Last I checked, the numbers aren't anywhere close to the PSP ones (and those were ports too).

Check again. They're pretty close.

Which numbers did you look at , the 2 Days for MH4 vs 5 Days for MHP3rd ?

" aren't anywhere close "? Don´t make me laugh !

Am i missing something here? How could Monster hunter possibly sell more on vita??? From what i understand, it sold more than the entire userbase of the vita. That would mean it would need to have an attach rate of over 100%! Even if the Vita userbase miraculously doubled due to ONE GAME then it would still need an attach rate of over 50%! I think some people need to get a grip of basic maths!

Yes.

Anyone who thinks that Monster Hunter wouldn't have sold roughly as well on the Vita is completely misunderstanding Japan and the Monster Hunter franchise. The Vita hardware curve would have began moving upward from the moment the game was announced. The Japanese would probably buy a Vita just for Monster Hunter, to be honest, but Monster Hunter PLUS Toukiden, Soul Sacrifice, and God Eater 2?

Yeah, it would have sold just as well.

Well, looks like they kept their audience. If Nintendo did add incentives to go with them however, they definitely gained that.

I don't get why hardware would really drive software sales? Although I generally buy most consoles early on, I've never bought one with a game I didn't really want to play.

There might be people who won't buy a game because they don't own the console it's on and that game isn't enough to prod them to buy the console. e.g. Forza Horizon wasn't enough to make me rebuy a 360 (RRoD killed the other one out of warranty) but yeah, so long as the killer game is there, hardware sales just happen.

Had Monster Hunter 4 been on Vita, more people would have bought Vita plain and simple. On top of the hardware surge the game is giving the 3DS, plenty of other people will have already bought 3DS knowing Monster Hunter was coming.

So, you're saying that MH4 sold as much as MHP3rd?

What people seem to be missing is that Capcom wanted growth.
They had the hardcore MH-demographic in the bag, they have shown that they buy systems for MH (going by MHP3rds insane hardware jump)
...MH couldn´t be done on the DS, Capcom probably looked envious at the 120 mill+ userbas of the original DS and they knew that the PSP wouldn´t last forever...

-on one hand there was Nintendo, eager to get MH and to help promote/grow the series in the West, treat Capcom almost like a celebrity (publishing in Europe, footing the bills for the servers, paying for advertising) with historically the lagest userbases going back to the successfull Game Boy

-on the other Hand there was Sony, actively blocking MHP3rd HD´s Western release, the expensive Vita ,without any extra goodies like the mentioned above

Capcom went in knowing the above and hoping to tap into the Animal Crossing/Pokemon/Tomodochi Collection audience (I read the OT on NeoGaf and people stress how extensive the tutorials are, the game explains far more than any other MH = conquering/swallowing a new audience. on top )

It almost seems comical to say this, but Capcom made a wise decision (going by MH4´s sales)

Well, there is some relationship. It's certainly easier to buy a game you are slightly interested in if you already own the hardware. And I think Monster Hunter could only have taken off the way it did because so many people already had PSPs laying around in the first place, especially since its appeal is so dependent on having other people to play with.

And I'd also expect that Soul Sacrifice and these other new hunting IPs would have done somewhat better if they had come out on a system that was known to be the future home of Monster Hunter.

But the idea that some people seem to have that a hypothetical MH4 on Vita couldn't have sold more than the number of Vitas that exist right now... is pretty out there.