‘Monster Hunter Now’, a mobile hunting action game developed jointly by Niantic and Capcom, was officially released on the 14th. Monster Hunter Now is a title that allows you to enjoy simple yet in-depth hunting with just taps and flicks, even on mobile devices. You can enjoy real-time multiplayer with your friends, and it is easy to learn, not only for fans of the Monster Hunter series, but also for those who have never played Monster Hunter before.
Not long after the release of Monster Hunter Now, the ‘Tokyo Game Show 2023’ event was held in Japan, and a special demonstration booth was set up at the Capcom booth at the event where people could experience ‘Mon Hunter Now’ and receive souvenirs. When I visited the booth to demonstrate other titles submitted by Capcom, I was able to meet an official from developer Niantic at the Monster Hunter Now booth, and through a short interview with him, I was able to hear the latest news about Monster Hunter Now.
▲ Dan Inamoto, Senior Marketing Director at Niantic
Q. I would like to ask you directly. I’m curious when the next weapon will be added, and if so, which weapon will be added first.
= It’s only been about a week since the game was released (laughs). Although there is nothing we can officially say at this stage, the development team is well aware that many hunters are eagerly awaiting and looking forward to the new weapon. New weapons will be added sooner than you think, so stay tuned. What I can say now is that we will be able to announce it sooner than expected.
Q. Another interesting point is that you can meet different monsters depending on the region. Are there any plans to add places like snow fields or lava areas? If it is added, I wonder if a feature that consumes hot drinks or cold drinks will also be added.
= Regions are also content that may continue to be added. There is nothing that can be clearly revealed yet, but in addition, we plan to reflect all the things that appear in the original Monster Hunter in Now, so you can look forward to new areas being added in the future.
Q. The section in the beginning where you have to use a one-handed sword is quite long. Afterwards, additional weapons are unlocked, but at this time, the one-handed sword has been strengthened to some extent, so it tends to be difficult to transfer to other weapons. Are there any plans to give players the option to choose which weapon they want from the beginning?
= The currently reflected settings are to make it ‘a game that can be easily played by those who have enjoyed Monster Hunter for a long time as well as those who are new to it.’ That’s why it was fixed to the ‘one-handed sword’, a weapon that is easy to use in the beginning. If you try it, you will understand that it is easy to attack with just repeated strikes, and the reaction to avoid it with a swipe is very fast and light compared to a hammer or great sword. Of course, only familiar hunters will find it easy to use. Since this specification has been decided to make it easily accessible to everyone, we plan to keep it in its current form for now.
Q. Recently, the ‘Attack of Diabolos’ event was held. It was an event where many people could gather and enjoy together, but will we be able to encounter monsters that can only be encountered in raid events in the future?
= The Diabolos attack was an event where you could meet Diabolos if you went to a large park or something like that. Although there were many conditions, such as having to be a hunter level 12 or higher, it was a special event where you could cooperate with others to hunt monsters that you would not normally encounter at low hunter ranks. We plan to hold events like this more often in the future where you can hunt monsters that you don’t normally see.
Q. This time, a lot of people gathered at the TGS event venue, so it wasn’t difficult to participate in the Diabolos raid event, but I think it would have been difficult for people living in remote areas where not many people gather to participate in the event. Can’t we come up with a separate support plan so that these people can also enjoy the event?
= In the future, we plan to hold more versatile events so that you can more easily encounter event monsters wherever you go in the world. Anyone can participate without having to go to any specific location. However, there is currently no way to support cases where you cannot hunt an event monster when it appears because there is no one around to hunt with you. It’s a situation where you can’t play unless you have at least 2-3 people together, so I think we need to keep thinking about how we can help in this area. If more people play Monster Hunter Now in the future, wouldn’t this problem be resolved to some extent?
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Q. I tried to encourage people around me to increase the number of Monster Hunter Now users, but it wasn’t easy. People who know the Monster Hunter series tend to ignore it, saying ‘Isn’t it just a mobile phone game?’, and it is more difficult to recommend it to people who have never encountered the Monster Hunter series. What do you think is the attractive point of Monster Hunter Now that you can tell them about?
= First of all, if you have experienced the Monster Hunter series, I would like to tell you that it is a game with strategies on how to operate it even though it is mobile and how to create stronger weapons. Although it can be easily played with one hand, it requires a wide variety of controls, and special skills are different depending on the weapon, resulting in quite a variety of variations. You can enjoy this and create your favorite weapons or equipment that looks cool. Isn’t this the unique fun of the Monster Hunter series? Monster Hunter Now may seem simple, but I would like to introduce it as a deep game that contains all of these fun features.
For those who have never played the Monster Hunter series, I would like to tell them that it is not a complicated game that can be easily accessed like Niantic’s previous game ‘Pokemon Go’. If you were curious about the Monster Hunter series but never got around to it, I would also like to emphasize that it is more accessible than playing on console.
Q. In order to increase the number of users playing Monster Hunter Now in the global market, please introduce any differences or strengths of Monster Hunter Now that you would like to highlight at this point.
= Monster Hunter Now is planning to be a game that is like a culmination of the Monster Hunter series, allowing you to see all the monsters in the Monster Hunter series so far in one title. Of course, different colored and more powerful monsters such as ‘subspecies’ will continue to be added, so if you like the Monster Hunter IP, be sure to play it.
really. And I would like to tell users who are currently playing Monster Hunter Now to use the AR camera function of Monster Hunter Now. When you spot a monster, you can point the camera at a wide area around you and take a picture with the 1:1 sized monster floating in front of you. For now, the only function is to take pictures together, but in the future, we expect to be able to add functions such as interaction or hunting in AR mode, so please enjoy it with your friends.
Q. I tried to kill monsters that appear around the house and make equipment using limited materials, but it was disappointing that the armor set up looked like tatters no matter what I did. Are there any plans to add additional equipment to Monster Hunter Now?
= I think it is definitely a necessary feature. This is something that can be added and is looking forward to being added. Although we cannot specify the exact time, it will be available in Monster Hunter Now.
Q. Is there a message you would like to convey to Korean Monster Hunter fans?
= I hope you enjoy the experience of meeting monsters from the Monster Hunter world in the real world. It is a game that can be easily learned and enjoyed by those who already know the Monster Hunter series, as well as those who are unfamiliar with the Monster Hunter series. It’s a game that gets deeper the more you play it, and at the same time, it’s a game that can be enjoyed comfortably on a smartphone, so if you’re interested in the Monster Hunter series, I hope you’ll enjoy it.
