Capcom Has No Interest in a Mega Man FPS

Just about every publisher wants a slice of the Call of Duty audience, as evidenced by them saying “we want the Call of Duty audience.” The phrase is usually associated with your run-of-the-mill first person shooter: style over substance, adrenaline over depth. Pump out a very simple, shallow shooter and you're set to make some dough.

Though in theory it could bring in a pretty penny, this is a path the Mega Man brand will not take. Over at Ask Capcom, Christian Svensson provided the following reply to the likelihood of a Mega Man FPS:  

"An FPS MM is not a concept I would be comfortable with given the current brand situation. It's not something I would advocate."

So for now, we need not worry about the phrase, "we want the Call of Duty audience" correlating with Mega Man. Now, that's not to say an FPS Mega Man wouldn't, nor couldn't work. The popular 8-bit Deathmatch fan-game (above) is a good example of something like that done right. But in today's market, the expectations and perceptions of what an FPS should be... well, it just wouldn't fly. I see it doing more harm to the brand than good, honestly.

But that's just my two cents. What do you think?

Source: Ask Capcom

Fan Recreates Every Single Robot Master in Clay

Years in the making, Rockman Corner reader Ricardo has completed his custom line of Robot Master miniature figures. Every bot from Mega Man 1 through Mega Man 10 is present and accounted for, each sculpted from Cold Porcelain. Truly, the wonders of modeling clay know no bounds.

The above represents a small, small sampling of his work. You can head over to Ricardo's Flickr gallery for a detailed look at each figure!

Here's An Unused Track From Street Fighter X Mega Man

Street Fighter X Mega Man has some pretty nice tunes, don't you think? As it turns out, there's also some unused pieces, too. The game's composer, ARival, uploaded one such track to his Sound Cloud. This piece was originally composed for Yang's stage, but was scrapped when Chun-Li became the preferred character during development.

Because this is labeled "unused track #1", we can probably expect to hear more stuff from the cutting room in due time. Bring it on!

Mega Man Christmas Carol Remix is Here

Alright, we're a little bit late on this but it's still fun! For those who missed it, the folks at Sprites Inc. have brought out another one of their fantastically sweet Christmas Carol fangames. It's a remake this year-- a powered up version of the original game from two years ago with tons of added content, a mostly new soundtrack, new bosses and features. Most important of all, though, it's running on the Christmas Carol II engine. That's right; this one plays as smooth as Christmas butter.

Check out the trailer above, then head over to Sprites Inc. to download the game. Thanks to Joesph for the tip!

Mega Man 1 Now Available On North American eShop

The hotly anticipated North American release of Mega Man 1 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop happened today. If you haven't done so already, you can grab it now for $4.99. 

And with that out of the way, you can look forward to Mega Man 2, due on February 7. Mega Man 3, Mega Man 4, and so on will follow shortly after.

Anniversary Illustrations From the Men Behind the Pens

By way of Rockman Unity, here's some more sample pages from R20+5: Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works. These illustrations are tribute pieces from three well-known Rockman comic artists: Hitoshi Ariga (Megamix), Yoshihiro Iwamoto (Rockman X) and Ryo Takamisaki (Rockman EXE). Check out the rest at Rockman Unity or after the break!

Here's the Cover for Mega Man Trade Paperback #5

The cover for the fifth Archie Mega Man has surfaced online. Due in June 2013, This hand-dandy volume is set to chronicle issues 17 through 20. Unlike past volumes, #5 does not consist of a single story arc. Instead, your getting several stand-alone, original stories with little to no relation in between.

Full details available at Mega Man Monthly.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

To all my readers who follow my blog, and to all the affiliates, sources and associates who contribute: Have a very happy and healthy holiday season. Hope you got some sweet Mega Man swag this fine morning, too!

Image source: uhekoro

Will We Ever See Mega Man at Retail Again? Brett Elston Sounds Off

Siliconera recently posted a new, all-things-Mega Man interview with none other than Brett Elston, Capcom Unity's own community manager. Among topics discussed, Elston talks a little about Mega Man's viability at retail. With so many digital releases in recent years, can we expect to pick up a boxed game anytime soon? Here's what he said:

"It’s entirely possible we’ll find an idea or concept that warrants a full disc release, but for the immediate future, digital feels like the right way to experience Mega Man. What form it takes, and which platform(s) it appears on, would need to suit the game and the intended audience. That said, the perceived quality of a digital title should be quite strong these days; just because something arrives via download and not in a box doesn’t mean it’s “lesser” in some way."

Personally, I have no preference. BUT I will say this: I do miss running to the store to pick up a boxed Mega Man game and adding it to my shelf. The Mega Man 9 Press Kit in my possession doesn't quite cut it. It's no substitute.

For the full interview, head over to Siliconera. (Image Source: Capcom Unity)

Xbox 360 Mega Man Gear Now On Sale

If you haven't done so already, head on over to the Avatar Store on the Xbox 360 Dashboard and get equipped with some fine Mega Man gear. These virtual items include a t-shirt emblazoned with the 25th anniversary logo ($1), a Mega Buster arm ($4), and a helmet ($2). Moreover, you can buy a full outfit based on Mega Man or his Robot Master cohorts ($4 a pop).
 
For the full list of characters, check out the original report here.

Subtitled Mega Man Legends 3 Prototype Gameplay

The tenacious folks from Get Me Off the Moon (aka 100,000 Strong For Mega Man Legends 3) have gone and translated some old Prototype gameplay for your viewing pleasure (click the CC button!). These videos showed off all sorts of neat things to do and see from the ill-fated Prototype, but for one reason or another weren't translated until very recently.

You can check out one more video here. Thanks to Skybane for the tip!

Capcom Unity Wishes You a Merry Mega-Xmas

 

Winter's here, and that means one thing: snow. So here's a little something thrown together by the Capcom Unity folks: a Christmas tribute to the snowy, winter levels! From Ice Man to Frost Man, the gang is (mostly) all here. Avalanche Yeti got snubbed. But really, does anyone like that level?

Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch Version 3 Released

Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch, the fan-made Doom mod, is packed to the brim Mega Man characters, weapons and other assorted goodies. And today it's better than ever.

The team behind the game are proud to announce the arrival of the latest expansion pack. New weapons, maps, skins and a whole lot more await you in Version 3. See the video above for a trailer showcasing the expansion, and check out Cutstuff.net for the download. I'll see you on the battlefield!

Check Out This Exceedingly Awesome Mega Man X Fan-Film

Ringing in the Blue Bomber's 25th anniversary, here's one helluva cool short Mega Man X fan-film by Shane Newville. If this doesn't make you yearn for a new entry in the series, I don't know what will!

Thanks to Clown Prince of Crime and Eddie for the tip!

Fourth MMBN Chrono X Demo is Live

Battle Network fans, listen up! The much anticipated fourth demo of Mega Man Battle Network: Chrono X has gone live. You can grab it from the game's official website here.

Since 2009, MegaDudes Production have worked diligently to create an authentic "Battle Network 7" experience. Today they are one step closer to that realization. The fourth Chrono X demo contains four to six hours of playable content and will contain the first two chapters of the story. The story is set one year after the events of Battle Network 6 and will lead into that game's "Distant Finale." The game sports its own set of new chips, viruses, antagonists, and a unique power-up system dubbed Me.M.E.N.T.O.

The developers encourages playing Chrono X demo 4 in its entirety as your save file will work in the final version. For more details, head on over to the official site.

Capcom Digital Survey Asks Some Very Interesting Questions

Capcom U.S has put out a survey to see what we, the fans and consumers, would like to see from Capcom in the digital game space. The data gathered will help the company in the decision making process.

Mega Man-wise, you'll prompted to select which individual games from the franchise you'd like to see digitally. Subsequent pages want to know if you'd like to see a "NEW HD Mega Man - side-scrolling, jump and shoot (HD sprite based or 2.5D)", "NEW HD Battle Network", and even a "Mega Man Legends compilation."

"There's no guarantees on what the outcomes will be, but I promise you, this data will be a factor in our decision making process," writes Christian Svensson. "I'll be compiling the data in about a week (closing just after Christmas) and sharing the results internally with Japan before the end of the year."

So yeah. Interesting stuff! If you'd like to make you voice heard, fill out the survey here!

Source: Capcom Unity

Street Fighter X Mega Man News Round-Up

Instead of three separate posts, I figured I'd save myself the trouble and toss you three Street Fighter X Mega Man stories right here. Let's see what we got, shall we?

- Street Fighter X Mega Man Update Coming To Address Issues

SFXMM is not without its hiccups. There's been numerous reports of random crashes, glitches and bugs. Moreover, we've seen a steady demand for a save system and a revamped user interface (for example, hitting ESC literally quits the game with no warning). In response to these issues, Christian Svensson, Brett Elston and Zong Hui are talking about doing an update. No indication when this could happen. But the sooner the better, right?


- The Game Has Exceeded Svensson's Expectations

You may recall how Capcom wants to track how many people are downloading the game. Well so far so good. Over on Ask Capcom, Svensson says the game has exceeded his personal expectations. Svensson adds, "We're obviously still tabulating (it's only been two full days) but based upon the first day or so, it's more good data for us." In other words Capcom's still keeping close watch on that download ticker.


- The Making Of Street Fighter X Mega Man And The Daigo Costume That Didn’t Get In

Another bite from Siliconera, here's a nice interview with Zong Hui. Among topics discussed, he reveals the team once considered adding a secret playable Street Fighter character and alternate costumes. Hit the link above for all the details.

Thanks for the tips, Tim!

Sample the Sounds of We are ROCK-MEN! 2

“We are ROCK-MEN! 2″ released in Japan today, and thanks to Inside Games we have a little over three minutes worth of cross fade previews. Good stuff as always, if you ask me.

You'll naturally find the album in its entirety online soon enough, but it's a nice sampling for the time being.

SFxMM's Missing Save System Is Deliberate, Says Capcom

So, what's up with Street Fighter X Mega Man's missing save system? Responding to a forum user who asked this very question, Capcom USA’s Senior Vice-President, Christian Svensson, assured everyone it wasn't an oversight. Here's what he had to say:

"We talked about adding passwords or saves but folks here (and Zong Hui) felt that the game, like MM1,  could be played through in about 40 minutes and that it wasn't necessary. If you had to step away in the middle of a session, just leave it running. 

Maybe we'll do an update and add it, but it was a deliberate decision."

Personally, I don't mind. But I can see where it might come in handy. Can you imagine the pain and agony having to start from scratch if, say, your power went out? And right before the secret boss, too!

So what do you think? Does SFxMM need some sort of password/save file feature? Should Capcom get to work on that update?

Source: Ask Capcom

Team Reaverbot Releases 25th Anniversary Demo

The folks at Team Reaverbot have just released a playable demo for their highly anticipated 25th anniversary fan-game. This build features the full Bio Man stage and a battle against Tarot Man. No word yet on when the full game will hit, but you can look forward to more demos in the near future.

You can download it directly from Team Reaverbot's site here. While you're at it, be sure to grab the game's soundtrack in NSF format!

Source: Team Reaverbot

Street Fighter X Mega Man Soundtrack is Here

Ready to take your relationship with Street Fighter X Mega Man to the next level? Musician A_Rival has just released his action-packed soundtrack from the game. And much like the game itself, you can grab it for the low price of free. Enjoy!

Thanks for the tip, Brian!

Check Out Mega Man 9's Unused Honey Woman

Early in Mega Man 9's development, producer Hironobu Takeshita revealed that Hornet Man was originally intended to be a female Robot Master, aptly named "Honey Woman". Although she didn't make it into the game, unseen concept art of the character has finally surfaced from the pages of R20+5. And I, for one, can dig it! The alternate Hornet Man designs are pretty neat too.

The Mega Man Network has plenty more R20+5 Mega Man 9 scans. Head on down to check them out! (just wait until you see the primordial Tornado Man. Very cool!)

R20+5 Could Head Stateside, New Mega Man Shirts Coming to Capcom Store

Capping off day one of the 25th anniversary celebrations, Brelston has rounded up each announcement in a single post. He used this opportunity to share some particularly good news about the newly release R20+5 art book: it's in talks to head stateside. No official release date yet, but the wheels are turning to get it on our shores. Don't be surprised if UDON will be the ones brining it over.

Lastly, an assortment of six new Mega Man t-shirts are coming to the Capcom Store early next year. You can check them out here. They're prepping a "snazzy lanyard" too, for what it's worth.

And that's it for the day. Once again, Brelston assures this is not the end of the announcements. More news will be shared throughout 2013.

Source: Capcom Unity

Mega Man, Robot Master Avatar Gear Coming to Xbox 360

Is your Xbox 360 avatar in need of a mega makeover? Announced over on Capcom Unity, Capcom's rolling out a set of Mega Man-inspired threads and accessories. In addition to a Mega Buster and helmet, you will soon be able to suit up as not only Mega Man, but the Robot Masters from the original game!

All these goodies should be hitting the Marketplace before the end of the year. In the meantime, hit up Capcom Unity for more images!

Street Fighter X Mega Man Now Available (For Free)

It's official: Street Fighter X Mega Man is now available for download from Capcom Unity's Mega Man hub. As stated before, the game is entirely free to play. It's PC exclusive for the time being, so if you're a Mac user now might be the time to invest in BootCamp or something along those lines.

Remember: Capcom are watching that download ticker closely. The more support Street Fighter X Mega Man has, the better. It's free, people. You've got nothing lose! Download it now!

Mega Man 1 Through Mega Man 6 Coming to U.S eShop

It's finally happening. Announced over on Capcom Unity, all six NES Mega Man games are headed to the North American Nintendo 3DS eShop. The party kicks off with the original Mega Man due out on December 27. This will be followed by Mega Man 2 on February 7, with the rest of the games dropping in regular intervals throughout 2013.

Source: Capcom Unity

D-Arts Mega Man X Getting Re-Issued in NA

So, you missed your chance of owning a brand-new D-Arts Mega Man X figure when it came out. Is there no hope? No chance to score a fresh figure without forking over a pretty penny? As it turns out, yes, there is a hope. The good people at Bluefin Tamashii Nations have just announced they're prepping a fresh batch of Mega Man X figures for the North American market. Yay!

No word yet on when the reissued figure will hit retail, but maybe we'll see something close to or shortly after D-Arts Mega Man's arrival. That one is just around the corner!

Source: Bluefin Tamashii Nations USA

Hitoshi Ariga Pays Tribute to the 25th Anniversary

Here's a little something-something Mega Man Megamix author/illustrator Hitoshi Ariga whipped up on Twitter. Through thick and thin Ariga's been a contributor to the franchise for well over fifteen years. Always nice to see his support. Feel free send him a 'thank you' or 'congratulations' via Twitter!

Source: Twitpic

Revised Mega Man Game History Chart is Bigger Than Ever

Three and a half years ago, Destructoid editor Tony Ponce created an enormous family tree of every Mega Man video game released. It was pretty cool, to say the least. But take a look back on it today and you'll notice a few things are missing. That's why Tony took it upon himself to revise his chart.

From the blue robot's humble beginnings in 1987, to Street Fighter X Mega Man, Mega Man Game History Ver. 2. touts every game under the sun. It's a shining piece of work; free of inconsistencies and spit-shined for today. I didn't put the whole chart in this post (because it's freaking huge), so click through Tony's original post at Destructoid for the download link. The full-sized chart clocks in at 9000 x 7000. That's 9MB of Mega Man history!

Source: Destructoid (Thanks, Tony!)

The 15th Anniversary Was Also a Pretty Cool Anniversary

Did you enjoy that 20th anniversary retrospective? I'm taking another stab at it, this time looking back at the fun-filled 15th anniversary festivities.

New Street Fighter X Mega Man Footage

Coming from Capcom Unity, here's a new video to get you pumped for Street Fighter X Mega Man's impending Dec. 17 release. Stay tuned until the very end for a final boss tease!

Visit AppBank, Get an Exclusive Xover Card

Capcom sure loves to distribute these golden, limited edition Rockman Xover battle memory cards. 4Gamer has announced that folks that put their money down at AppBank locations throughout Japan will secure an exclusive battle memory card.

The card in question is none other than the good Dr. Light (in his Powered Up incarnation, no less). You'll receive a serial code to download it when you purchase an accessory-- phone cases, earbuds, or a number of iPad accessoies. Like all things labeled "limited edition", the card will only be available for a short period of time.

So unless you live in Japan, this post probably serves little relevance to you. But if you'd like to get a hold of this card yourself, check out Yahoo Auctions Japan. You'll frequently find these limited edition cards up for auction.

Worlds Collide Gets Flip Book for Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day isn't for another five months, but that's not stopping Archie Comics from announcing this: a free flip book combining content from both the Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog series. Available on May 4th, the book is designed as a primer to get people interested in the Worlds Collide story arc. Here's the solicitation:

"It’s TWO Free Comic Books in ONE! Just in time for the start of the epic Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man crossover event, “Worlds Collide,” comes a primer issue exclusively for Free Comic Book Day! Witness the journey these two epic heroes from both Sega and Capcom took to finally meet each other — Mega Man’s journey chronicled on one side, and Sonic’s on the other! This is the must-have primer for the biggest comic book event of 2013 — as video game icons Sonic and Mega Man meet for the very first time anywhere!"

Gotta love those "sprites."

Source: First Comic News (via The Mega Man Network)

Four New Worlds Collide Covers Unveiled

Are you appetites whet for Worlds Collide, Archie's Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog crossover? If not, I suggest you get yourself over to IGN for a nice interview with Ian Flynn and Paul Kaminski. While your there, do check out the four new covers by Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante. Actually, make that three covers; I've included one of them here-- the amazing gatefold cover for the special 25th issue of Mega Man.

Credit: Mega Man Monthly

Games Abyss Interviews Team Revearbot

Hey, you didn't forget about Team Revearbot's 25th anniversary fan-game, did you? The folks behind the game -- a plucky band of veteran industry developers -- sat down with Games Abyss for a massive Q&A. Everything, and I mean everything you could possible want to know about the project is discussed. From motivations to playable character teases, no stone is left unturned. Oh yeah; there's also a bevy of screenshots to absorb, too.

Head over to Games Abyss for the full read!

More Street Fighter X Mega Man Talk From Hui and Svensson

The folks a Kotaku have posted an interview Capcom USA Senior Vice President Christian Svensson and Street Fighter X Mega Man designer Seo Zong Hui.

Hui delves into the technicalities behind the game -- his motivations, design choices and so forth -- and Svensson talks about why the game even exists in the first place (for free, no less). Moreover, he drops some hints that SFxMM is only the beginning of 25th anniversary plans for Mega Man. There's a sense of ambiguity here that leaves me somewhat hopeful for more. Nevertheless, I'm maintaining realistic expectations. You probably should, too.

Head over to Kotaku for the full interview.

Street Fighter X Mega Man: C. Viper Footage

The Street Fighter X Mega Man coverage just keeps on coming. YouTube user afterw0rdz managed to smuggle out some excellent footage of C. Viper's stage over the weekend.  Click here for part 2!

Thanks for the tip, Jack!

Capcom Unity Streaming Street Fighter X Mega Man Tomorrow

Friendly heads up: Brelston will be live streaming Street Fighter X Mega Man tomorrow at 4PM PT on Capcom Unity's Twitch channel. There's a prize to be won; six lucky viewers will walk away with a lovely SFxMM t-shirt!

Brelston intends to play through all eight stages. He won't reveal any boss weapons, nor what lies ahead after all eight Street Fighters have been conquered. I guess we'll have to find that out for ourselves on 12/17!

Source: Capcom Unity

Here's Some of the New Stuff From R20+5

The new and improved R20: Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works has over 100 pages of additional content. So to get you pumped for its December 17 release, Rockman Unity has uploaded a few preview pages which feature new art, as well as some stuff from Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10. Hit the jump for more!

Capcom Will Watch Street Fighter X Mega Man Performance Closely

You may recall that Mega Man Legends 3 was a game that wasn't entirely "greenlit," meaning the powers-that-be weren't fully convinced of the game's viability. That's where the ill-fated Prototype Version came in. If the Prototype Version actually released, its performance would have been used to gauge interest in the full game.

But that's all in the past now. Street Fighter X Mega Man, the upcoming free downloable PC game, is the latest product to be used to "gauge interest" in the direction of the franchise. In an interview with Destructoid, Christian Svensson says the game's performance will be observed closely to help factor in where Mega Man goes next:

"We'll be using this as one of many means of gauging where we're going," Christian told me. "One of the challenges that we have is figuring out what is the path forward in terms of, you know, Mega Man has five brands: Classic, X, ZX, Battle Network/Star Force, and Legends. Some of these things are in the same ballpark as one another, and some of them are completely different. That's part of where the, I'll say, the disagreement comes in -- a non-unified vision of where Mega Man should live on exists within our own company as well as it does in the market."

"I would argue that if anything, if we get a million downloads of [Street Fighter X Mega Man], and certainly I think that's the floor I hope to see -- it's free, it should hopefully do more than that! -- that just helps raise awareness for the brand across the board and creates fertile ground for things to happen regardless of which direction that it kind of comes in."

"....We would hope this is, on our end could sort of make good [to fans]," Brett explained. "Making it free, making it available to as many people as possible, helps us get back on the right track with the brand. This is just the beginning of the 25th anniversary of Mega Man, this isn't the end-all, be-all that we have to say. We're hoping the free status of the game shows that we're listening and that we care. We want to get this character, this brand, back alive."

Note that Elston emphasis SFxMM is not an end-all, be-all of any sort. But it will play some role in what's going to happen from here.

So this is your task: Monday, December 17, download the game from Capcom Unity. It's free. Unless your PC is an IBM 5150, you have no excuse to not download it.

Source: Destructoid

Yes, Street Fighter X Mega Man Will Support Controllers

Not a keyboard fan? No worries; Street Fighter X Mega Man will support controllers. Capcom Unity community manager Brett Elston confirmed USB controller compatibility via Twitter. Your Xbox 360 controller, PS3 controller or what have you will work with the game.

Street Fighter X Mega Man is due on December 17 as a free download from Capcom Unity's Mega Man hub. Moreover, December 17 will play host to more Mega Man news. So yeah... should be a day to look forward to!

Early Street Fighter X Mega Man Gameplay

Fun fact: development on Street Fighter X Mega Man began approximately three years ago. It's creator, Seow Zong Hui, uploaded gameplay to YouTube as early as 2009. It's unlikely any of this footage reflects the final product (stage design, music and what have you), but it's a nice sneak peek at what's to come.

More footage after the break!

15 Minutes of Rockman HOLIC

Rockman HOLIC is due in nine days-- and what better way to get you pumped than a fifteen minute preview? It's a mashup of all 16 tracks. Enjoy!

Thanks for the tip, RockX!

Capcom Talks Mega Man's Future; Announcements Teased

Following the reveal of Street Fighter X Mega Man, Capcom USA Senior Vice President Christian Svensson sat down with IGN to talk about all things Mega Man. Of topics discussed, Svensson hints there will be some news to share come December 17. Hit the break for all the details.

Street Fighter X Mega Man Announced

This was literally just announced on the Street Fighter 25th anniversary stream. It's a FREE PC game due on December 17th:

"This 8-bit-style crossover title stars the Blue Bomber and a slew of retro-ized SF mainstays acting as stand-in Robot Masters; beat them, acquire their powers and tackle the next amazingly re-imagined boss. " [Capcom Unity]

According to Capcom US community manager Brett Elston, the game started out as a fan-game by Seow Zong Hui. Zong Hui approached Christian Svensson with the game's basic skeleton back at EVO 2012. Seeing the potential, Svensson and GregaMan (former Legends 3 Devroom liasion) joined forces to drive the title into production.

Street Fighter X Mega Man will also have 8-bit soundtrack from A_Rival, known for his fantastic blended SF and Mega Man tunes. Brett hints some songs include a mashup between Flash Man and Ryu's theme and Snake Man and Dhalism's theme.

Finally, the game will appear as a download on Capcom's official U.S Mega Man hub. It will usher in Mega Man's 25th anniversary and mark the close of the Street Fighter 25th anniversary celebrations.

Stay tuned for more details.

Here's the Fourth Rockman HOLIC Sample

By way of YouTube, here's the latest Rockman HOLIC sample. At this rate, we'll have the whole album online before it comes out! Uh, anyway, this is "RELOADED." It's an original track performed by Nana Takahashi and 709sec.

What do you think?

Credit: GoNintendo (via TMMN)

Mega Man Tumbler Keeps Coffee Warm and Tasty

It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but coffee aficionados and Mega Man fans alike should appreciate this. So here you go -- the latest Mega Man product from GE Animation is a Mega Man 10 tumbler. Hey, you're going to need something to keep your warm beverage in. Why not do it with a little help from the blue boy?

If you’re interested in your local retailer carrying this or other Mega Man products from GE Animation, simply fill out the request form provided with each item’s product page on the AAA Distribution website.

Source: GE Animation

The 20th Anniversary Was A Pretty Cool Anniversary

The Blue Bomber's 25th anniversary is just ten days away. Ten days! So to get into the spirit of things, we're looking back at one of the largest celebrations in the franchise's history: the Rockman 20th anniversary event in Sunshine City, Tokyo.

Mega Man 2 Hits Europe eShop Early Next Year

Nintendo of Europe has announced that Mega Man 2 will make its way to the Nintendo 3DS eShop sometime in Q1 2013. That's anywhere between January to the end of March. Like its predecessor, Mega Man 2 is expected to run you £4.50 / €5.00.

Don't ask about North America, folks. It remains to be seen just what the holdup is.

Credit: The Mega Man Network

Nintendo Holding Discount Rockman Sale on 3DS eShop

The Japanese Nintendo 3DS eShop is celebrating the Blue Bomber's 25th anniversary with a little sale. Starting today, all six Famicom Rockman games will be priced at 400 Yen each-- down from 500 Yen a pop. The sale concludes on January 7, 2013.

I'd like to be hopeful about a similar deal hitting America... but we still don't have any of these games. It can't be much longer now, right? Right?!

Source: iNSIDE Games

Rockman 6 Coming to Japan 3DS eShop Next Week

It's that time again: Nintendo 3DS owners in Japan can get equipped with Rockman 6 next week on December 12. The game will run for the usual 500 Yen.

With all six NES games out of the way (in Japan), I can't help but wonder what's next. Ideally, it'd be great to see more Game Boy Mega Man games on the eShop. We've got to get Mega Man V, people! Oh, and Mega Man Xtreme would be nice, too.


News Credit: Tarbo-san

100,000 Strong's Rocket Launch Rescheduled

Mark your calendars, friends. By way of Twitter, 100,000 Strong For Mega Man Legends 3 (aka Get Me Off the Moon) has announced a new date for their model rocket launch: January 12, 2013.

The launch is planned to take place at the Hearne Municipal Airport in Hearne, Texas. Everyone's welcome to participate, of course. If you can't make it, no worries; we'll have a recorded version online soon after. Should be fun!

Source: GetMeOffTheMoon

This is the Cover Design for "R20+5"

That's a whole lot of Blue Bomber, no? Yup; GameSide magazine has revealed the cover for the revised R20 art book (now titled "R20+5"). While the contents of the book are promising, the cover feels just a bit too underwhelming; especially compared to past Rockman art books. I don't know-- I guess I was expected something fresh and original.

Regardless, the book sounds just as awesome as ever. According to The Mega Man Network, it will contain new commentary from Miho Asada (illustrator for Battle Story Rockman EXE), Shingo Adachi (animator and director for various episodes of Mega Man NT Warrior), Hitoshi Ariga (manga artist for Mega Man Megamix/Gigamix), Shigeto Ikehara (manga artist for Rockman, Irregular Hunter Rockman X), Hideki Ishikawa (Capcom artist for various Mega Man titles), Koji Izuki (manga artist for Rockman 8, Rockman & Forte), Yoshihiro Iwamoto (manga artist for Rockman X), Yoshitaka Enamoto (manga artist, designer of Bright Man), Haruki Suetsugu (Capcom artist for the Mega Man X series, aka SENSEI), Ryo Takamisaki (manga artist for Mega Man NT Warrior), Tohru Yamanaka (illustrator for Mega Man Zero), and Jiyu Maeda (Capcom artist forThe Misadventures of Tron Bonne). PHEW! That's a lot of names!

Still no word if UDON will get there hands on this one... but then again, they haven't missed an "official complete works" yet. It may only be a matter of time!

Here's the Trailer for Team Reaverbot's 25th Anniversary Fan-Game

What you see above is the teaser trailer for Team Reaverbot's thrilling 25th anniversary fan-game.

The project is literally a labor of love for fans, by fans. In fact, Team Reaverbot is headed up by six video-game-industry professionals including Julian Spillane, former CEO of Frozen North Productions and current Director of Technology at DHX Media. He's followed by the likes of Jason Canam (DrinkBox), Jeff Canam, Orie Falconer (Vast), Tim McLennan (GameLoft), and Daniel Ochoa (Vast). Impressive, no?

I, for one, am looking forward to giving it a spin. We'll keep an ear out for more details!

Thanks to Julian Spillane for the heads up!

Track List for “We are ROCK-MEN! 2″ Revealed

Famitsu has some good fodder for the Rockman music lovers today. All 16 tracks for “We are ROCK-MEN! 2″ have been revealed. Yeah, the the usual suspects like "Flutter vs. Gesellschaft" are present and accounted for... but there's some suprises, too. Hit the jump and check it out!

Mega Man 3 Soundtrack Gets the VRC6 Treatment

Konami's VRC6 Memory Management Controller chip was the stuff of magic. When integrated to a Famicom cartridge, the advanced MMC chip added three extra sound channels. That's why Castelvania III's Japanese soundtrack is indisputably richer than its Western counterpart.

Wanting to give the classic Mega Man 3 soundtrack a bit of a boost, Atlanta-based chiptune artist RushJet1 spent nine months giving the soundtrack a VRC6 makeover. Destructoid's Tony Ponce has the lowdown:

"Over the course of nine months, Atlanta-based chiptune artist RushJet1 used the power of the VRC6 to completely remake Yasuaki "Bun Bun" Fujita's Mega Man 3 soundtrack. The original MM3 OST is nothing short of amazing in its original form, but RushJet1 takes it to the next level with tons of creative flourishes and interpretations. For example, this is Magnet Man's NES theme, while this is the VRC6 update."

In the video above, RushJet1 plays through Mega Man 3 with his new audio layed on top. Amazing stuff. I mean seriously; listen to how awesome Proto Man's theme is on VRC6. Grand! Be sure to hit up the link below for details on how to download the entire soundtrack!

Credit: Destructoid [Mega Man 3 OST gets a VRC6 chiptune overhaul]

Xover Debuts At #4 On Japanese iPhone Charts (Update)

Three days after its release, Rockman Xover has nestled in at number four on the Japanese App Store Free Games charts. The game is ahead of a number of popular apps, such as 2ch Mobile and Land of Zombies. UPDATE: Oh, would you look at that. The game has jumped to #3.

Also of note... the game is receiving some favorable reviews. Out of 977 ratings, 751 players have given Xover five stars. Conversly, 63 players rated it a one, 23 a two, 39 a three, and 101 a four. Uh, time to rev up those "paid reviews" conspiracy theories?

I kid, I kid. Who knows. Maybe there are some people out there who legitiamely enjoy the game. But I digress; Xover has debuted strong. We'll check in again one week from its release. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

Here's Morishita's Mega Man Legends 15th Anniversary Tribute

Hi-res version here (warning: super big!)

Coming from our friends at 100,000 Strong For Mega Man Legends 3:

"As many of you may recall, about a month ago, Reika Morishita started a fan-art drive for a special "surprise" project to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of the Rockman DASH (Mega Man Legends) series. Well, the event has long since passed, and Reika once again came though on her word! Earlier today, she revealed this special surprise via our very own Team Japan, and we have it right here, right now!

..,Well, sort of, anyway. Reika tried her best to make this the official jacket for her CD, but unfortunately, she ran into some copyright issues with Capcom and was unable to make this possible. Regardless, however, Reika still acknowledges our art as the "official" jacket for the CD release of her songs. As a result, she wishes that everybody who contributed to her project download this special cover-art, and use it to replace the "official" cover of her CD when/if they purchase it. I'm telling you, the heart of this woman is just amazing! "

Bit of a bummer this couldn't but on the actual CD... but wait! There's some good news: Morishita will include a special booklet of credits along with the release of the CDs, featuring the names of everybody who contributed to the album. That's a pretty awesome gesture right there. Congratulations to all of you who made it in!

Sends your thanks to Morishita's official Facebook page here. 

Why Mega Man Wears Undies On The Outside

Have you ever wondered why Mega Man wears his "underwear" outside? Maybe it's not really underwear but what's with it? The answer actually lies in the past; the 1930's, the Golden Age of comic books. The lowdown on this neat little bit of trivia awaits you after the break!