STEAM: Monster Hunter Stories 2 is the biggest JRPG Launch of all time(33.4K CCU), surpassing Persona 4 Golden(29.9K CCU) and FF XV(29.5K CCU)

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

MH Stories 2's pricing isn't any better though.

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Sure, but the overall production value to justify that cost (to some extent) is, on the other hand. And it's also a considerably stronger IP.

You can't sell a niche JRPG with graphics that could probably run on a Xbox360/PS3 (in the hands of a technically more proficient studio, at least) at a price tag that many PC gamers wouldn't be willing to pay even for the latest, hottest triple A.

Well, you can, actually. But being barely in the top 100 of the biggest sellers two days after your release is the side effect.

 

[Kuro]

Why wasn't MH Stories 1 big ? Because, yeah, MH was big before World too.
On top of that, MH Stories isn't MH. Spin-off aren't as big as main entries.
Also: Code Vein.

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The first game came out at the end of the 3DS life when everyone was excited for Switch and before World (which is what reinvigorated the IP in the west for Console and was the first major non-MMO release on PC to my knowledge) and it also didn't have the crazy Switch software boost and attention behind it.

Bare in mind that I don't know how it did in Japan specifically and if the same issue of coming out late in the 3DS life and maybe lack of traditional co-op component hurt it at the time although it came out like half a year before the Switch there.

 

[Mocha Joe]

There's a fast growing JRPG userbase on Steam.
But some big publishers are just too dumb and leaving money on the table. We're at a point where, on Steam, many niche IPs are bigger than Final Fantasy. Yet Square-Enix is killing its IP potential on the platform.
Code Vein also had a 33k peak CCU.
Scarlet Nexus had a 15k peak CCU.

If Square-Enix and SEGA actually released the good stuff there day and date, they'd actually see some very surprising numbers, and some very high ones at that.

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Yup exactly. But I guess Sega and Square Enix would rather sell their games to Google and Sony respectively instead of their fans. 🤡

 

[Busaiku]

The first game came out at the end of the 3DS life when everyone was excited for Switch and before World (which is what reinvigorated the IP in the west for Console and was the first major non-MMO release on PC to my knowledge) and it also didn't have the crazy Switch software boost and attention behind it.

Bare in mind that I don't know how it did in Japan specifically and if the same issue of coming out late in the 3DS life and maybe lack of traditional co-op component hurt it at the time although it came out like half a year before the Switch there.

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It actually came out in English 6 months after Switch.

 

[Edge]

That's not how any of this works.

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How so?
I'll bet there are enough people in this forum alone who did exactly that.

 

[Kuro]

It actually came out in English 6 months after Switch.

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Yeah that I knew which is probably a major reason it didn't make a big splash

 

[Ridley327]

How so?
I'll bet there are enough people in this forum alone who did exactly that.

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If performance was enough to drive people away from the Switch SKUs of games, we'd be seeing a lot more flops on the hardware for multiplatform releases than there actually are.

 

[404LinkNotFound]

How so?
I'll bet there are enough people in this forum alone who did exactly that.

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I wouldnt use resetera as a barometer for anything

 

[cw_sasuke]

Day 1 makes a big difference for EVERYTHING. That's when the game receives the most marketing and exposure. Just imagine how much potential money publishers lost by delaying PC releases 6-12 months.

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Someone should tell that to Bamco and their late Switch ports.

They could learn a thing or two from this Stories 2 release.

 

[Lelouch0612]

How so?
I'll bet there are enough people in this forum alone who did exactly that.

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Oh on ERA ? For sure.

But the subset of people playing both on PC and Switch which prefer the Switch for their multiplats but are still sensitive enough to switch to PC because of framerate issues is a small subset in size.

 

[texhnolyze]

Sure, but the overall production value to justify that cost (to some extent) is, on the other hand. And it's also a considerably stronger IP.

You can't sell a niche JRPG with graphics that could probably run on a Xbox360/PS3 (in the hands of a technically more proficient studio, at least) at a price tag that many PC gamers wouldn't be willing to pay even for the latest, hottest triple A.

Well, you can, actually. But being barely in the top 100 of the biggest sellers two days after your release is the side effect.

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Oh yeah, that makes sense. MH Stories 2 is just more convincing as a $60 title than Ys IX.

 

[Imitatio]

Us nerds on here care so much more about resolution and performance than your average joe -- I wouldn't extrapolate too much based on Era of all things.

 

[NeoZylom]

MH Stories 2's pricing isn't any better though.

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I cant talk about other currency, but this is wrong for CAD. 60USD = 75CAD. I have no idea where this 64 CAD comes from

 

[cw_sasuke]

Us nerds on here care so much more about resolution and performance than your average joe -- I wouldn't extrapolate much based on Era of all things.

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Even on ERA plenty of people still stuck with the Switch version after having experienced both demos because of the kind of game it is. So even for that small sample size generalisations aren't really helpful.

Either way it's good to have options. This is a game that could have been a exclusive title, so it being there Day 1 is good to see.

 

[Chief Malik]

How is the port though?

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MT framework, most of those are solid

 

[Imitatio]

Even on ERA plenty of people still stuck with the Switch version after having experienced both demos because of the kind of game it is.

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For sure -- I did so myself, haha.

 

[King Dodongo]

How so?
I'll bet there are enough people in this forum alone who did exactly that.

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Yeah i wouldnt use a bunch of performance sensitive people to measure anything. Era is a bubble.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

Game obviously sold a lot better on Switch.
But the fact that it's so high on PC still means it must have pulled big numbers overall.

 

[olimpia84]

You would think that day one releases on Steam should be the norm by now for just about any third-party game. Hopefully more success stories like this one help the cause but I can't believe this is not the norm from publishers yet.

 

[Mocha Joe]

You would think that day one releases on Steam should be the norm by now for just about any third-party game. Hopefully more success stories like this one help the cause but I can't believe this is not the norm from publishers yet.

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Just leaving money on the table. Still waiting on tons of games I want to hit Steam due to timed exclusivity bullshit

 

[VermillionA]

I'm still confused as to why this isn't on everything (unless money was involved in which case fair enough), but good for Capcom. They're on an insane run.

 

[konoka]

You would think that day one releases on Steam should be the norm by now for just about any third-party game. Hopefully more success stories like this one help the cause but I can't believe this is not the norm from publishers yet.

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This could be another success story of "some third-party games don't need to be on everything day one" like P4G or FFXV.

 

[sredgrin]

This could be another success story of "some third-party games don't need to be on everything day one" like P4G or FFXV.

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FFXV is absolutely not a success story in this case. It did okay at best.

 

[Zoon]

These are extremely good numbers considering the marketing was mainly focused on the Switch version. I guess that's another proof that PC is a completely different market.

 

[Arex]

Many of the console games I would probably buy on PC if they launch simultaneously on day 1. So not really surprising for me.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

These are extremely good numbers considering the marketing was mainly focused on the Switch version. I guess that's another proof that PC is a completely different market.

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Much like Guilty Gear Strive - which received 3 betas on PS4 and none on PC and was barely shown at all on PC before launch - which seems to have sold better on Steam than PS4 and PS5 combined based on player numbers.

 

[YasuYone]

More 3rd party Japanese developers need to realize that there are 3 very healthy platforms Playstation, Switch and PC to release their games on. New games and old games too. Now is the time when the gaming market is doing great.

 

[Sabin]

There's a fast growing JRPG userbase on Steam.
But some big publishers are just too dumb and leaving money on the table. We're at a point where, on Steam, many niche IPs are bigger than Final Fantasy. Yet Square-Enix is killing its IP potential on the platform.
Code Vein also had a 33k peak CCU.
Scarlet Nexus had a 15k peak CCU.

If Square-Enix and SEGA actually released the good stuff there day and date, they'd actually see some very surprising numbers, and some very high ones at that.

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I'm still laughing over the fact that S-E is charging over 200€ to get all KH games on EGS.

Fucking ridiculous and i really want to see the sales numbers lol.

 

[Ridley327]

I'm still confused as to why this isn't on everything (unless money was involved in which case fair enough), but good for Capcom. They're on an insane run.

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Assuming this sells well enough, I wouldn't be surprised if Capcom tries to release a complete edition (or whatever the hell they call them these days, I dunno) towards the start of next year. The game being just Switch and PC right now feels more like them going with the safe money for a spinoff more than anything else.

 

[GhostTrick]

This could be another success story of "some third-party games don't need to be on everything day one" like P4G or FFXV.

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FFXV being outperformed by niche titles such as Guilty Gear Strive, Code Vein or MH Stories definitely proves it's not a success story and that Square-Enix is fucking up their market here. As for P4G, it just shows how well a more modern title could perform.

 

[fiendcode]

Amazing news. I think Rise is going to be huge as well when it hits Steam later on.

 

[Ridley327]

Amazing news. I think Rise is going to be huge as well when it hits Steam later on.

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Yeah, the documents referring to how big an opportunity they have with the PC port due to the focus on making sure it runs on even low-end hardware could be even more transformative than World was, which was a huge success in spite of its beefy hardware requirements. The ceiling on Rise's overall sales might be a lot higher than any of us could have imagined.

 

[TeenageFBI]

I'm still laughing over the fact that S-E is charging over 200€ to get all KH games on EGS.

Fucking ridiculous and i really want to see the sales numbers lol.

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It's so stupidly short sighted. It'll do fine when it's eventually released on Steam, but it could have done so much more.

 

[fiendcode]

I'm still confused as to why this isn't on everything (unless money was involved in which case fair enough), but good for Capcom. They're on an insane run.

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No money as far as we know, Switch was targeted first based specifically on the early success of BOTW and Xenoblade 2. It's really just where most of the global JRPG audience is, with Steam being a strong second.

I wouldn't be surprised if PS4 and Xbox get ports down the line though now that the game might be bigger than Capcom projected. Mobile too maybe.

 

[GhostTrick]

No money as far as we know, Switch was targeted first based specifically on the early success of BOTW and Xenoblade 2. It's really just where most of the global JRPG audience is, with Steam being a strong second.

I wouldn't be surprised if PS4 and Xbox get ports down the line though now that the game might be bigger than Capcom projected. Mobile too maybe.

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That's arguable.

 

[AshenOne]

Much like Guilty Gear Strive - which received 3 betas on PS4 and none on PC and was barely shown at all on PC before launch - which seems to have sold better on Steam than PS4 and PS5 combined based on player numbers.

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That game had great regional pricing on STEAM so iam not surprised if true.

 

[Arsene no Kiseki]

I cant talk about other currency, but this is wrong for CAD. 60USD = 75CAD. I have no idea where this 64 CAD comes from

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Its $64USD. $64usd = $80CAD. Thats why its listed like that

Meanwhile Ys IX is barely clinging inside the top 100 of global sellers despise launching pretty much at the same time on Steam.

Maybe NISA should start reconsidering their pricing policies.
Just saying.

I'm somewhat of a mild Ys fan, but I'm not going to pay 60 euros for that game.

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Ys IX still has the highest CCU in the series on PC. Over double VIII. So I doubt NISA cares.

 

[GhostTrick]

Its $64USD. $64usd = $80CAD. Thats why its listed like that


Ys IX still has the highest CCU in the series on PC. Over double VIII. So I doubt NISA cares.

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Well, upcoming Trails games are announced as day and date on all platforms in West. So I guess there's a change going on.

 

[Iori Fuyusaka]

Even on ERA plenty of people still stuck with the Switch version after having experienced both demos because of the kind of game it is.

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I think you mean because of the cross promotion with Rise. That's the only reason I'm not playing this at 4K/60.

 

[Icebergslim]

People are thirsty for Monster Hunter and Youtubers seem to like it so its not that surprising.

 

[Arsene no Kiseki]

Well, upcoming Trails games are announced as day and date on all platforms in West. So I guess there's a change going on.

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They're talking about Ys IX's pricing. Not its delayed release on PC

 

[Juryvicious]

I'm just pleased to see the increased visibility and multiplat launch combined with the demo meaning more people give it a shot.

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Co-signed.

Well done Capcom, they understand the value of what multiplatform brings to their IP's like few companies. The game is a lot of fun to boot.

 

[AshenOne]

Seems like the Final number is 33,464 for the concurrent players for Stories 2.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I think you mean because of the cross promotion with Rise. That's the only reason I'm not playing this at 4K/60.

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There are multiple reasons to play it on Switch, thats one of them.
Same time there is no point in assuming that everyone interested in this has or plays on a gaming PC, the game seems to be a success on both plattforms so the back and forth about where and why it performed better seems unnecessary reminds me of the Hollow Knight threads.

 

[Cyanity]

I swear to god, this franchise is so much bigger than most people assume, and eventually the devs will release an entry in the series that finally nails everything and it will catapult Monster Hunter to god-tier status. That's how much potential it has, and how much the lack of a decent UI/UX, sensible tutorials, and modern focus on quest design is holding it back.

There was another game about roaming between villages taking on monster hunting contracts, tracking them down, getting into epic battles, then strolling back to the village for your reward. Released in 2015 and is considered one of the best RPGs ever made (granted story was the bigger focus there, not monster hunts). With enough care, I've no doubt Monster Hunter can hit those highs. It's such a fantastic gameplay loop that's just missing the AAA QOL and streamlining to tie it all together. It's still too caught up in gamifying and sectioning individual hunts, rather than giving the world space to breathe.

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Speak for yourself. Iceborne was a 10/10 monster hunter imo.

 

[Lord Azrael]

That's really impressive

 

[Redcrayon]

I swear to god, this franchise is so much bigger than most people assume, and eventually the devs will release an entry in the series that finally nails everything and it will catapult Monster Hunter to god-tier status. That's how much potential it has, and how much the lack of a decent UI/UX, sensible tutorials, and modern focus on quest design is holding it back.

There was another game about roaming between villages taking on monster hunting contracts, tracking them down, getting into epic battles, then strolling back to the village for your reward. Released in 2015 and is considered one of the best RPGs ever made (granted story was the bigger focus there, not monster hunts). With enough care, I've no doubt Monster Hunter can hit those highs. It's such a fantastic gameplay loop that's just missing the AAA QOL and streamlining to tie it all together. It's still too caught up in gamifying and sectioning individual hunts, rather than giving the world space to breathe.

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I like the arcadey, sectioned-off nature of the hunts, it suits the portable ones and keeps progression fast as a multiplayer game rather than a single player rpg. I love the MH world and spend ages walking around them, taking in the wildlife, the endemic life in MhR, the cities, the way the settlements use natural materials for all kinds of crazy stuff. I can happily sit around on a mountainside just fishing and cooking steaks. But the popularity of the main games isn't being held back by not being a story-led rpg, it was being held back by only being on a single format and not always the most popular ones in the west, which was why MHW took off. The multiplayer loot grind is a proven concept as much as huge open-world RPGs are, and the hubs are designed to get you back into a monster fight as quick as possible as you hit the armourer, trader, quest counter, wolf down a suitable meal then get back to it.

 

[criteriondog]

Wow, congrats to Capcom and the Monster Hunter teams! So happy to see the success :)

 

[TheWildCard]

That's pretty good. Wonder if Switch version's performance had any factor, or if it's just the Day 1 simultaneous release.

 

[Deleted member 1839]

MT framework, most of those are solid

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Oh really? Do we know if Marvelous was the main developer like for the first game or was it internal Capcom this time?

Also funny seeing that Kenji Oguro(Lost Planet series creator/director) was the director of this game.