Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate’s segregated online multiplayer could set a dangerous precedent for the Wii U

Anthony John Agnello
By

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is coming to the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in the US this March. It will be the latest of many attempts on behalf of Capcom to make its social role-playing game a success outside of Japan. Given the Wii U’s improved online capabilities over the Wii, Ultimate stands a better chance of finding an audience than its home console predecessor Monster Hunter Tri and a far better chance than PSP-bound entries like Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. With 3 million Wii U consoles in the wild now, there’s also a solid audience to build a rich online community with. Unfortunately, though, many players won’t get to play with one another since Capcom is restricting servers to specific regions.

Speaking Gamereactor on Thursday, Capcom admitted that Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate would not allow international play. “Japanese will play with Japanese,” said the company, “Americans with Americans and Europeans with Europeans.”

Recommended Videos

Capcom acknowledged the instant fan outcry online. “I’m not thrilled with the servers being split either,” said Capcom USA’s community specialist Yuri Arujo. “I am definitely aware of the demand and feedback, not only in the thread, but also from threads before finding out this bad news… There is no guarantee this will change, though.”

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate could set a dangerous precedent for Capcom’s games on Wii U. The company’s online games for the Wii U’s main competitors, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, often allow international play. Super Street Fighter IV, Dragon’s Dogma, and others let players from all over the world interact online. Nintendo, though, doesn’t provide a central network for all games on the console to connect to for multiplayer the same way as an Xbox Live or PlayStation Network.

Nintendo’s Wii U is better equipped at hosting games for online play than its predecessor since it no longer requires players to register unwieldy Friend Codes and has a network in place to actually deliver balancing patches for games. To date, though, Nintendo’s decentralized structure for multiplayer has made for a fractious multiplayer scene. Even popular titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 have only hosted around 1300 players during peak play hours on Wii U, even though the game’s sold approximately 150,000 copies.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Anthony John Agnello
Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
Monster Hunter Rise’s free 3.0 update is coming tomorrow
monster hunter rise may update dlc 3 0

The Monster Hunter series is having a great run this year with the release of Monster Hunter Rise on the Nintendo Switch, and Capcom is adding to that momentum with new updates. A digital event detailed what's in store for the game's 3.0 update and also shared details on Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin's Rite of Channeling mechanic.

Monster Hunter Digital Event - May 2021

Read more
How to make money fast in Monster Hunter Rise
how-to-make-money-fast-in-monster-hunter-rise

At first, you probably won't have a shortage of money (zenny) in Monster Hunter Rise. That's because many of the basic needs such as healing items, early armor sets, and weapons are all relatively inexpensive to start. But as you "rise" through the ranks and defeat tougher monsters, you'll find that many armor sets become costly and the payout you get from those high-level quests just doesn't cut it anymore.

Fortunately, there's an efficient farming method that grants you a ton of ores that are worth lots of zenny. It's not the most straightforward farming method since it requires a bit of setup, but once you've got everything ready, it's easy enough to learn. In this guide, we'll include a detailed description of the best zenny-farming method, along with tips on how to make money when playing normally.

Read more
The best weapons for newcomers in Monster Hunter Rise
monster-hunter-rise-best-weapons

Ranking and even discussing the best weapons in any Monster Hunter game is a fickle thing. After all, each and every weapon has its own benefits that work in certain situations. In Monster Hunter Rise, Capcom has once again given us a strong argument to try out all the weapon types the game has to offer -- 14 in total. Some are ideal from afar, others are great up close, and some cover a wide range of situations.

Since your performance in Monster Hunter Rise has a lot to do with your gear, we've decided to take a look at the best weapon types to start out with -- while highlighting specific weapons under each category. Again, keep in mind that all the weapon types in the game are viable in some way or another, but some are easier to use, making them ideal for new players. Which weapon you should use will also depend on the monster you're facing off against, so there can't be a catchall list that encompasses the best weapons since so many of the game's choices are viable.

Read more