Monster Hunter 3DS Would Boost System's Popularity

The biggest video game franchise coming to 3DS may not involve Mario, Kirby and Link. There's a great chance that Capcom will release a new entry in its popular Monster Hunter series on Nintendo's machine.

Monster Hunter began on PlayStation 2 and quickly rose to the top of the charts. Since then, it has dominated the Japanese gaming scene, racking up huge sales. One could argue that the sole reason why Sony's PSP remains alive is Monster Hunter. The latest entry in the franchise, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, has already sold four million copies in Japan since 2010.

It's easy to see why so many gamers love the franchise. Each game casts the user as a warrior who sets off to battle gigantic beasts, either alone or with friends via local and online play. Not only do they work together to slaughter these creatures, but also fashion armor and weapons from the hides.

Monster Tri quickly became the best selling third party game on the Wii.

This experience allows players to satisfy their desire to hunt, albeit virtually. What's more, there's no fear of being gored and left for dead.

There's also a tremendous amount of value packed into each adventure, thanks to hundreds of items, limitless customization and numerous monsters to kill. Suffice to say, one game will keep players busy for months and perhaps longer.

With this in mind, a 3DS version would give Nintendo a better foothold in the competitive portable market, providing it's a new edition to the franchise, and not a rehash of an old PSP title. Players would cross over to the system to experience the 3D special effects, as well as the opportunity to use the handheld's StreetPass feature to trade weapons and other useful items, providing Capcom goes that route.

On the positive side, this week marks the company's annual showcase, where Capcom invites journalists from around the world to see its newest games. We just hope Monster Hunter 3DS made the list.