Debunking The RM9 Screenshot

It's truly amazing to see how a single picture can stir a community uproar. Countless fan sites, forums and gaming news sites aren't sure what to make of this so called "leaked screenshot."

Thanks to the detective skills of RPM member, UZO, we may have successfully debunked the screenshot and its source:

"I'm a beta tester for Capcom"
-He doesn't use industry terms. Beta tester is a word founded by the gamer community. The correct industry term is QA. However, there are some QA who do only deal with beta phase software. Even then, the term is still QA.

"they check you for cameras every time before you go into the room to play."
-False. You sign a non disclosure of proprietary information agreement. For further proof see the CapcomUnity development blogs.

"I want to just send it to you guys because I don't want it to get too much attention (Which is why I'm not sending it to Kotaku, or 1-Up.)."
-Yeah, don't give it much attention, just send it to one of the biggest Megaman sites on the net. (RPM)

"The graphics are in the 8-bit sprite style, but not the classic Famicom/NES one."
-False. There are console regulations to what you can and cant do for a console otherwise it will never be approved (yes, approval is required) to be sold for the console. Microsoft and Sony (and even Nintendo) have regulations against fully '8bit' games that are not ports.

"The game doesn't support full wide screen YET, but it will."
-The killing shot. In the game industry "beta" has a special and interesting place in the development cycle. Allow me to explain;

Pre-Alpha :: The game has not implemented all features.
Alpha :: All game features have been implemented to some degree.
Beta :: The game is COMPLETED. Further QA and fixes are ONLY to eliminate bugs

He claims the game is in Beta. He claims to be a Beta Tester. However, he also says that wide screen has not been implimented. Thats proof hes a liar and a fake.

If this game was in beta, the widescreen would have been long since implemented. In fact, the way games are made, it would have had to be implemented in pre-alpha.


Convincing, no? The debunking doesn't end there, with a little common sense, we can conclude that it's practically impossible to take this shot while playing the game. We know this picture was taken by a cellphone (proof is in the EXIF data). The image depicts Rockman juming and releasing a charged shot. It's impossible to perform this maneuver with one free hand (the other is taking the shot). Thus, this image is a hoax as it is a still picture displayed on a screen, photographed by a cellphone.


Ageman said it best:

"That screenshot looks like bull. I refuse to believe Capcom would be so lazy with their tiling - most of the ground looks like the same tile flipped, stretched, and rotated. That, and the "enemy" looks like a bunch of older MegaMan enemies cut-and-paste into one. The MegaMan sprite looks okay, but again, it doesn't fit for some reason. OH! And no background, seriously? Of course I also refuse to believe the poster above - fans of the MegaMan series have waited over 10 years for MegaMan 9. 10 YEARS. Do you really think Capcom would shaft it's fans by using NES sprites? Even if Capcom didn't care about its fans - you know how much bad media they'd get? Doesn't make sense from any way you look at it. Obviously no one right now is really reliable - too much BS and everyone wanting their 5 minutes of fame. Almost sad. That being said, if, through some divine abomination, Capcom does use NES sprites in a 2008 game and does what you people are saying they're gonna do...well... it will be a sad day for MegaMan."