CAPCOM, Where's the Love?

[Mr. Sean Nelson]

Hey ya'll!

With the cancellation of both Mega Man Legends 3 and Mega Man Universe, it seems CAPCOM has become a harsh mistress for us Mega Man fans.
Remember how long the gap was between Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 9.
Further, there appear to be no plans for new Battle Network or X series games.

With all the attention SEGA gives Sonic, and all the attention Nintendo gives Mario, it seems strange that CAPCOM's (arguably) most recognizable franchise is neglected as much as it is.

Why do you think this is?

[Shade Guy]

Well, it seems like this 'resurrection' of the Mega Man series has only been a nostalgic binge into the classic series.

The reason they brought him back in the first place is purely for nostalgic purposes (for Capcom and their fanbase). That's why they went with 8-bit graphics instead of going with more advanced graphics. Nostalgia was the reason why Capcom didn't try anything new with MM9 and 10. Instead of reusing the old formula, they could have gone in a different approach, perhaps making the game 2.5D, similar to Kirby 64 and other games. I guess they weren't bold enough to step into the unknown and decided to stay in the comfort of their own nostalgia. I'm not saying that their choice for 9 and 10 to be retro was bad, but they didn't neccessarily have to make it that way.

Anyway, I think that Capcom decided a long time ago that they wanted to move on from Mega Man, and this recent revival was just to keep their fans happy. Capcom might have thought that they should move on from Mega Man once more, so they moved on. Unfortunately, they decided to move on after announcing two new games in the Mega Man series and soon cancelled them.

We shouldn't be annoyed at them trying to please us with two new games in the series because, well, they gave us two new games in the series. Be thankful for that.

Also, didn't Keiji Inafune (who I assume would have been a large part of the production of Universe and Legends 3) leave or something? If he did, that was probably the straw that broke the camel's back.

[Ivory]

Like I said in the Legends cancellation thread.

Inafune was the backbone of megaman. Capcom may have been the head, but he was the neck that turned the head. Inafune has always been the one who internally pushed for new megaman titles.

[LlamaHombre]

Bye new Mega Man games, we'll miss you.

[Zero-EXE]

It's been pointed out here and in the MML3 Cancellation thread, there's a number of reasons that it's happening. I had a nice 40 minute debate last night with the foil to us Mega Man fans, my long-time internet friend who's a big-time SF fan. When you compare the perspectives, they spell out where and what Capcom's been doing.

My friend went fighting for the side of the business perspective, which is one thing the MM community is up in flames about. The fact is (let's be honest here) that Mega Man games, as much as we hate to admit it, haven't sold nearly as well as things such as Dead Rising, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, etc. And the current direction Capcom takes business-wise is very safe; they've been using the same formulas to continue selling, thus all the SFIV releases (I will point out that all SF entries have gotten rereleases, however), the rather cop-out-ish RE Mercs 3D, and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. That stuff is very sell-able, due to the mass quantities of DLC opportunities which stuff like that has.

The problem is, our loyal faction of the Capcom fanbase expected more than that. Companies like SEGA, while always subjected to thousands of complaints, continued trying to make Sonic games even after we realized how bad it got with Sonic 06. Nintendo announced Luigi's Manson 2, not because the first was a monster hit, but because it's a fan favorite. For a company that's been in the business for as long as Capcom has, we expected that they'd want to appeal to their core fanbase that lies in us, the Mega Man fans. After such a knive as the sudden cancellation of MML3, we can see that's not where they want to go.

Business wise, it makes sense. But the blatant ignorance of fan demand has just made them plenty of enemies.

[NemZ]

The problem really has to boil down to money, and Mega Man just isn't percieved as a breadwinner anymore.  This is of course entirely their fault as it's hardly surprising sales numbers will drop when you pump out sequels of falling quality and at the same time oversaturate the market.  

Mega Man also has the problem in that it really wants to be graphically simple but all the current consoles demand more polish than it honestly needs.  It's a problem that's actually holding back quite a few potentially great games, and it's the main reason why I've found FAR more entertainment in the last several years on my DS rather than consoles.

Personally I hope they go back to online distribution systems (maybe even skipping the consoles altogether and embracing Steam?) and forget producing console titles except perhaps compilations on handhelds.

[BiscuitSlash]

Capcom don't care so much about us UK players either. They don't let us get Megaman Anniversary collection and laugh at our only choice of 50fps Megaman, which isn't anywhere near as good as 60fps.

[TheBladeRoden]

I've had a love/hate relationship with Capcom in recent years anyway.

I wish they would sell the IP to Nintendo or something at least, instead of giving Mega Man the Jimmy Hoffa treatment

[Zero-EXE]

Out of the 3 big console names, I believe Nintendo would do it the most justice. As NemZ said, it doesn't require the graphical level everyone somehow thinks Sony and Microsoft needs, and Nintendo's always been the king of creating rich worlds from simple, but colorful, detail. They'd be the best new home for the Blue Bomber.

[KillerChair]

I hope they will eventually make a sequal/prequal to any of the megaman series.
But seeing as they have cancelled 2 megaman games already i doubt they will ever make another game.
The last thing they made that could possibly please us a bit is Marvel VS Capcom 3 for putting Zero in that game.
Though a fully megaman game will probably not happen anymore.

In other words... My fuel for life has ran out

R.I.P. Megaman 1987 - 2010?  :?  (lets hope not.)

[Shade Guy]

Never fear, mourners.

The Mega Man series will always live on in the heart of all Mega Man fans...and their many fanmade robot masters, concepts and games, be it ROM hacks, or something completely new. Including this one!

MEGA MAN FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRR

[BiscuitSlash]

Never fear, mourners.

The Mega Man series will always live on in the heart of all Mega Man fans...and their many fanmade robot masters, concepts and games, be it ROM hacks, or something completely new. Including this one!

MEGA MAN FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRR

Hands down, this is one of the best ROM hacks a Megaman fan can have! It's VERY original and if you haven't played it, I recommend doing so! Photonman skin will happen!

[LlamaHombre]

inb4 they call fanmade shit "illegal" and we have to migrate to another game.

[Shade Guy]

Then we can become Super Mario 8-bit Deathmatch .

[Nuy]

Actually Mega Man Forever was already Cancelled. Anyway, Mega Man series died with 9 being released IMO. I just want another RM&F style game. Proto Man + Bass + Mega Man = Happy. I've actually got a BUNCH of ideas for such a game =|