Rumor: Monster Hunter 4 Being Prepped For Vita Release

When Capcom announced Monster Hunter 4 for release on 3DS, it was a major coup for Nintendo. Monster Hunter was a major hit on PlayStation Portable, but with the newest game on 3DS and not Vita, it appeared to be a big, hugely consequential steal for Sony's primary competitor.

Yet, questions have begun to arise about Monster Hunter 4 after it was revealed to be delayed. GoNintendo released a scan (via Operation Rainfall) from Japanese gaming magazine Game Lab – seen below – that indicates the nature of the delay has to do with one thing: Monster Hunter 4 is also coming to PlayStation Vita.

Courtesy of GoNintendo/Operation Rainfall

A Japanese source gave us the following translation of Game Lab’s blurb:

The reason for the delay of the 3DS game Monster Hunter 4 isn’t to spend more time to improve the game’s quality: it appears that they’re considering a simultaneous release on PS Vita. Now, Sony is added to the mix in addition to Nintendo to discussing this point with Capcom.

GoNintendo further hypothesizes “that Monster Hunter 4 might hit another platform.” Why? Because Christian Svensson, an executive at Capcom, was quoted as evasively saying, in part:

“For [Monster Hunter 4], we haven’t announced a release of that title in the West at this time nor have we discussed any platforms beyond 3DS. You’ll note [Monster Hunter 4] has moved its release date in Japan with a single SKU to later than originally announced. That team is laser focused on getting done what needs to happen to make that a fantastic from the ground up 3DS Monster Hunting experience. As such, any other discussion on this topic at this time at this point is moot.”

There are important things to keep in mind here, apart from the fact that this is an interesting – but still unsubstantiated – rumor. For starters, folks have pointed out in both the comments at Go Nintendo and on Twitter that Game Lab has made incorrect predictions of this nature before.

It would also be strange for Capcom to delay Monster Hunter 4 on 3DS to prepare the Vita version, as the two handhelds are very different technologically. Porting the 3DS game to Vita as-is wouldn’t even remotely take advantage of the Vita’s power, nor should Vita getting the game affect Monster Hunter 4’s undoubtedly strong sales on 3DS, a handheld with impressive sales. The only way this would make sense is if Sony has a deal with Capcom that the game would be released at the same time on both 3DS and Vita, which could be the case, and is what the rumor suggests.

We reached out to Capcom for official comment. A representative stated, "Capcom has made no announcements."