Capcom Announces New Monster Hunter Frontier Game, No news on Westernization

Being a Monster Hunter fan who doesn’t live in Japan is tough. Despite our love for these games and our ridiculously overpowered desire for more monster slaying madness, we are largely ignored by the powers that be, who seem to really dislike releasing a new Monster Hunter title anywhere but in Japan. It’s just not fair, especially considering that exciting news was promised to Western audiences by Capcom earlier this year, and we have been given nothing so far. The same can’t be said for Japan though, where a new Monster Hunter Frontier title has just been announced.

For those unfamiliar, Monster Hunter Frontier is a spin-off game, identical to its parent series except that it is strictly an MMO, supporting only online play. Originally for the PC, it was later released on the 360 as well, although never outside of Asia. The new title, Monster Hunter Frontier G, will act similarly to Monster Hunter 3G, in that it is a rerelease with updated graphics and a ton of new features. In Frontier G‘s case, there will be 10 new monsters, 21 current monsters turned to G class, 150 new weapons and armor, 3 new maps, 30 new skills, 4 new elementals, and 11 new weapon actions. In addition, much like the original Frontier, there will likely be periodic DLC released to keep the game fresh.

In terms of what we as Western audiences can expect from this exciting news that was promised to us by the end of the year, whether it pertain to 3G (which seems less likely now that Frontier G has been announced for an April 17th, 2013 release date), 4 (which still seems the most likely), or the new Frontier G remains to be seen. I personally am hoping for 4, because as much as I love the online capabilities of Monster Hunter, I would also like to play one player and improve my skills on my own. Also, since Frontier G is a follow up to the original Frontier, it will most likely premiere strictly on the 360 and PC platforms, despite Capcom’s recent push to Nintendo consoles for Monster Hunter games. Which of the current Monster Hunter games would you guys rather see come to America?