Now that the San Diego Comic-Con buzz has settled down, I've got a handful of interesting details to share straight from Bluefin/Tamashii Nations USA. Bluefin’s Xavier Lim was kind enough to send over the following tidbits, which help clear the air of any confusion about the Mega Man products shown at SDCC.
Hit the jump for the lowdown...
The real meaning behind "for display only":
"To add some clarification, the "For Display Only" signs in front of the prototypes were there to indicate that we were not selling them at San Diego Comic-Con. It did not mean mean they were "props" as some of the comments we received indicated. The text "Under Consideration" or something similar probably would have been better."
Can we expect to see Sigma and Vile's Ride Armor at retail?
"Way back when we were running the D-Arts megaman polls, a very large amount of feedback was generated from the polling results as well as the comments posted on the Tamashii Nations Fb and other places that were holding discussions and speculation. All of this was taken into account along with the buzz generated from previous D-Arts megaman releases to look into product planning. "
"The prototypes on display were made specifically to be unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con. This is significant since it marks the first time Tamashii Nations products were shown in the U.S. before Asia and Japan, their primary markets. To have Sigma on time for SDCC was a decision made recently just a few months shy of San Diego Comic-Con. Originally we thought there would only be a really obvious silhouette for the show, but having a prototype there was all the more merrier and it allowed people to see the kind of sculpt and attention to detail Tamashii Nations wishes to pursue if Sigma joins the articulated D-Arts line."
The importance of exhibiting a prototype:
"Typically at Tamashii Nations events, they reveal prototypes of figures that are scheduled as coming out as products within a short time frame, others that may be scheduled for the future, and then prototypes of material that they want to get feedback on first before pursuing further. Any buzz or chatter relevant to what was seen at SDCC is what will provide them encouragement that yes they're on the right track and they should continue with the necessary arrangements needed to release as a real product."
On taking feedback from North American fans:
"Megaman and Dragonball in particular are VERY hot properties in the U.S. and Bluefin has been working very closely with Tamashii Nations to ensure their product releases are taking into account what the N. American market wants. Our Fb and twitter have open ears and are constantly being monitored by Bluefin and Tamashii Nations for feedback. And we are also aware of ballot stuffing for polls and people attempting to hijack momentum for their own personal gain. "
Future Mega Man figure releases. What are they?
"At this point, out of the three X prototypes on display, one is possibly scheduled for early next year, and no I cannot say which one. There are also other megaman related d-arts figures that were not visible at San Diego but may be revealed at future Tamashii events...."
How about a reissue of the original D-Arts Mega Man X?
"A re-issue of the D-Arts original release of Megaman X has now moved from "Under Consideration" to "Now Planning," which should be good news for people who missed the first run of X. Unfortunately I have no date at this time."
UPDATE: Ballot stuffing rules out a Mega Man Volnutt figure?
"Ah, it's come to my attention, that my comment regarding ballot stuffing has been assumed to refer only to MML 3 and Megaman Volnutt on Facebook. That wasn't my intention, it was a general comment regarding the validity of the Facebook polls in general."
"To expand on this, it's not necessarily the winner on the poll that automatically makes a figure. All of the results are reviewed. The results prompts Tamashii Nations to do further market research concerning the product viability and to pursue licensing with companies. It's too soon for mml fans to conclude their voices are in vain."
Any questions? Drop them in the comments and I'll forward them to Bluefin.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Xavier!
Would be awesome if they made Megaman Zero and Megaman Legends figures :)
ReplyDeleteQuestions for Bluefin...hm.
ReplyDelete1.) Is Megaman Volnutt/Trigger one of these D-Arts that, while not at SDCC, may still be revealed later down the line? If not, then what's the reason for his exclusion?
2.) Will you be able to produce D-Arts from Battle Network or Star Force (by which I mean "will the various companies involved in those two series let you"), or alternate continuities like Ruby-Spears Megaman? I ask this because I keep hearing "other Megaman-related D-Arts", which to me implies that the line will be expanded beyond X.
Does Bandai/Bluefin have the license to any Mega Man series other than the X series?
ReplyDeleteThanks to all you faggots that ruined Volnutt for those of us who actually buy toys. It wouldn't have helped get your game off the ground, and you're pieces of shit for doing it.
ReplyDeleteRADIX, this may answer your question in regards to Trigger.
ReplyDelete"And we are also aware of ballot stuffing for polls and people attempting to hijack momentum for their own personal gain. "
@July 16, 2012 10:16 PM Anon: ...
ReplyDeleteWell, shit.
Who's to say there was no ballot stuffing on Sigma's end? And I must reiterate--many people who voted for Volnutt had every intention of buying the figure, myself included.
Protodude, could you forward that to Bluefin as well? Please?
@RADIX:
ReplyDeleteI'll see what I can do.
stuffing the ballot.... that's just wow. Ugh that just hurts me head, is it so hard to think people want Mega Man Legends stuff? When ever i promoted the polls i said i would like it if people voted for Trigger/vollnutt but i also said that if they voted for some one else that's fine too
ReplyDelete@RADIX:
ReplyDeleteOh, please. Ballot stuffing for Sigma? Somehow I doubt, even if it happened, that it would be a blip on the radar compared to the howls and outrage and table-tipping over anything concerning DASH for the last year.
What group is most likely to have been trying to skew the polls? Yeah, here's a hint: it's not the X fans.
So... given that Legends 3 was cancelled, the only reason Megaman Volnutt won the poll was because there was ballot stuffing?
ReplyDeleteTell them I was all set to pay for a Volnutt figure, too.
I'm with RADIX on asking about the possibilities for figures in other Megaman series. I'm not huge on figures myself, but I would reconsider if they had a Star Force one. And by reconsider, I mean throw money.
ReplyDelete@taichara: If ever I saw a biased assumption...
ReplyDeleteHow are the Legends fans supposed to prove that they really do still care for the series and want something decent to come out of it when one of the only two ways to do that is arbitrarily shut off from them?
(And, you know, nobody can prove that ANY character had their ballot stuffed or not...)
( I apologize in advance for the tl;dr )
ReplyDeleteYou guys do have to remember though, a lot of the other series are tied up as to what they can and can't make. Bandai and Capcom have cleared X series figures ONLY. Kotobukiya have the Classic and Zero licenses, BN/EXE and SF/RnR have animated series (which means more than 1 company is involved and owns them). ZX/ZXA/DASH's licenses are currently unknown.
The Bluefin poll was just a way to gauge some interest, and, like they stated (and like what has happened with previous figure polls) it was taken advantage of. It was not a guarantee that anything would get made.
As for throwing new figures in there, let me give you an example from Bandai. There's a rather long-lasting series in Japan called "Kamen Rider" (perhaps you have heard of it) It has a new 'series' every year and toys come out by the bundle. Bluefin/Bandai makes figures for the various Riders and one such season was Kamen Rider Kiva. Fans really wanted Kiva and his upgraded form, Kiva Emperor and begged for them. However, when they were released...people didn't buy them (even though they made petitions, begged, etc) Because the figures didn't sell, Bandai scrapped plans for any further figures in the line and none further have been made.
The above is just an example; there are plenty of others. It just sadly proves that if the fan-interest in inflated or doesn't pan out, that lines will die off. (Bandai is a company after all, if it doesn't make money, it is a bad business decision to continue it; no matter what might be said to the contrary) This is partially why Bandai is EXTREMELY hesitant with attempting to pick up any new lines (besides the above statement about licenses)
As to the issue of actual ballot stuffing, yeah taichara's right on the money here. If Sigma did get any ballots stuffed, it paled in comparison to the all out blitz that that particular group used to push their agenda.
On another note, I'm sort of appalled that the fanbase seems so broken that we can't be happy for when any part of the Megaman fandom gets something nice. Whenever we see a story now (whether it's the comics, a figure, some merchandise) there's the always-present "WHY NO GAME?" talk. To be fair, at least Megaman still has something ; plenty of other franchises would beg for even what we're getting. (To be fair though, it could just be trolls though on every post.)
Just out of curiosity, why are so many people sure that the ballet was "stuffed"? what does that even mean anyways? that people wanted a Volnutt figure for one reason or another? (I mean isn't that the point?)
ReplyDeleteHonestly is the idea that the legends series has it's own fans or the fact that people would've would've preferred Volnutt over Sigma really that weird? I mean the polls were advertised on every megaman fanpage and on bluefins tamashii's facebook page for a quite while, so it's not like this was a secret one week thing that just GMOTM heard of. If that much more people really wanted sigma, he would have easily won.
@Radix
ReplyDeleteThey didn't have to stuff the polls, They just had to rage hard enough to guarantee that Volnutt won't have a figure...
"There are also other megaman related d-arts figures that were not visible at San Diego but may be revealed at future Tamashii events...."
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, Bluefin. I know fans. They'll come looking, no matter what happens.
Can't wait til the "other megaman related d-arts figures that were not visible in San Diego" are revealed!
ReplyDeleteI'd buy a volnutt figure since all I have are the old legends 2 model kits but in all honesty I'd prefer them to continue with the x series figures. for bandai the x series was a huge seller, I mean look at all the x merchandise they made during the 90s and tons of it still isn't documented on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteI hope they at least release vile mk II from megaman x3 and sigma from x1-3 and x's armors from x2-3. That would make sense since they released both zero versions, also figures of dr doppler, bit and byte from x3 would be cool too.
There WAS a lot of ballot-stuffing for Volnutt, though. That "50000 Likes for MML3" page kept posting links to the poll saying to vote for Volnutt, and as a result, tons of people voted under the impression that "it would prove to Capcom that there was still interest in the franchise," despite most of them admitting that they wouldn't spend $40 on a Volnutt figure if it actually got made.
ReplyDeleteFor all this talk about skewing the results...the people who claim that the Legends fans "stuffed the ballot" seem to have done a good job of that themselves, if that one sentence in the Q&A is any indication.
ReplyDeleteAnd really--lots of people wanted Sigma, yet they didn't stuff any ballots? Again, how can you prove that ANY of the votes given to ANYONE on that poll were valid or not?
God forbid the Legends fans should want someone higher-up to throw them a freaking bone after what happened last year!
Oh, and July 17, 2012 8:02 AM Anon: I'm not angry that Sigma's potentially getting a figure; there's a lot of people who wanted him, and he HAS gotten the short end of the stick merch-wise.
ReplyDeleteIt's the barely-founded accusations being slung at anyone who wanted Trigger that's pissing me off.
@Anon4:58
ReplyDeleteSpeculation mixed with appeal to ridicule makes for a very crappy tasting cake.
But I'll bite: Explain to me how your batch of conjecture, even if it was true, is any more troubling than the false rumors circulating other fansites that non-X series characters would not be permitted (which HEAVILY favors Sigma as he was the only one of Bluefin's original seven who was from the X series and was not already known to be in development in Japan).
A rally to support is not ballet-stuffing. Ballet-stuffing is cheating by submitting duplicate votes. And if you think that doesn't happen on the internet, then you need to pay closer attention, lest many an identity thief eat you alive.
@ Anon 4:58
ReplyDeleteFunny thing about that is that I'm looking at the poll again and not a single person who voted for Volnutt said that they wouldn't buy him, the people who were mad at Sigma losing did. And seriously, if the "50000" strong really did "stuff" the polls as badly as you guys wanna believe, he probably would've won by a way more exaggerated number than just about 100
Just saw it was updated. Im glad to see it was all a misunderstanding. Im also glad a company take the time to reassure consumers and easy tension.
ReplyDelete@July 17 8:02 AM Anon
ReplyDeleteTrue, the MegaMan fanbase is broken and acting like a bunch of wild animals fighting for food.
I'm ashamed to call myself a MegaMan fan. I still liked MegaMan, yes. But I am sick and tired of the MM fanbase raging and saying stuff like MegaMan is dead, Capcom is evil, Crapcom and other crap they say.
The MegaMan fanbase is acting out of control and raging and stuff. There are some sane MegaMan fans which I will not tell. But the MegaMan fanbase has fallen from grace and has hit rock bottom.
The MegaMan fanbase should be ashamed of themselves for acting like children! >:(
They did stuff the ballot, On a couple of the MML3 Fb pages lots of them were saying they voted but wouldn't buy the figure. They seemed to think it would convince Capcom to finish the game, of course the figure not selling well would do the opposite. I'd gladly buy a Volnutt but I don't think he'd sell near as well the poll would lead one to believe.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the tl:dr anon.
ReplyDeleteWe have other things we should be fighting for at this point. It's been ONE YEAR now since Legends 3 was canned. We actually have a game in Japan where X AND ZERO ARE ACTUALLY IN IT. But it won't come over here most likely!!
WHY is the MM fanbase not fighting for Project Cross Zone?! WHY are we only worried about Legends 3? If we're really upset, what about MM Universe? Hell, let's fight fort X9, MM11, and everything else while we're at it!
Seriously. We should fight for ANYTHING MM related right now, not just Legends stuff, and we should freakin' support the hell out of Tamashii / Bluefin / Bandai for keeping at least ONE branch of MM (the X series) alive and well as much as possible!
Yes they did stuff the ballots, because they wanted a Volnutt figure. Did all these people saying that the figures won't sell forget that not only did all the fan-made Volnutt figures made by score sell out, the fanbase donated money just so that GMOTM could get ad space, it's not really that much of a stretch that these guys would be willing to drop a few bucks for an official Volnutt figure be it for their collection, to show that the legends series makes money or whatever
ReplyDeleteUm reading some of the comments that people left i think they kind of missed the point as to way Legends fans where annoyed, to put it mildly.
ReplyDeleteThey where mad at the accusations dishonesty. That's not exclusive to just Mega Man Legends fans that's humanity in general. No one likes being accused of some thing they didn't do. I am sure there are plenty of Legends fans that are happy to see Sigma as a figure.
But yeah now that it has been cleared up, the people who where mad should be fine now, but i can only speak for my self.