Nearly a week since its North American and European debut, Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge has quickly become the top selling game on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. And who says a Mega Man game on the eShop can't sell? Tsk-tsk.Although specific sales figures were not divulged, Revenge managed to dethrone The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, who previously held the number one spot for several weeks running. That tells you quite a lot right there. Bear in mind, the game is a long ways off from topping the "All Software Charts", but today's victory is certainly a start in the right direction. What can I say? People love Mega Man on-the-go!
It'd be nice to see where the game placed on the Japanese charts, but I don't have that info in front of me at the moment. I'll look around and see what I find. Of course, if you own a Japanese 3DS yourself, you can give me a holler in the comments.
Thanks for the tip, Ace_Cloud!
yes capcom...no one likes megaman
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Megaman games are liked in OCCIDENT TOO! :')
ReplyDeleteI hope Capcom is paying attention.
ReplyDeleteAre you paying attention Capcom? 'Cause I think THIS is pretty good source for "consumer demand" (yeah, I take Economics classes) for you to realize THERE IS A MARKET FOR MEGAMAN GAMES. NOW DO THE RIGHT THING AND CONTINUE MML3.
ReplyDeleteI bought it asaic :3
ReplyDeleteThanks to this capcom sees the light and releases.........................
ReplyDeleteGB MEGA MAN 2-5
Now imagine if Legends 3's prototype were there...
ReplyDelete*brick'd*
Capcom will not care about that...they will release the other rockman world games and that's it....
ReplyDeleteCapcom: "Lulz, kewl. Now all we have to do is port the data of all the other Gameboy games and PROFIT. We are geniuses! What was MegaMan Mania again?"
ReplyDeleteSo much for "remastered" color versions of the games. Oh well, maybe prices for the actual carts will drop a little.
I view this as good... Get some income from the old games, which have support. Put that towards making Legends 3 again, which will now have a bigger bankroll and obvious support....
ReplyDeleteAnd note that it's ABOVE MOTHA F*CKIN ZELDA.
Nice. What really makes this news is that it beat a Zelda game (and I think Link's Awakening is VERY good). Definitely not an accomplishment to ignore.
ReplyDeleteSo, a Mega Man game has managed to top a Zelda game, of all things, in the sales department? Take the hint, Capcom. Take the hint.
ReplyDeleteMM:DWR is surprisingly decent. You have to get used to the larger sprites and the timing adjustments that come with that compared to the NES ratios (but if you have any experience with MMVGB or MM7, you can handle this). It's portable Megaman that, on the whole, isn't as drawn out as the NES games, which proves quite fun. Each stage is pretty sizeable, though, so it's not MM2 or MM9 where you blast through the stage, it's more MM1 or MM10.
ReplyDeleteAnd this isn't even a very fun title! Of the five it's the most brutally hard. On the eyes, one the ears and the patience! I own them all on gameboy and took em everywhere. Dr. Wily's revenge is by far the hardest. Crystal Man's stage in 3 still gives me nightmares too though.
ReplyDelete2 was so easy you can just whip through it in no time. It was well done otherwise, but there's no real challenge to speak of. I still enjoy it for some quick Mega Man on the go action when I don't have time to spend on more.
I believe Vixy has one protodude. I spoke to her about it; when it launched in Japan.
ReplyDeletehere's something i'd like to remind you all of. CAPCOM MADE AT LEAST TWO ZELDA GAMES OF THEIR OWN. notice? how can they not! they have had their hands in link's green tunic before, and yet now they wear neither the tunic nor the blue armor. just the blood stained clothes of ryu and chris redfield.
ReplyDeletebut you have to admit. something is off here. they're releasing ALL other mega man games, EXCEPT the legends games. they canned universe, yeah, but it was mainly based on MM2, of which is more than just out, it and all other classic MM games are pouring into re-existence. X as well. shoot, even the Zero series seen a collection on the DS. but they decided AGAINST releasing the legends games on PSN. lemme break it down.
this game selling well means nothing for legends. or X. or Zero. just classic mega man. why? because each series has it's own style. they only represent the series that they're from. so, without anything to represent the sales figures for legends, how can capcom decide to pick it back up based on sales for a game that plays nothing like it? mega man or not, they're polar opposites in game genres. one is a stage based action platformer, the other an action adventure game akin to metroid!
sure, they could have released the proto v, and it's shady to not have, but still, we can't beg nintendo to release metroid simply because mario sells well. that's like asking for ice cream and getting grapefruit juice.
And then, MM2GB comes out.
ReplyDeleteWatch it crash and burn just because of that game. The original game needs a HEAVY makeover, because it has a horrible presentation.
There's no hint whatsoever in this. The Mega Man Game Boy series is great, and this is expected. But topping Zelda?. ZeldaGB 1 to be precise? Seriously?
BTW, this also makes a Mega Man Mania less needed when you can make more profit out of 5 downloadable games, instead of a 5-in-1 retail game.
MusashiAA makes a fine point.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, Link's Awakening IS a hella lot better than MM:DRW could ever dream to be...
And I'm not saying that because LA is my favorite Zelda installment.
@ musashiAA
ReplyDeleteall the more reason it's not right. they canned something that would show fan appreciation, and instead release the originals in all their (horrible) glory, simply because it's easier, requires little to no work, and will make them more money.
you got new term: ca$hcom.
You know what I think is funny?
ReplyDeleteThere's people insisting that if we do buy these cruddy ports, that it would show Crapcom how "important" MM is. And then we have others who believe that the concept only reinforces Capcom to make cheap-ass ports to make a quick buck, and never make anything new and good with the franchise.
Maybe MM is better off dead...
Doc, it shows that the franchise is financially viable. That tells Capcom people are willing to pay for more Mega Man products and future games.
ReplyDelete"Rockman World" isn't in any Ranking list on the Japanese eShop this week. It might have been there at some point, but it has disappeared from all the Rankings.
ReplyDeleteThe game has a 4.5 star rating in the eShop.
5*: 185 votes
4*: 159 votes
3*: 67 votes
2*: 17 votes
1*: 4 votes
Questionnaire
Q1: 15%/85%
Q2: 37%/63%
No, I don't think it shows Capcom that the franchise is indeed viable as we would like them to believe.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, all of this is just a quick buck. It doesn't mean that it will convince Capcom of reconsidering of merely releasing quick ports that take no effort.
@previous Anon
ReplyDeleteOr that only -old- Mega Man games are commercially viable.
Especially given ZXA, Starforce, cancelled projects (including MM Universe), that's how I'd analyze the situation.
Of course, with all that business training, I wouldn't have been so foolish to throw away a trailblazing piece of software like MML3, which had the ENTIRE 3DS install base CORNERED for consumer dollars as the first title with any depth (that wasn't an N64 remake). In fact, I'd be leery of porting if I were Capcom given how badly Operation Shooting Star failed.
If I were an analyst for Capcom, I'd green-light Mega Man 11, and re- green-light MML3 ONLY IF Comcept were the ones to do it. Let them take the heat if it fails, and otherwise, share in the profits if it's successful.
I'd also be pushing for a massive MM Collection for the portables. A new MM collection that included 9 and 10, and maybe some extra games.
If asked about a new series, I'd say a new Battle Network that really does continue where EXE6 left off, and has all the roughly same gameplay but with a few more of the 'addictive' leans of Pokemon. Without going overboard (no 'hundreds of playables', no 'select from a few quirkies, bishounen, or protag').
@HyperSonicEXE:
ReplyDelete"Or that only -old- Mega Man games are commercially viable. Especially given ZXA, Starforce, cancelled projects (including MM Universe), that's how I'd analyze the situation."
So, let's keep plucking out re-re-releases of games +15 years old. Yeah, sounds like something WE (I'm gonna start roleplaying Capcom for this post :P) would totally do.
-ZXA was a solid and fun game (and it wouldn't strange me if it surpassed the 100k sold units), but it was basically a Zero game, and the Zero series was already too burnt out by the time ZX came out.
-Starforce was already doomed ever since EXE stopped being hot (after BN5).
-MMUniverse was cancelled because it was ill-received by fans and critics alike, and because it was Inafune's pet project at the time, and people know how Inafune used to work while he worked for us.
-L3 was cancelled because it was a bet on a beta build of a prequel for a revival of a niche series, which is itself part of a cold-seller (as in "not as hot as Mr. Street freaking Fighter 4) franchise that just got out of 2 fluke games (SF3 and OSS), 2 shoddy retro remakes, and a fluked attempt as westernization. Not to mention it was forcily pushed into development by doom-sayer Inafune and some of his co-workers.
So yeah, things have been looking pretty grim for Mega Man these past 2 years.
"Of course, with all that business training, I wouldn't have been so foolish to throw away a trailblazing piece of software like MML3, which had the ENTIRE 3DS install base CORNERED for consumer dollars as the first title with any depth (that wasn't an N64 remake). In fact, I'd be leery of porting if I were Capcom given how badly Operation Shooting Star failed."
Gee, we don't recall EVERY 3DS owner waiting for L3Beta to come out. Where did you get that impression?
Porting a game is a low risk-high reward business move. You get income out of no effort and no heavy investment whatsoever. Doesn't matter how much, you get it. A quick buck. This is Capcom we're talking about here. We have ported the same game to 21 different consoles, and it freaking printed money (Street Fighter 2, BTW)
"If I were an analyst for Capcom, I'd green-light Mega Man 11, and re- green-light MML3 ONLY IF Comcept were the ones to do it. Let them take the heat if it fails, and otherwise, share in the profits if it's successful."
Mega Man 11 is not coming out anytime soon. I dare to say it's probably collecting cyberdust inside some Capcom worker's computer right now, waiting for the retronostalgia heat to cool off ;).
L3 PROTOTYPE VERSION will not come out until...well...it could be a pretty damn long time, unless WE decide to take a financial blow for the fans and release it just for kicks and the hopes of recovering the investment put into it. Now, MML3 FULL VERSION...that's an even worse story. Let's just say "Mega Man Legends Forever" and be done with it, shall we?
"I'd also be pushing for a massive MM Collection for the portables. A new MM collection that included 9 and 10, and maybe some extra games."
Oh nice. Let's pluck out a collection of +15 year o-wait MM9 AND 10? EXTRA GAMES?! Madness! We're still getting profit out of 9 and 10! We can rererelease those extra games as individual downloadable games and get even MORE profit!
"If asked about a new series, I'd say a new Battle Net-"
In the words of Fire Man:
YOU'RE FIRED!
What Capcom obviously should have done is at least release the colored versions of these MM GB games separately. Those would definitely have sold even more even to collectors who feel that there is no need to buy it on the 3DS because they have the original GB cart.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, they "lost" the source code to the original games. Maybe they "lost" the data to Mega Man Mania as well. I guess it's up to the fans to "find" it and show it to them. :p
MusashiAA-
ReplyDeleteOn the first part, Capcom's not going to equate sales of an older game to the success of new material.
Those are the safest moves, sad to say.
Which is different from what I'd do in my own company, where I actually would try to give Megaman a working paradigm shift.
That set of steps would be a turn-around given Capcom's current business M.O. (terrible, as your mock of them showed very well). They're blaming the wrong reason for failure on various projects, and totally eliminating their chances for profit.
Talking about (not so) old games and re-releases:
ReplyDeleteMega Man Zero Collection: 4 good GBA games in 1 for NDS with extras.
Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star: Port of GBA game for NDS with extras. Japan only.
I wonder why OSS didn't go as well as MMZC? Look at MM8 for example, wasn't the Saturn version just a port with extras, which was also done with other games like Castlevania SotN? Capcom built more hype for OSS than MMZC (maybe even more than MML3?), and it's a crossover. How could it go wrong!? (lol stupid question)
By the way, how did OSS sales go? Is it close to Battle Chip Challenge in Japan?
@Anon:
ReplyDeleteOSS sold horribly. It was in bargain bins two weeks after it launched.
OSS has no excuse. It was a port of a game ten year old game with no solid new features.
first off, i'd like to take issue with musashiAA (surprise surprise). your statement that the legends series is a niche game doesn't hold water. it's basicly an anime concept metroidvania, which is a VERY popular subgenre. dare i say, it's a 3D cave story (reference only, i know the release timing well enough). niche? if so, it's only because it's a guy in a blue suit instead of a female in an orange one.
ReplyDeletealso, i DO think the classic mega man and even the X formula is still viable, just no longer as retail games. downloadable is the only future i can see for games like that. they're just too short. i mean, can you see paying $40 just to run through about 15 stages, if that? plus extra for DLC? the series is perfect for download only, but it no longer fits the retail criteria.
i can't believe a shoddy game like wily's revenge actually topped link's awakening :/
ReplyDeleteLink's awakening is awesome, but GO MEGAMAN!
ReplyDelete