Last month, Capcom admitted that Monster Hunter Wilds "fell short" of expectations. While that might be hard to believe, given that it sold ten million copies at launch alone, it only sold 470,000 copies between April and June, lagging far behind World.

Many have pointed to poor PC optimisation as a possible reason, but Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto argues that the PS5 is partly to blame.

"The console costs about ¥80,000," he explained in an interview with Nikkei (via the site's built-in machine translator). "When you factor in the cost of software and monthly subscriptions, it comes to about ¥100,000 at the time of purchase. This is not an amount that can easily be reached, especially for younger generations. This situation is not limited to Japan, but is similar overseas as well."

The "PS5 Barrier" And $70 Pricing: What Went Wrong With Monster Hunter Wilds?

via Capcom

Tsujimoto describes this phenomenon as the "PS5 barrier", i.e. that next-gen exclusivity is limiting the number of potential buyers due to its exuberant price. Though it's worth noting, while lifetime sales for the PS4 are of course much higher, the PS5 has kept pace with its predecessor, selling nearly 80 million units in just five years. That means it's only 1.2 million units behind what the PS4 had sold in the same window.

However, it's undeniable that there's an entire audience of gamers who haven't upgraded to next-gen waiting in the wings to buy Capcom's games, but simply aren't able to. And for those who have made the jump to PS5, Tsujimoto argued that the $70 entry point might be putting them off anyway: "How many users will buy it at that price range?"

Capcom plans to get Monster Hunter Wilds back on track with free title updates and new "pricing strategies," as Tsujimoto explains that the team's "next challenge is to overcome these obstacles and get [the game] to as many people as possible". Whether that means a permanent price cut, last-gen ports, or something else entirely, remains to be seen.

One possibility, given the deluge of highly demanding games launching on the Switch 2, is that Monster Hunter Wilds will make the jump to handheld, as Tsujimoto made a point to name-check the hybrid console and its potential, despite its likewise controversial pricing.

Many of these, however, suffer severe performance issues.

"The response was better than we had expected," Tsujimoto said of the Switch 2. "While prices vary by country, this reaffirmed the high level of cost-consciousness among ordinary consumers."

Already, Capcom has announced a new Monster Hunter spin-off for the Switch 2, but combined with the "PS5 barrier", many are predicting that we'll see more support for last-gen and the handheld in the coming years, with insider and leaker Dusk Golem even speculating that Resident Evil 9: Requiem will launch on PS4.

Time will tell, but with rising costs—and the PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X/S competing for the title of most-expensive console—it only seems likely that we'll see more publishers continue to support last-gen.

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Monster Hunter Wilds

Action Adventure Systems 8.0/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 89/100 Critics Rec: 95% Released February 28, 2025 ESRB T For Teen // Violence, Blood, Crude Humor Developer(s) Capcom Publisher(s) Capcom Engine RE Engine
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