Again just a thought here....

Historically speaking, MH4 Being 3ds exclusive does not mean that MH4 will never come to Vita, ps3, 360 or any other platform. A 'numbered' MH being exclusive means nothing for other platforms.

(having travelled & lived in Japan around this period, so probably speaking with an unfair advantage) If you recall the MH tri (original version of 3) launch in Japan, it was Wii exclusive in much the same circumstances as now (with 4 and the 3ds). Just over a year later in Japan Monster hunter Portable 3rd, a much better (and to date the best version of MH3 by far) released in Japan on PSP (and later in HD on ps3) for those who (like me) speak Japanese.

Much more recently MH3G released on 3DS, a very similar version of MH3 to Tri (which in my opinion was cut down, a lot easier than MH should be, and disappointing for a MH)

So if capcom follows suit here we could see an upgraded & more complete version of MH4 on ANY PLATFORM in a year or so. as it stands i might give MH4 a miss, given the bitter taste tri left (will never get over CC dropping the bow and gunlance (among others) & cutting the game way down, thank god it all came back for portable 3rd)

In short... MH4 Being 3ds exclusive in no way means that no versions of MH4 will come out for anything else. My Japanese friends have a theory that the first versions of MH always come out on nintendo platforms because they (nintendo machines) cannot handle the 'complete content' versions that come out later (& if people are not aware its cut down there are no complaints)... just a theory though

and as always this is just my opinion overall

"My Japanese friends have a theory that the first versions of MH always come out on nintendo platforms because they (nintendo machines) cannot handle the 'complete content' versions that come out later (& if people are not aware its cut down there are no complaints)"

O_O
wut?

Again, it is just a theory & not even mine

But Tri is mising 4 of the weapons from freedom 2/freedom unite (gunlance, bow, hunting horn & dual blades) is notably easier than monster hunter freedom unite/ freedom 2 and has a lot less content overall.

There is no argument that there is less content from me (I was especially mad about the gunlance & bow, I loved them) but their theory is that perhaps the reason these lower content versions are released on nintendo machines first is if it were done the other way round (eg portable 3rd first & then Tri released later with less in it) no one would buy the nintendo version, because frankly why would you buy a weaker version of a similar game?

I guess it would then be like releasing marvel vs capcom 3 after Ultimate marvel vs capcom 3 & expecting people to buy MVC 3 as the 'new' game (though i know there is a lot more differnce between tri & port 3rd than Ult MVC3 and MVC3, but it does demonstrate the point)

Capcom are just crazily consistent at releasing 'more complete' versions of the same games later, so the least complete version of each always has to come first and because nintendo machines may (in theory) not be able to handle these more content filled versions, they by nature automatically get the new versions first

"nintendo machines cannot handle the `complete content´"

sorry but sounds really bad and nonsensical

you could say, since Nintendo hw caters to a wider audience that doesnt pay much attention to the MH franchise. but still has a big userbase where decent sales can be easily achieved, they decided (once) to release a less difficult version of the game with a bit less content to make the game more accesible to newcomers....

I guess that would make sense why (the much later) 3G on the 3ds also had similarly lesser content (to portable 3rd/ freedom unite) etc, no disrespect meant against nintendo (I do love my wii for dance games & Xenoblade Chronicles) just trying to say that MH4 exclusivity on the 3ds at present does not mean that no 'versions of 4' will ever release anywhere else  

3G is more of a bridge game though to move the MH audience over to the 3DS (from the PSP) for the eventual MH4 release. It doesn't make any sense for Capcom to then go ahead and release MH4 (or expansion) on another system after moving everybody over to the 3DS. That would only serve to split the userbase.

They could probably release another console version on the Wii U/PS3/PS4, but releasing another portable version on a different system wouldn't make sense.

Seriously, the game looks amazing, i cant wait, it looks much better than any other portable MH, environments look much more expansive!!

you are absolutely right

http://andriasang.com/con1s7/mh4_details/

Capcom provided us with plenty of Monster Hunter 4 footage in last week's trailer, but little in the way of details. This week's Famitsu comes to the rescue with a huge blowout on the game containing first specifics about how this new numbered MH game will play.

Here's a bit of what's leaking out from this week's issue:

The game will not have water segments (water was one of MH3's big features)
There will be some new elements surrounding Felynes. You'll once again be able to take two Felynes out with you on hunts.
The game will have new weapons, but these are being kept secret for now. It will also have new armor designs.
The game's story with the greatest number of NPCs in series history.
Monsters will make use of the land formations.
Under certain conditions, you'll be able to grab on to the monsters. (I'm not sure if this means you'll be able to ride the monsters or just latch on to them for attacking.)
You'll be able to make use of hight differences in the stages to perform jump attacks.
The game will have a free camera.
Rather than a fixed base camp like past Monster Hunter games, your base camp will now move -- somewhat like a caravan.

The magazine's information box lists the game as supporting 1 to 4 players, with support for local play (this may not necessarily mean no online play, although local play would be the norm for portable entries in the series). Ryozo Tsujimoto is listed as producer, with Kaname Fujioka listed as director.

A big reveal in Famitsu hopefully means a big reveal at the official site later this week... or at least some screenshots at Famitsu.com.

I thought the water stages were cool but at least they're being replaced by something better. The whole latching on to monsters sounds similar to Dragon's Dogma.
This news has made me so excited for the game and it probably won't even release here until 2-3 years from now... bastards