Capcom's Mobile Phone Monster Hunter Title Tops 1 Million Users

The first social mobile phone entry to Capcom's popular Monster Hunter series, Monhan Diary Mobile Felyne Village, has over 1 million registered users, the company announced today. The game, released in Japan just over two months ago on August 10, runs on DeNA's Mobage Town service. It allows users to play as the franchise's Felyne mascot characters who, in the mainline Monster Hunter games, accompany the player character on hunts. A statement from Capcom, translated by Andriasang, explained the game's popularity: "In addition to the lovable characters and the heartwarming world, the accessibility of the game itself as well as its communication-rich social aspects has helped this supplementary social game reach and surpass the one million user mark in unprecedented speed." "An effective promotional campaign has also helped to attract not only fans of the Monster Hunter series, but new users as well," it continued. Some of the game's success has been put down to an innovative 'friend introduction campaign' in which players who introduce their Mobagetown friends to the game receive points which can be exchanged for in-game items. DeNA was in the news last week for its high-profile acquisition of iOS developer, Ngmoco for $400 million, whose games the platform holder hopes will ape Capcom's success.