Giving in to peer pressure, I've decided to post this story. As a wise man once said, "There are no old video game stories, just stories people have forgotten, or never read to begin with."Keiji Inafune's interview with 4Gamer.net took place back in November, in which he discussed his desire to continue development of Mega Man Legends 3 at his new company, Comcept, in cooperation with Capcom. Given Legends 3's ultimate fate since, the interview is just as relevant as ever:
4G: So if you want to save Capcom, you can continue working on that even after leaving. It seems like there are a lot of people like that.
Inafune: So, I told them that I was going to found my own independent company and leave Capcom. However, I stated that I was ready to make a contract with them so that I could keep working on those projects that I started. I couldn’t start making contracts with other publishers for sure if Capcom agreed to the proposition, but I wanted to see those projects that I started to completion. But it couldn’t be done. They answered, ‘We have no need to do that.’"
"[I went to the trouble of]…Finding the right time, gathering the team members, planning strategies, all so we could barely start on Mega Man Legends 3. I really don’t want to quit at this crucial moment…but I can’t keep going at Capcom. I am too tired to keep going. I wanted to leave Capcom to recharge my energy, and support Capcom from there, but it seems they don’t allow it. I want to make all my effort to keep Legends 3 alive, but I’m really not sure I can do it."
Simply put, Keiji Inafune was so devoted to the project that he was willing to develop it outside of Capcom, picking up the reins at his company. Infaune was willing to gather the staff and resources needed to complete Legends 3... but Capcom simply wouldn't budge. Eight months later, Legends 3 was cancelled.
Had Capcom allowed Inafune to develop the title at Comcept, perhaps things would have ended up differently.
I'd like to thank everyone who passed this my way; your patience was appreciated!
Hmm. To me, it looks like that someone might edited it to make it look like it was Inafune's comment but I hope it is true. Why ? I would love his company make his own rockman games.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? Holy spit.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is this about Protodude? You do recall you blogged this last year when it was released in the wake of Inafune's resignation... don't you?
ReplyDeletehttp://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.com/2010/11/more-on-inafunes-resignation.html
Copyman: Indeed; read the first paragraph again.
ReplyDeleteProtodude: Haha, thanks for the compliment!
@LBD:
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.
Honestly, I can understand Inafune's reasons for leaving... But I do think that if he truly was dedicated enough to the cause, and knew how wrong Capcom's ways were, he would have stayed to at least ensure his project'd finally be released before leaving the company.
ReplyDeleteDoes this make it seem kind of like Capcom is just being spiteful now to anyone else?
ReplyDeleteRAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete@ anon 4: to be honest, someone who has given us so many good games for this many years, i would rather he quit when he did and us never get legends 3. to be honest, there was no real proof or evidence of legends 3 being canned before he left. i don't recall if universe was canned before or after he left, but even if it was before, there was nothing pointing to legends' death. he deserved the break. i just hope he doesn't regret his decision.
ReplyDeleteand if mega man games start being affected by the very reasons he quit, i don't think anyone will be overly enthused about new MM games. i can hear it now. "oh great, another coat of paint for mega man 13." think about this. at least if we have bad MM games now, it won't be inafune's fault, and the man that made us happy for so long, though having to watch his creation burn, will have a peace of mind knowing there was nothing he could do, and that at least he wasn't a part of it.
i'm sorry that's so long, i just feel like it needed to be said. i don't remember seing anyone so far defending his decision, and instead, i see people bashing him for it.
@Anon: "if we knew how bad Capcom's ways were"
ReplyDeleteSucky jobs are a real drain. Emotional well-being is more important than a few projects that had a chance of being finished without him.
Once he left, there wasn't really anything he could do.
Inti Creates (formed with previous Capcom staff) worked on the Zero and ZX series.
ReplyDeleteSimilar story: Masanobu Endō from Namco, which worked in The Tower of Druaga, left the company and started his own, but he still worked in Namco games and was involved in games related to The Tower of Druaga.
@ anon 7: I'm not bashing Inafking's position. Like I told you, I understand his reasons for leaving Capcom PERFECTLY. I just wish he'd stayed behind to finish his last project before leaving, that's all. Sorry if it sounded like I was bashing him, it wasn't my intention. :P
ReplyDelete@Nytetrayn
ReplyDeleteNone of which was in the dude's article when I posted that. At that time Protodude sourced this as a rumor from gameblurb. Which referenced Inafune's attempt to make Legends 3 post-Capcom. Both not referencing the timeline this statement was made in, making it seem like Inafune tried to pick the game up after it was canceled.
There's something that just doesn't make sense to me. Why is it that they're suddenly acting as if they're incapable of finishing a Mega Man game without Inafune? In the past, they've already proven that they can (with Mega Man X6 being a prime example), but now, it doesn't seem like they're even trying, considering the fact that they've canceled two games in the same year.
ReplyDeleteI knew it! Capcom betrayed Inafune! When he left, he asked Capcom to keep Mega Man Legends 3 alive no matter what, they pretended to make it happening! They lied to him! Turned back on him!
ReplyDeleteThis is UNFORGIVABLE!!!
/\ Anon talking about Masanobu Endō:
ReplyDeleteEndo was able to make a complete story with only 4 games, the last one having 48 endings! (Although their gameplay is awkward) And +1 that happens in the future like the X series. And he also appeared in-game in a spin-off and in the end of one episode from the anime. He must have a great relation with Namco.
Wish Capcom could be like that with Inafune... But it's not like Capcom is unfriendly either. They fight a lot with Marvel (UMvC3), Namco (Tekken), SNK, and Tatsunoko, and they worked with Nintendo in a few Zelda games like Oracle of Ages/Seasons. So what gives? They just don't like Mega Man and Inafking?
There are also "small" complains from others games (mainly DMC). And remember that Rocket Raccoon is a character from Marvel, not Capcom, and they are working in the game together. But why the sudden Mega Man madness? The Devroom IS great and the staff was very friendly, but why coldly cancel two games in a row without a single explanation? And MML3 appeared to be highly profitable. It doesn't make any sense. It's like the Capcom high-ups want to ruin the company on purpose. They should..., they MUST give a pretty darn good explain to the fans of what is happening. The only true explanation in the moment is that Mega Man is their brand and they can do whatever they want with it, even kill it in a gruesome way!
(This Mega Man fan is NOT amused!)
CAPCOM is a traitor!!! Inafune is the best!!! Why?!?! Why did they betray our creator and father of Mega Man games???? How could they do to him???
ReplyDelete