Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto has blamed something he calls the "PS5 barrier" for slowing Monster Hunter Wilds sales, suggesting that the console and its ancillary purchases are at least partly responsible for the game's underperformance in recent months.
In an interview with Nikkei (as spotted by ResetEra user DriftingSpirit; we're using machine translation for the interview), Tsujimoto says that Monster Hunter Wilds' "main platform" is the PS5, but that the "barrier" for this platform is "unexpectedly large".
He says that the console costs around 80,000 yen in Japan (which works out at around $540), but that when adding "software and monthly subscriptions", that cost can reach about 100,000 yen (roughly $670). This, Tsujimoto says, is "not an amount that can be easily reached, especially for younger generations".
According to Tsujimoto, this situation isn't unique to Japan, but is "similar overseas as well". Relatedly, Sony increased prices for the PS5 in the US back in August, with all three major models of the console affected by the price hike.
Tsujimoto says that "sales will begin in the future", presumably pointing to discounts for Monster Hunter Wilds on the horizon. He also says the Switch 2's successful launch at around 50,000...
