units sold this week. Valhalla Knights 2 pops up on the chart at number eight with 32,000 units sold. While all these third party titles are doing well in Japan, seeing such strength and support in Western markets is going to be harder to find.

There's no doubt that Japan is big on the Monster Hunter games, so it comes as no surprise that Monster Hunter Festa 08 has been drawing in huge crowds all month. The Festa, however, is now over with the finals of the nation-wide tournament having just been wrapped up this past weekend. So what's the good news here? Well, you can see some footage from the show over at Famitsu, as well as witness the skills of this year's two top teams. Let the experts show you how to hunt some beasties.

Capcom, leave these people alone! We're pretty certain that Japan's economy must be coming to a screeching halt, as millions of Japanese are turned into mindless zombies who crave not flesh ... but more Monster Hunter Portable. The streets must be empty as everyone stays glued to their PSPs, hunting as many monsters as possible.

To make matters worse, Capcom is releasing even more DLC for the game, adding a new quest to ensure that the hypnotized denizens of Japan won't dare think about anything but the game. Who knows how many will skip work to hunt down the new Tigarex?

While American gamers are still busy playing Grand Theft Auto IV (we still are!), the Japanese have embraced a wholly different kind of game. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G continues its ridiculous sales drive, and has reached the 2 million milestone, in less than 50 days since the release of the game. Are we the only ones that suspect that Capcom might be putting some happy candy in these UMDs?

[Via PSPHyper]

Like last year, Capcom threw a monstrous celebration for Monster Hunter in its now-annual Monster Hunter Festa. 2,200 people flocked to Fukuoka to connect and play with like-minded fans. Preliminary rounds of the nationwide Monster Hunter tournament also took place at the event.

The Festa continues all through May, to ensure that the devotee followers of the franchise will have as many opportunities to interact with the series producers as possible.

[Via PSPHyper]

This Monster cannot be contained. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G has reached the magical 2 million shipped point -- this benchmark is a first for the Monster Hunter franchise, and also a first for any PSP game released in Japan.

The series' incredible popularity has never translated onto this side of the Pacific. However, with sales like this in the mainland, we're certain Capcom doesn't mind. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G continues to sell well in the Japanese charts: it was only beaten by the newly released Mario Kart Wii on last week's charts.

Nope, this isn't a new quest in Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G about finding more cat slaves (your minds are getting dirty in the gutter!), also known as Ailu in the game, but a ... bird catching quest. Miniature versions of the fiery bird called Yian Kut-kut will be scattered about the map and you have the opportunity to catch them and presumably make them into your helpers, much like the Ailu. It at least sounds like a break from what is otherwise a fairly action-oriented game.

[via PSPHyper]

What's scarier than a tidal wave of Monsters? A tidal wave of Monster Hunters, surely. That's exactly what has swept over Japan in the last two weeks as Monster Hunter 2nd G sells a frankly indecent amount of units in the region. After outdoing its older brother Monster Hunter Portable 2 in first week sales Monster Hunter 2nd G is encroaching on Portable 2's overall sales figure of just over 2 million units since February 2007. Capcom Japan has revealed that 2nd G has shipped 1.5 million units in less than two weeks.

Something about the game doesn't translate well to the West and it's not clear whether we'll see 2nd G be released outside of Japan. With sales figures like that there's very little need to. We don't see it slowing down anytime soon, either. Could Monster Hunter 2nd G outsell the original in a single month?

[Via pspsps]