We are talking about "real" fans of the games. They shouldnt be giving a shit about what platform they are on. I know i wouldnt. The fans that wont swap over are system warriors, but who cares about them. I think that is what Andrex and I are getting at.
i completely agree that MH4 is going to be sales crazy time here in Japan - absolutely no doubt about it. 15,000 basic 3DS + MH4?! Mentioned it elsewhere but that's the Sony/Vita deadline to either come up with something amazing , ship a truckload of cash to Capcom for -something- or... i dunno... hope that whatever Ryozo is working on is also for the Vita? (i'm sure they'd already know)
Making a call on who the "real" fans of the game is difficult - as per Oscar there's people everyone here would think are "casual" Monster Hunter players then you talk to them and they drop in they're in the 2-3 THOUSAND hour bracket of play time on -one- version. I personally see myself as a "real fan" of monster hunter but i don't see how you can discount X million people you've never met.
I absolutely 100% agree that people who want to play Monster Hunter who played on the PSP will be buying a 3DS in the absence of any PSP/PSV announcement (I doubt anyone would die of shock if MH3rdP G gets announced for PSP at TGS) and i probably agree that most players don't care about the hardware as long as the game continues to have the familiar look. Even the twin stick thing is a red herring - people survived using the claw and, in fact, on the Vita with twin sticks as an option i still use "the claw"
Anyways, from my own short sighted ME ME ME view, here's my stance : I'm fucking sick of playing a game that looks little different from the first game in 2004. I moaned and moaned and moaned when MH3rdP was announced for PSP and vowed never to play it as i sulked - i played it and loved it. I'm sure the same will happen here again with MH4 but the game is abso-fucking-lutely perfect fodder for an upgrade. I'm trying to avoid the "should have been on Vita" but - fuck it - in a selfish world where i don't give a fuck about who else it sells to and given it's not a handheld platform series -IF- you own a Vita and a 3DS there is absolutely no earthly reason you would be cheering for it to be on the weaker of the two machines -if you own both- or -if you own neither- (dirt person reasons aside). But of course that's by the by - Capcom have a business to run, not a charity, and putting sales at risk wouldn't be a great idea (though the decision was apparently taken when MH3rdp was finished). That still doesn't change the core of my argument but hey. It really was great work by Nintendo to get this series - huge infact - and i'm sure someone at Sony is spanking incompetent arses with big leather shovel hands.
I dunno - perhaps it's easy for people like Andrex and crew who got interested at Tri to see why there's a -long running- issue with the game not really going anywhere visually. If MHTri is your only MH game to date then everything probably looks as fresh as it ever was... after MH, MHG, MH2, MH1P, MH2P, MH2PG, MHTri, MH3P, MHF, MH3G ? completely different outlook. The game is nice pretty environment with huge monsters - it's an ideal candidate for an upgrade. I'm personally thinking Next Gen Consoles rather than Vita, but i know that's about as likely as a bj from the pope. Let me dream , arseholes.
EDIT: Reread this - and other than me obviously looking like a complete whinge, i did make myself laugh at how i'm asking Nthings to try to understand the frustration of having a series of games look the same for 8 years - when they've obviously being living with that for -all- series for nearly 10 years (and, seemingly, loving it!)
