While initial sales of Monster Hunter Wilds were strong (topping 10 million copies in the first month of release), subsequent sales figures have been less than ideal for Capcom. Some attribute this to the game’s lack of content or poor reviews, but Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto says the cost of the PlayStation 5 is one of the sources of the problem.
In an interview with Nikkei Gaming, Tsujimoto revealed that Capcom considered the PlayStation 5 as Monster Hunter Wilds’ main platform when estimating the game’s initial sales figures. But accounting for the console, accessories, and monthly subscriptions like PlayStation Plus, the total cost for a PS5 amounts to about 100,000 JPY (roughly $677 USD). Add in Monster Hunter Wilds’ $70 USD price tag, and some people would rather pay for older, more complete entries, such as Monster Hunter World (which sells for as low as $9.89 USD) and Monster Hunter Rise ($9.99 USD), than buy a new console for a game with, currently, less content. Considering many gamers are young and don’t have a source of income, Tsujimoto admits the cost of entry to play Monster Hunter Wilds on a PS5 is rather steep.
Capcom’s next challenge is to make Monster Hunter Wilds more accessible to as many players as possible. The title started to go on sale back in June, giving players a 20% discount along with the extra content added in Free Title Update 2. Tsujimoto says that the company is also formulating a strategy to take advantage of future discounts to boost sales throughout the year.
In addition to capitalizing on discounts of Monster Hunter Wilds, Tsujimoto also took the time to discuss the Nintendo Switch 2. While he didn’t formally announce anything, he commented that the success of the Nintendo Switch 2, given its lower price compared to the PS5, helped reaffirm the high level of cost-consciousness among consumers. Time will tell if Monster Hunter Wilds will make its way to the Nintendo Switch 2, but given that the game already suffers from performance issues on its current platforms, this might be a challenging task for the developers.
Monster Hunter Wilds is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
