There have been a few anecdotal indications of strong initial success for Capcom's Monster Hunter spinoff title Monhan Nikki Poka Poka Airu Mura (widely written in English as Monster Hunter Diary). But this is just one recent example of the franchise's success away from the PSP. Prior to Diary's release, a mobile "social" version of Monster Hunter saw some major success of its own

On Friday, Capcom announced that Monhan Nikki Mobile Airu Mura reached half a million subscribers 17 days after the start of service. The game is available on DeNA's popular Mobage-town mobile portal and social networking service.

The Mobile version of Monhan Nikki is set in the same village setting as the like-named PSP version. The series' cat-like mascot character Airu, known internationally as Felyne, is in the starring role here. Players collect items and make friends via cooperative play, all the while building up a village.

Released on August 10, Monhan Nikki Mobile is free to play, only requiring Mobage-town registration, which is also free. Capcom makes money off item sales.