Capcom's been pretty quiet in regards to Mega Man's upcoming 25th anniversary. This has left many with a growing sense of skepticism towards the company and the priorities of purported "top men." However, this may be poised to change... but not for a little while.
In a recent Ask Capcom live Q&A stream (about 30:49 in), community manager Brett Elston touched upon when fans could expect to hear Capcom's plans for the anniversary.
"I feel like December's a good time. It also gives us time to focus on Street Fighter's 25th anniversary which is in August," Elston shares. "Yeah that's right; stay out of our anniversary, Mega Man weirdos!" jokes Seth Killian.
"But yeah, we'll most likely have something to say about the anniversary in December. But as to what it is, we're still discussing that, " adds Elston. "We had a meeting not long ago... very much happening inside those walls."
If you recall, previous anniversaries had announcements (and surprises) leading up to December 17. It doesn't look like that's happening this time. Whatever Capcom's got planned, we're a good six months away from hearing about it.
Meanwhile, Street fighter had six months of celebrations.
ReplyDeleteJesus christ.
Wow. This sucks.
ReplyDeleteSo, SF is in August... but they announced stuff months before?
Why?
No one's laughing, Seth. =P
ReplyDeleteI am very optimistic about this. It's a little disappointing that we aren't going to hear about anything or get hints toward what the plans are anytime soon, but I suppose it's a good thing due to the more time taken, the better things should turn out. Please don't let us down again, Capcom! "Very much happening inside those walls" sounds very promising.
So... the end of the anniversary year?
ReplyDeleteThis better be one of those "it's out tomorrow" deals. Oh wait, those never happen!
@first 2 anons
ReplyDeleteBecause Street Fighter is Capcom's current cash cow. They've been milking it for all it's worth.
Psssh, they're probably going to cancel it and blame it on the fans.
ReplyDeleteTthis makes sense to me. December 2012 IS the 25th and is technically the beginning of REAL anniversary. Traditionally the celebration has lead INTO it, but beginning it ON the day of celebration isn't totally ridiculous. All of 2012 thus far has in fact been the 24th anniversary, not the 25th. It's belated and unorthodox, but not incorrect.
ReplyDeleteI bet it might be that Legends 3 is back on. Something that we fans had but taken away and Capcom is giving it back to us as a anniversary gift.
ReplyDeleteBut i'll take Legends 3 though. lol!
December. So... AFTER the anniversary. And then they crack a joke in poor taste.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least they're consistent.
Those complaining about Street Fighter getting more than a month's notice, understand that because of the dynamics of the fighting game community and the type of celebration they're holding for the series, their anniversary stuff pretty much had to be announced ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, of course they're going to put more focus on the SF anniversary. Not only has that series made them more money (never forget that this is a business, not a charity), there are a lot of eyes on the fighting game community right now and the Capcom-sponsored tournaments provide both the community and Capcom with potential for positive exposure.
It's not "us versus them" anyway, so how they chose to do the SF anniversary shouldn't really matter.
Isn't Megaman a copyright of Keiji Inafune the creator ? Capcom should give it up and give it back to Keiji Inafune. Sighing.
ReplyDeleteWith respect @Wilynumber13, that's butt
ReplyDeleteThey organize tournament events every year, nothing special is really happening, so I don't really buy the "had to get it out" story.
Marketing is all about getting the word out, contrary to what some people think, if CAPCOM had something to get consumers excited about forking out cash they'd be tooting that horn like the devil as early as possible and as frequently as possible.
The reality is CAPCOM has been hit hard by Japan's economic trouble in the last couple of years, so they had to pick a winner to celebrate this year and that winner is going to be their flagship product.
CAPCOM just doesn't have the resources to celebrate both Mega Man and Street Fighter in the same year, so I wouldn't expect much in December either.
They will formally announce in December that they have nothing planned but Mega Man is still an important ip to them.
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't funny, Seth.
ReplyDelete@Wilynumber13: That doesn't make it any less agitating. And we know they're a business--so why don't they try hyping up Megaman's 25th anniversary so that more people outside the fanbase would be interested? Waiting until the very month of the anniversary to even tell us what they've got planned is just going to end in financial disaster, I think.
I know that hype and advertising don't automatically make something a best-seller, but Capcom really shouldn't whine about the series not selling well (like I believe they've done in the past, after they stopped advertising MM in any region) if they don't even attempt either.
(Sorry if I got a bit off-topic; right now I'm annoyed at the fact that the "info coming soon" date got pushed back again)
@Anon 8: Nope, he didn't invent Megaman. Even if he did, he did it while employed at Capcom, which likely had a stipulation in his employment contract that stated everything he created belonged to them. Standard procedure.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I would be pretty excited if Capcom unveiled a new title, I have zero anticipation of this happening. What I do anticipate is seeing what Capcom will do to show the fans that Megaman is truly special to them.
ReplyDeleteFrom a logistical standpoint, the only thing I can think of that Capcom could reasonably throw together this late would be the release of the Legends 3 demo and announcing to fans that because their cries have been heard, development is resuming. That MIGHT please the fans.
-ud
@ Anon (June 10 2:11pm)
ReplyDeleteThat's ridiculously unrealistic. And even if (a very big IF) true, would be a huge dick move on Capcom's part.
"Hey, I have a great idea! Let's cancel the prototype of a hyped sequel that's been over a decade overdue, blame it on the fans via twitter, give ambiguous reasons as to its cancellation, and release the completed game one year down the road! Those Megaman fans are a stupid bunch of sheep and will gladly pay for the game without remembering that they threatened to boycott us FOREVER!"
Personally, I'd be OK with Capcom just telling us what the damn "hidden secret that hasn't been found yet" in Megaman 9 actually is.
Yes, my expectations for the 25th anniversary of Megaman are that low.
@June 10, 2012 7:10 PM: Actually, I think most fans only threatened to boycott non-Megaman stuff.
ReplyDeleteMML3 being released after all would be great...unless Capcom did so to absolutely no fanfare, without bug-testing it. And then wondered why it sold poorly.
I'd like to know what MM9's big secret is, too. After all, IIRC Sven completely destroyed everyone's interest in it by saying that it was nothing special, so why not just tell us now and get it over with?
I call bull yet again.
ReplyDeleteCapcom's obviously trying to get rid of Mega Man, but they'll never win.
Let's join forces and call on either Nintendo or Inafune's new company (Or both) to acquire the rights to Mega Man by any means necessary.
"Yeah that's right; stay out of our anniversary... Mega Man weirdos!"
ReplyDeleteI find this offensive.
Seth, as part of CoA you should know better. Shame on you.
@Flame:
ReplyDeleteHe was joking. Don't read into it. That's just Seth's personality.
"He was joking. Don't read into it. That's just Seth's personality. "
ReplyDeleteToo soon. Too damn soon.
and considering the abuse Mega man fans have gone through, its just plain bad taste. He SHOULD know better, if he pretends to actually understand how MM fans feel.
Me thinks that revelations with Megaman's anniversary should really get started on September, either through public announcements or information leaks.
ReplyDeleteAnd at the very least SOME news regarding Monster Hunter 4 before the year's over, finished.
And I recommend for Capcom to hold off on anything Resident Evil after RE6 until next year.
Yeah Seth...better make some of your crappy jokes. Cuz when you see all of us, YOU'RE DEAD.
ReplyDeleteOi, on a personal level I find this ridiculous. I don't see how you could have an anniversary related thing without having a decent amount of hype. A month is not enough time to build up great hype; especially for a game. This leads me to believe that whatever happens will not be a game.
ReplyDeleteTo my knowledge Capcom sets up its XX Anniversary stuff to be released the year of; though I could certainly be wrong.
As for Seth's joke... I get that it's a joke but I don't love the timing of it. I won't lie it did sting a little to read it even though Protodude explicitly said it was a joke.
What I'd like to see from Capcom is something really new to the Mega Man series. No side-scrolling 2D gams like the original, X, Zero, or ZX, and no more games like BN or Star Force. I'd like to see MML3 just as much as the next person but the Mega Man series needs some originality... and some advertising.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDont worry, in november they will say they are sorry and will cancel any plans for rockman anniversary in december...
ReplyDeleteSeth Killian... that wasn't very nice to joke about Megaman fans or Megaman. You have offended me as well as everybody. Now I can't trust you, Seth, if you can't keep your words to us.
ReplyDeleteSeth was just joking, give him an effing break
ReplyDelete"Mega Man weirdos"?. Thanks Seth, I'm glad you see us that way.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Trigger?
ReplyDeleteOh my god, everyone just calm down!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how immature the MegaMan fanbase has become due to Legends 3 being canned. Well, except for Dr. Jerk, Undamned and Krazy Monkey. I think those three are calm about it and got over Legends 3's cancellation, but are still miffed at Capcom's stupidity.
Me on the other, also got over Legends 3's cancellation and moved on, playing games series and franchises that haven't been treated like trash like the Tales series, Mario and Kingdom Hearts. My current obession is Xenoblade Chronicles which is praised like crazy for being a popular game.
But other than that, the point is, all of you should calm down and get over Legends 3's canning!!!
But thing is, I doubt any of you except for Dr. Jerk, Krazy Monkey and Undamned are gonna listen. Dr. Jerk and Undamned, I know how you feel about Legends 3's canning as a fellow MegaMan fan. I really do.
Seth joking eh? Oh please...he doesn't even KNOW how to make a joke. He's just good at lying like crap. Him and Crapcom KILLED Mega Man already for their freakin' excuses that "Street Fighter is Capcom's No. 1 mascot".
ReplyDeleteI tell you all and believe in me, at the end of the year, he'll say "What? Mega Man 25th anniversary? What are you talking about, I don't remember saying anything about that? Besides, What's Mega Man anyways?" He'll act stupid to us like he believes that we're retards. You should all know that he's already looked us down for fun, liking killing ants with a magnifying glass.
I don't care what he says anymore. Whatever he says are just sounds so crappy. Never believe in him, he's just a rip offed @$$hole.
--
ReplyDelete"If you recall, previous anniversaries had announcements (and surprises) leading up to December 17. It doesn't look like that's happening this time. Whatever Capcom's got planned, we're a good six months away from hearing about it."
--
That's very generous way of putting it, Protodude. ;)
Previous anniversaries actually had commemorative games released to retail as early as April in Japan (the 20th anniversary was the last time we saw a Mega Man game at retail at all), along with commemorative merchandise for the entire year.
Anonymous
ReplyDeleteJune 11, 2012 2:54 AM
Just because something is intended to be a joke doesn't make it funny. Timing is very important and at this moment making Megaman jokes of that sort is in poor taste. Had he said this even 3 or 4 years ago it probably wouldn't be so bad and would come off as funny to more people.
You really need to take into account everything that has happened. Megaman Universe and Megaman Legends 3 were canceled. In particular Megaman Legends 3 ended on HORRID terms. Even Protodude and The Megaman Network realized this and did not do an April Fools joke this year.
Compare it to giving a dead baby joke at a funneral for a baby. Is it funny? No, because the timing could not be worse. Granted what Seth said is definitely not quite that despicable; but it is still is inappropriate.
As for me personally, I am not mad at Seth. He has not lost my trust. But that doesn't make what he said any less inappropriate.
"But as to what it is, we’re still discussing that..."
ReplyDeleteExcuse me if I don’t hold my breath until then.
Seriously, that to me sounds like code for "we want to do this the cheapest way possible -- kiss our feet that we’re willing to spend promotional budget on a non-earning IP."
That said, the Street Fighter 25th blew Mario’s 25th out of the water, and I don’t even know why Kirby and Sonic are having 20th’s, so, I’m willing to hear them out.
Look, I love Legends as much as the next guy, But you all need to understand: The series ended on a cliffhanger. Keyword: Ended. They were never required to make a sequel, and if they wanted to it would'va been made ten years ago. The only reason Legends 3 was brought back to light was because fans wanted it, even though Legends was never really that well-known. It's essentially Capcoms Pyschonauts. In fact, That's exactly what the entire series is. Hell, You could say its Capcoms Earthbound. Whatever you want to compare it to, You cant EVER say we've been waiting a decade for it. We havent, you havent, no one has. At most you've been waiting a year.
ReplyDeleteI meant to put this in my last post but forgot, so fuck me. Anyways, Yeah, Seth should know better as people are still sour about Legends 3. It's still a huge topic, and now people are sour over SFxT because, as a major fighting game fan myself, It was complete ass for a fighting game past 2004.
ReplyDeleteUrgh, and just as I suspected, in the comments are 'omg MML3 plz'. Can't you guys just accept the fact it was cancelled?
ReplyDeleteAlso what's with all this 'lol CAPCOM doesn't care about Mega Man fans anymore' crap?
The anniversary sounds promising though. (crosses fingers for fourth Mega Man Star Force game even though that will likely never happen)
You know, ever since Legends 3 was cancelled, Sven has been beating us over the head with how long the turnaround time for a video game is.
ReplyDeleteHe's not wrong, mind you, but consider this: December is 6 months away. To not announce their plans is one thing, but ff THEY still don't even know what they're doing, then unless by some miracle they do throw the L3 Prototype out there, they're going to have dick to show us in December. There is simply not enough time.
@Musashi the Master
ReplyDeleteLol, I love how you classify the Mega Man fans around here. It seems Dr. Jerk, Krazy Monkey, Undamned and yourself are supposed to be the enlightened ones who's feelings are just and correct regarding Mega Man? Well, please don't think like that. I myself have voiced similar sentiments but at the same time, I've been very blunt and stern with others. I know others have done the same. I'm a coin on its side but that's not necessarily bad. I have indeed moved on from Legends 3. If it gets made, I'll be ecstatic, if it doesn't then it still sucks. Doesn't mean I wont voice an opinion here or there about it. Every person who does is another proof of the game's worth.
In short, to simply get over Legends 3's canning and that's it is very close to giving up. Have you given up? Or as a Mega Man fan are you still going to voice your opinions? To be totally indifferent in a case as this is like not having a voice at all. Stuff like that isn't what got your Xenoblade Chronicles localized. Granted outright angry bitching didn't either, but those MM fans do need to simmer down.
@MegaMac
ReplyDeleteI do understand what you meant, but seeing the MM fans like this is making me annoyed and more annoyed at their immaturity.
MegaMac, I'm glad you're intellegent enough to understand how we four feel about the current situatuion with MegaMan. But before I was a MegaMan fan, I was a Mario, Sonic and Metroid fan. Hell, Mario was deemed the greatest video game franchise ever, greater than Street Fricking Fighter.
But that's just my opinion. You may be right on a few things, MegaMac, but I can't stand to see the MegaMan fanbase like this and idiots like a certain someone I hate exploiting it for his amusement. Again, just saying.
Kips:
ReplyDeleteMML2 with normal ending - 1 year
MML2 with cliffhanger ending - 10 years
You would be right in your one-year assessment, except it feels much longer because of 2’s ending. Similarly, if Capcom were to spring MMBN7 or MMZX3 on us, it would also feel like a forever wait. Just because the production of the series ended, doesn’t mean the fandom ended, nor does it necessarily mean the story had full closure.
This is why I despise cliffhanger endings, particularly if a sequel is possible or has ever been involved.
I can understand the doubt, but people need to take a chill pill. They did the a very similar thing with Ace Attorney's 10-year anniversary recently. On the actual anniversary date they announced a show to celebrate the anniversary that would take place a few months later, and at said show they announced the long-awaited Ace Attorney 5.
ReplyDeleteWhile of course there's no telling what they have in store for the Blue Bomber, this isn't some grand conspiracy.
Oh will you guys please stop complaining about complaining? We had two games cancelled on us effectively putting the franchise on a hiatus and that Online thing doesn't look good either. Skepticism at least is warranted.
ReplyDeleteYou might thing this frustration drives our whole lives but the fact is that it doesn't. People see another vague load of nothing, people take another jab at the issue in form of an online comment, that's all there is to it. Nobody is out to get anyone's scalp.
Fine, I'll stop caring if caring is such an immature thing to do. Hell, I might as well just stop being a Mega Man fan since you think it's so stupid to have a passion for these games. I'll just be a good boy and bend over everytime Capcom breaks a promise or waves something in front of me only to take it away. Then I'll convince myself I'm the supreme voice of reason and call everyone who posts a complaint here immature because apparently a little respect for the series I love is too much to ask for. After all, I'm just a fan, one of the people who held Mega Man alive for this long. I'm just crud, right?
ReplyDelete@Musashi
ReplyDeleteYeah, man. I can definitely see how it would get annoying. It's just that oftentimes the rampaging fans get mixed in with the assertive fans and then we all get a bad name. Of course not that it's really important. We'd all just like the game made. Heck, A game made. Doesn't have to be Legends 3, I guess. And about that...
@Kips
You're right. I've thought about that many times. The series was never meant to be continued really. The end of the game was left open in a way that the fans assume that he got back eventually and that's that. Not to have a future installment depict those events. Although at the same time I feel there are more mysteries to uncover and lands to discover in the world covered by endless water. Eventually there has to be a way to wrap up the entire series continuity or leading up to such. That might be putting a cap on it, but that didn't really stop the MGS series for example.
@MegaMac
ReplyDeleteTrue, also, I heard that one of the former producers of SF X Tekken got no repise from Capcom and he commented that Capcom worked their employees to 'death'. Man, Capcom is evil...
on december 2012...
ReplyDeletecapcom: WE HAVE A NEW MEGAMAN PROJECT
on february 2013...
capcom: we had some technical problems, so the game is cancelled :trollface:
I got a better Capcom troll.
ReplyDelete"We have decided, after much deliberation, to revive one recently cancelled Megaman game."
*fans cheer*
"Because you wanted it...MEGAMAN UNIVERSE!"
*trollface*
@Musashi the Master:
ReplyDeleteActually, even I had to blow off some steam about that one point.
That was a lovely read, Krazy Monkey lol. It feels so long ago since the initial blow. I remember writing a large thing like that too. I bet a lot of people did.
ReplyDelete"There are currently over 100 titles in the Mega Man series, according to Capcom's official sales data (as of December 31, 2010 there were 128). This figure is one less than the number of titles in the Street Fighter and Resident Evil franchises combined."
ReplyDeleteSo explain to me again why Street Fighter is the "flagship" series of Capcom? That number is technically even higher than the number of Mario games out there. I can understand economic trouble, but seriously, Capcom has made little effort to show they give even one care about Mega Man in the last 2 years.
Mega Man fans have a right to be upset you know. I'm not going to explode, but it's clear that Capcom has been treating one of their greatest video game franchises like dirt. It does amazing for a 3rd party franchise, but no, Mega Man is still apparently "very important" to them. Nice way of showing it.
Because at the end of the day, CAPCOM is still in the video game business to make money.
ReplyDeleteSF titles and RE titles simply sell better than MM titles.
Source: wikipedia CAPCOM franchises
SF: 33 million+ (1987-2012)
RE: 49 million+ (1996-2012)
MM: 29 million+ (1987-2010, since seriously, what new MM games of note came out in 2011/2012)
MH: 21 million+, and this franchise isn't even a decade old yet! (2004-2012)
The tidbit about MM having more games (128!) than SF AND RE combined only proves that MM games just don't sell as well, on average.
Chalk it up to being perceived (key word: PERCEIVED) as more childish (less "serious") than say, Monster Hunter (Go on, tell me that no TRUE video gamer bases their video game purchases on the level of realism of the graphics.)
Chalk it up to the multiplayer nature of SF/MH. (Very few notable MM games have been true multiplayer, Power Battle/Fighters notwithstanding.)
Chalk it up to oversaturation. (This is self-explanatory - 128 games in 25 years averages out to 5 games a year, although to be fair, I'm guessing ports and remakes are counted in that, which only worsens the oversaturation point, because it's NOTHING NEW.)
tl;dr What direction did you fucking expect CAPCOM was going to go in?
@OnlyDoingThisOnce
ReplyDeleteI understand Capcom is a business, but your point about sales works both ways you know. Megaman is still Capcom's third highest selling series despite the fact that it hasn't had a full retail game in over 5 years. It hasn't had a retail game on this current generation of consoles.
Of course I'm sure most everyone understands Street Fighter 4 (all 4 versions) and Resident Evil 5 sold very well, in fact Resident Evil 5 is the highest selling Resident Evil game they have ever had if I remember correctly, but a big reason for that is people wanted to play these games on the next generation of consoles.
Yes Megaman got Megaman 9 and 10, but those are downloadable of course and simply did not get the hype, advertising, attention from Capcom, etc.
Not to mention Street Fighter X Tekken, RE Revelations, and RE Operation Raccoon City.
Now of course those large sale numbers didn't come from the games of this console generation alone, but those games certainly had large sales numbers, even if certain ones didn't reach expectations.
My biggest point is that yes, Capcom is a business and yes Street Fighter and Resident Evil sell well, but despite the very little attention the series has gotten in recent years Megaman is still their third highest selling series period, and it goes without saying that gaming is bigger than ever now.
Despite all that Megaman is still kept relevant in the minds of the fans and there is still a demand for it. I simply wish Capcom would give the series the same chances they took with Street Fighter and Resident Evil with this new generation.
I won't even begin the debate about over saturation or the nature of the games or what not, I just feel that for anyone to have the thought that a Megaman game won't sell well in this day and age is sort of baseless.
It may not sell as much as say Resident Evil or Street Fighter, and I understand some of the later Megaman games (specifically thinking of the X series) didn't sell well, but at the same time other Megaman games remain some of Capcom's best selling games of all time, and they could be again if given a chance.
Mega Man would sell even better if they actually put some heartfelt focus into him. Thank da lawrd for Inticreates (and the L3 dev team for trying). They are keeping the series' head above water. Star Force just didn't appeal to a broader audience. If they truly buckled down and found a way to proceed with the franchise, they could potentially put Mega Man back on top. I hope that's indeed what they're doing now.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget that if a series style got tired, Capcom switched to a genre that was doing well in the market. Megaman Legends took on the 3D form alot like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time and Battle Network took on the RPG/collecting form like Pokemon. What's to say they're not thinking of a new form for Mega Man? What's the popular genre at the moment? What if they make an FPS game? Would we be happy with that?
ReplyDelete