a

Capcom's not the only company who wants to carve the Monster Hunter franchise into the collective consciousness of the gaming public. Sony will also be pitching in to establish the franchise in PAL territories.

At Capcom's Captivate09 event, outgoing SCEE president David Reeves used one of his last few public appearances to anoint Monster Hunter Freedom Unite as the spearhead title for the PSP's resurgence this year.

We know that our own Sony software line-up, and to some extent the third parties', has not lived up always to expectations. But tonight is a prime example of how that has been rectified.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite will spearhead the PSP resurgence of 2009, we believe, and I would like to thank Capcom for their unwavering support in this endeavour.

One of the key demographics for PSP in Europe is the ten to 16 year-old male - the ideal demographic for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. By combining the skills and know-how that Capcom and PlayStation possess, we feel we can excite this audience with this fantastic game.

We firmly believe that if we can get people actually playing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite together in ad hoc mode - which not many Europeans do, but Japanese do all the time - even if it's only for a few minutes, we can create enough intrigue and excitement for them to want to experience more.

Reeves also announced that Europe will be getting a Monster Hunter Freedom Unite PSP bundle. Shame that he didn't exactly spill more beans than that. Hopefully we'll hear more about it soon.

To try out the Monster Hunter Freedom Unite experience yourself, catch the demo when it hits in early June. It'll be available both as a digital download and as a UMD. The game itself will launch in Europe on June 26, while North America will get it on June 23.

---

Related articles:

• Monster Hunter Freedom Unite screenshots from Captivate09
• Capcom to ramp up European marketing for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite