Capcom confirms a "Monster Hunter" series is coming to the Nintendo Switch. Japanese gamers can expect "Monster Hunter XX" — with "XX" pronounced as "Double Cross" — to hit store shelves and online stores on Aug. 25.
It is unclear, however, if this release will be exclusive to this Asian market. According to The Verge, the popularity of "Monster Hunter" has not picked up among gamers from the west but it is a big deal in Japan.
Gamers around the world, however, will not have much concerns if they still want to play "Monster Hunter XX" on the Nintendo Switch as the console hybrid is region-free. As Heavy suggested, if a gamer owns this unit, it would be easy to import or purchase a copy of the Japanese release online. The only hitch, however, is that there are no details on whether the game will also include English subtitles or voiceovers.
At the Monster Hunter Championship 2017 last Saturday, May 27, Capcom announced that "Monster Hunter XX" will retail for 5,800 yen and 5,546 yen for the downloaded version. A bundled offer called the Special Pack Switch will also be released for 36,280 yen. Gamers with saved files of "Monster Hunter XX" on the 3DS may use or transfer the same files on the Nintendo Switch and vice versa, Gematsu reported.
Following the announcements, Nintendo's shares spiked at the stock market and proved, once again, the impact of the game's popularity among the Japanese. Analysts said releasing "Monster Hunter XX" on the Nintendo Switch could boost the new console's sales in the same way it boosted demand for the 3DS in 2011. "People were buying the 3DS just because of the game," Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto told CNBC.
"Monster Hunter XX," a role-playing game, is part of the "Monster Hunter Generations." The latter has been in the western market since 2015 via the Nintendo 3DS. Just this March, Capcom also released "Monster Hunter XX" for the 3DS in Japan but there is still no word on whether the gaming company will do the same for its North American 3DS market.
