I'm a bit concerned about the future of MR, frankly. Tecmo's been having trouble with the series since the turn of the century.
It all started with MR3. As a number of people here will agree, it was a wonderful game. However, it was released very early in the PS2's life, when it was very, very expensive in Japan. The audience wasn't there yet. As a result, Monster Farm 3 sold half as many copies as MF2 did during it's first month. Tecmo took a financial hit, but it was absorbed by the huge amount of cash Sony gave them to have MF3 use the Picture Paradise feature. And in the end, it managed to sell about 300,000 copies, the profitability sweet spot.
Next comes MR4. The mechanics from the previous games, plus the GBA games, were taken and improved upon. They went out of their way to create a whole new MR experience, and even added a storyline. They were successful, as MR4 turned out to be the most refined game in the series.
It's sales, however, did not reflect the game's quality. Since MR games are so huge, it's impossible to playtest every single aspect effectively. They ended up accidentally leaving a glitch in the game which caused the game not to save after beating the storyline, permanently leaving Japanese players stuck at that point. As sales went to a standstill, Tecmo frantically fixed the bug and released a "Greatest Hits" version, also keeping it out of the US build. They took a big hit and ended up looking bad. It managed to sell again, and marginally exceeded the sales of MF3. But they didn't profit as much.
The worst problem was with Monster Rancher Evo. Tecmo was constantly bombarded by requests from Japanese fans for an MF RPG. By this time, MF5 was in development, and they assigned a brand new director to the project. They decided to go through with it. They took the MF formula and gave it a twist and mix, resulting in a radically different, but still very entertaining, MF game. It improves on select elements while changing/replacing others completely (Like Monster tournaments and ranks), and providing an interesting story in a circus setting to boot. They promoted the hell out of it; cruises, parades, short animation, you name it.
Unfortunately, it did not go over well at all. The Japanese hated the changes, as reflected by the sales. It ended up selling less than 30,000 copies before completely dropping off the sales charts, making it the worst selling Monster Farm game in history. The Japanese likely didn't expect it to be such a departure, and were totally alienated. Thus, when they localized it, they renamed it Monster Rancher Evo to keep it distanced from the primary series so people wouldn't get the wrong expectations. This didn't stop reviewers from crapping all over the game (Save GameSpy, which has the only fair MREvo review on the Internet), and sales weren't good stateside, either. Though probably a bit better than it's JP sales. Due to the game's critical and financial failure, it prompted the resignation of several key employees, likely including the unfortunate director himself.
Now things are up in the air. With the PS3 being so non-mass-market at the moment, Tecmo's strong MS support and the potentially huge market for Wii, no one has any idea where MR will end up. One thing is for certain; Tecmo has not given up on the series, in spite of everything, and MF6 is definitely inevitable (God knows what they'll call it in the states. MR5? MR6? MR: Subtitle?).
Also, they're never gonna listen to their audience again. Ever. I sure wouldn't, after all that.
On top of that, they're still experimenting with the series, with titles like Monster Farm Pop for the mobile (Monsters in 3D, with MR4's models; monsters are generated by taking pictures of things with the camera phone), which is doing quite well and was recently updated with online battles, and Monster Rancher Online; a PC MR game slated for Winter of this year which has free online play, but requires miniscule micropayments for minor things, like items, which is basically identical to or less than monthly payments for traditional ORPGs at the end of the month, akin to many successful Asian MMOs.
However, due to the fact that MR sells less in the US than in Japan, no one can tell what will happen on our side.
It all started with MR3. As a number of people here will agree, it was a wonderful game. However, it was released very early in the PS2's life, when it was very, very expensive in Japan. The audience wasn't there yet. As a result, Monster Farm 3 sold half as many copies as MF2 did during it's first month. Tecmo took a financial hit, but it was absorbed by the huge amount of cash Sony gave them to have MF3 use the Picture Paradise feature. And in the end, it managed to sell about 300,000 copies, the profitability sweet spot.
Next comes MR4. The mechanics from the previous games, plus the GBA games, were taken and improved upon. They went out of their way to create a whole new MR experience, and even added a storyline. They were successful, as MR4 turned out to be the most refined game in the series.
It's sales, however, did not reflect the game's quality. Since MR games are so huge, it's impossible to playtest every single aspect effectively. They ended up accidentally leaving a glitch in the game which caused the game not to save after beating the storyline, permanently leaving Japanese players stuck at that point. As sales went to a standstill, Tecmo frantically fixed the bug and released a "Greatest Hits" version, also keeping it out of the US build. They took a big hit and ended up looking bad. It managed to sell again, and marginally exceeded the sales of MF3. But they didn't profit as much.
The worst problem was with Monster Rancher Evo. Tecmo was constantly bombarded by requests from Japanese fans for an MF RPG. By this time, MF5 was in development, and they assigned a brand new director to the project. They decided to go through with it. They took the MF formula and gave it a twist and mix, resulting in a radically different, but still very entertaining, MF game. It improves on select elements while changing/replacing others completely (Like Monster tournaments and ranks), and providing an interesting story in a circus setting to boot. They promoted the hell out of it; cruises, parades, short animation, you name it.
Unfortunately, it did not go over well at all. The Japanese hated the changes, as reflected by the sales. It ended up selling less than 30,000 copies before completely dropping off the sales charts, making it the worst selling Monster Farm game in history. The Japanese likely didn't expect it to be such a departure, and were totally alienated. Thus, when they localized it, they renamed it Monster Rancher Evo to keep it distanced from the primary series so people wouldn't get the wrong expectations. This didn't stop reviewers from crapping all over the game (Save GameSpy, which has the only fair MREvo review on the Internet), and sales weren't good stateside, either. Though probably a bit better than it's JP sales. Due to the game's critical and financial failure, it prompted the resignation of several key employees, likely including the unfortunate director himself.
Now things are up in the air. With the PS3 being so non-mass-market at the moment, Tecmo's strong MS support and the potentially huge market for Wii, no one has any idea where MR will end up. One thing is for certain; Tecmo has not given up on the series, in spite of everything, and MF6 is definitely inevitable (God knows what they'll call it in the states. MR5? MR6? MR: Subtitle?).
Also, they're never gonna listen to their audience again. Ever. I sure wouldn't, after all that.
On top of that, they're still experimenting with the series, with titles like Monster Farm Pop for the mobile (Monsters in 3D, with MR4's models; monsters are generated by taking pictures of things with the camera phone), which is doing quite well and was recently updated with online battles, and Monster Rancher Online; a PC MR game slated for Winter of this year which has free online play, but requires miniscule micropayments for minor things, like items, which is basically identical to or less than monthly payments for traditional ORPGs at the end of the month, akin to many successful Asian MMOs.
However, due to the fact that MR sells less in the US than in Japan, no one can tell what will happen on our side.
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