Red Ash is officially going into production, Comcept has announced. The developers are teaming with Fuze Entertainment to bring the KalKannon Incident to PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The Kickstarter, from here on out, is for "more content."
From the latest update:
We have some very important and happy news for you today!
It's official: “RED ASH: The KalKanon Incident” is a GO for full development, along with ports to PlayStation 4 AND Xbox One!
We know this is sudden news. Are you surprised? How have we decided to develop the game before the Kickstarter campaign finishes? Well, that’s thanks to the support of FUZE Entertainment, who we’ll introduce now.
FUZE Entertainment Introduction!
FUZE Entertainment Co., Ltd. is a Chinese digital entertainment company engaged in production of console hardware as well as sales of console games.
FUZE is based around Chinese game industry pioneer Wang Feng, and was co-founded with partners Huawei, NVIDIA, and Microsoft Xbox.
FUZE has established partnerships with major console game publishers to bring AAA titles to the Chinese market, and have made it their mission to bring the highest quality game experiences to gamers around the world.
Website: www.fuzegame.tv
What happens to RED ASH now?
(1) First off, the contribution of FUZE is a done deal. We can officially confirm that "The KalKanon Incident” will be developed to completion, with the initial goals for game content (8 hours), along with ports to BOTH PlayStation 4 and Xbox One!
(2) The rights to RED ASH will be retained by comcept. We're excited to find such a great partner in FUZE who believes in our vision in its pure form. In addition, Comcept will retain rights to creative discretion and decisions in game development.
What happens to Kickstarter?
The Kickstarter campaign is going 100% towards more content! Consider your pledge a contribution to stretch goals from here on out.
Exactly what are those stretch goals? We're sorry to say that will have to wait a little while longer! Like we said, we're very busy with many behind-the-scenes things over here, and we apologize if you feel left in the dark. As you can see, the things we have brewing that are keeping us occupied are BIG, and all for the purpose of getting you RED ASH in its biggest, bestest form. That's the reason we're less communicative than we'd like to be!
We know we’re in the final days of our campaign, but we’d like to ask fans to continue their support of RED ASH! Your money is going towards 100% content now, so please look forward to the revised "stretch goals"!
In short, the basic Kickstarter goal, the production of the KalKannon Incident, is happening regardless of the Kickstarter's success or failure. From here, the Kickstarter will shift priorities to new stretch goals, rather than funding the development of the actual game. The new, revised stretch goals will be revealed soon.
I gotta say, this has been a really, really weird campaign. Good to hear Red Ash is a-go... but wow. This proves the project was announced too early. Imagine if the KS launched in August or September.
Anyway... four days to go.
UPDATE: New stretch goals are up.
Wow,now I sort of feel like this Kickstarter was a complete waste of time. Like,pssh screw your measly donations,we have FUZE on our side! Oh but feel free to keep donating!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's pretty weird, especially since we don't know what these new stretch goals are... thankfully, it let me decrease my pledge for the game by, like, a lot, and put some of that toward the animation, which looks pretty rad and is almost funded!
DeleteI'd recommend just taking out all your money while you still can. You can always buy the end product with all the bells and whistles attached, that you may not get all of as just a backer. I got burned by that with MN9, so never again.
DeleteI took my money out of this project and plan on buying the final product. This kickstarter did feel rushed but I am still excited for what this game could be.
DeleteSo far Mighty No 9 has been what I expected so I have faith in this game too.
Well, at the very least we'll get something for sure out of it.
ReplyDeleteStill waiting for not-reaverbots.
This one is not going to do well, the pledges already demostrated the lack of interest among fans.
ReplyDeletePeople say that MN9 success showed Capcom the amount of love the series has, so I fear that this one makes Capcom think on killing Legends for good.
Well if Capcom didn't really react to the "show of love" from Mighty Number 9, why would they pay attention to this?
DeleteThis is some messed-up, confusing, and ultimately irrelevant nonsense going on over at Comcept, I gotta say. I think at this point, they should just make a new Kickstarter project specifically for the stretch goals and cancel the current one. Trying to do the math on this "the Kickstarter is now for stretch goals" thing is just too confusing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they found a way to make the project work out! They just don't need any of my investment dollars now.
ReplyDeleteThis statement isn't meant to be a derisive 'I am above teh petty Comcept money laundering!!!1' I'm sure what product comes out will be plenty worth my money! I'm excited to see how a more modern take on the Legends formula may work out beyond the amusing pre-alpha thing.
They just don't really need to be asking money from the general public if they're already set to have a product funded enough to even happen. It is still for just what's declared a prologue chapter, after all... I'll buy it when it's ready, and I'm sure I'll love it then.
It must still be a punch in the gut to see all this vocal outcry for wanting to see Legends 3 happen - especially after how much great response Mighty No. 9 got in the kickstarter days - and then have all the support dry up to such a disheartening degree. 100,000 strong for MML3, yet so little show up to speak with their wallets... I'd feel really sad, too.
The point, is, though, the game is happening in some form, and I'm ultimately happy it'll get that chance - just stop asking for more money if you already have a publisher already backing you!
Haha wow just wow, so they sell themselves to some shady chinese company who are planning to create the next gen console that outperformed the PS4,XB1 and PC just to create a freaking game that suppose to be spiritual succesor to legend series?
ReplyDeleteThey must be very desperate to sell themselves.
Alright fine, bring on the OFFICIAL Chinese Bootleg version of Megaman Legends.
ReplyDeleteGood to see that keiji finally stopped begging for money and found a real investor. Kudos for finally growing up and doing your job instead of begging. Now lets see how you fug this one up much like the ZX series/yaiba/mighty no 9.
ReplyDeleteKeiji=the ric flair of game development. The greatest of all time, left the company showed what a joke he is and is now looked down upon. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"I COULDN'T GET THE FANS TO BACK ME, BUT IT'S OKAY, I CAN JUST PARTNER WITH SOMEONE ELSE AT THE LAST MINUTE."
ReplyDeleteHonestly, shouldn't they just have gone with that at the very beginning instead of doing this mess of a Kickstarter? Like no lie, I am a little glad that Red Ash will be still be happening, but this honestly miffs me more. That they seemingly had a backup plan all this time and could have just gone with that, making the Kickstarter even more obsolete. (Apart from extra stretch goals which I'm sure people aren't going to care for in the slightest.)
Man, even with FUZE now, I really hope Comcept learned their lesson.
- Dr. Jerk.
Fuze looks super shady and unprofessional, so it's already making Red Ash look like the Chinese knockoff of Legends, and Mighty No. 9 the Chinese knockoff of Mega Man by association. It's just as well. Inafune needs a kick in the ass, and we don't need Mega Man knockoffs where the fans foot most of the bill of development.
DeleteWow. So much negativity. Did you guys WANT it to fail? Are you seriously upset to have a game come out that feels like a MM Legends game? Is that such a horrible thing? I'll just be over here playing it when it comes out.
ReplyDeleteWill you just cool it?
DeleteYes there's people saying that they would rather do without Red Ash, but not everyone is voicing that opinion. What we're ANNOYED by is how much the Kickstarter itself was a failed mess of an attempt, and how they only just NOW pull out Plan B when they could have just gone with that from the very beginning instead and save us and themselves from this entire mess.
The Kickstarter was poorly managed, as was Mighty No 9's. We just want Inafune and Comcept to realize that and to improve for next time. Hopefully this will be the last Kickstarter they do for a long time. You cannot rely on fans all the damn time, and that shows in the past Kickstarter.
- Dr. Jerk.
Mega Man Legends, and anything that's LIKE Mega Man Legends, is cursed and doomed to fail. That's the only explanation I can think of for why everyone is so against this game. Even when Legends 3 was in development, people were against it for having a different protagonist (Barrett), being on the 3DS (nobody wanted to have to buy one just to play this game), and having to pay for a demo. You don't hear about that anymore and only hear about how wronged everyone feels that Legends 3 was cancelled, but people were pretty negative about Legends 3, too.
DeleteIt should be called Barrett Legends and not Mega Man Legends 3 though, Barrett got Blazing Kick? Fine! But Trigger better had Blazing Fist and Round House Kick... assumed IF CAPCOMCEPT intended to make it in the future.
DeleteI think to say 'everyone' is doing anything, is an obvious exaggeration. But I'm confused, regardless of what system Legends 3 had come out on, people who didn't currently own that system would've had to buy one. At least on 3DS, it was the cheapest option.
DeleteYes. We do want it and Inafune to fail.
DeleteTo the second Anon, Barrett was not intended to be the main protagonist. He would have been in the demo (because Mega Man was still on the moon during that), but he would not have replaced him.
DeleteIt is because Keiji is a liar and a thief that we want him to fail. Akira created Megaman's sprite first, but just because Keiji drew what he looks like in official art, he keeps calling him "Megaman's creator". I am glad he's crashing and burning. He bit the hand that fed him, anyway. He should have stayed at Capcom if he really cares about Megaman. It's too bad people blindly donated to Mighty Number 9, but finally people are seeing the light and seeing Keiji for who he is. A businessman, not a creator!
Delete^You are wrong the official sprites drawn for Mega Man on the NES/FC are drawn by Keiji.
DeleteIs this what it has come to? People are gonna take their advantage to tarnish Keiji's reputation and character by spreading misinformation?
This is the internet. People spread misinformation and refuse to fact check all the time.
Delete- Dr. Jerk.
While this is good news, after all this, I think I'm finding myself getting burned out on Kickstarter. It's not just this project. Too many maybes all around without any real success stories attached to them with the exception of a few gems here and there. It's gotten to a point where I hear and read more negatives than positives when it comes to stuff like this. It's just draining.
ReplyDeleteI'd reconsider. Inafune is not worthy of respect. He's become too much of a businessman, and he's always been self-centered at the expense of Capcom.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, it'd be appropriate to cancel the Kickstarter. All we need now is some shady donors to jump the reward to $800,000 in the next five days and voila, bonus Kickstarter cash for whatever Inafune feels like.
ReplyDeleteAaaaand the Vortex of Negativity continues unabated. I for one am really excited that this game is happening (in its full 8-hour form, no less!), and that the team still has creative control of the final product. It looks like Fuze is just funding and distributing the finished game, so all the "omg china their gonna make knockoffs lol" stuff is completely baseless. And maybe unfair? Probably.
ReplyDeleteBaseless? Have you seen their website? http://t.co/2VMqYR3t7Z
DeleteVERY fishy
Soooo...why is it fishy? It looks like a normal website to me.
DeleteIt's like you don't care that you're throwing your money away to a scam. You deserve to get swindled.
DeleteHaha you have a point. I guess I just meant that they aren't going to be involved in making the game itself, so it will likely still be good even if they end up pressing the physical copies on old Smash Mouth CDs or something.
DeleteDude I feel like selling my megaman collection now. Games and merch. Inafune has left a bad taste in my mouth.
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone. I'm just starting to learn how much bad news Inafune is and was before he left Capcom. The way he sabotaged the X series for his pet character, as well as the prospects for a decent X9/Command Mission 2, should've been the first tipoff.
DeleteIf you're referring to X6, that was produced against Inafune's wishes because Capcom wanted to continue capitalizing on the series' success. So you can't really blame him for that.
DeleteKeiji wanted to make Megaman the bad guy in the Zero series. Keiji does not love Megaman, I'm glad Capcom changed that and kept Megaman a good guy. After years of dedication fighting against Dr. Wily and Sigma, how can you tell me with a straight face that Megaman has an ounce of evil in his heart? If anything it would make more sense for Zero to have turned evil.
DeleteI frankly personally don't care if they would have made Mega Man X evil in that series. If he did become evil, there would most definitely be a solid reason behind it. They wouldn't have done it for no reason. Also who is to say that Capcom were the ones who "changed it back", is there a source specifically stating that? Far as I know, Capcom is only responsible for trademarking and publishing these games. And really, to say that he "does not love Megaman" is rather much.
DeleteNo, I'm not referring to X6. Zero was meant to subvert X from the very beginning, but it didn't really start until X2.
DeleteOMG you are such a liar you people are much more con men, swindlers, frauds, propagandists, than Keiji ever was.
DeleteKeiji didn't recommended X be the main villain Yoshihisa Tsuda did and jokingly at that, after that the majority of the staff accepted that proposal. After the team realized that wouldn't be a good idea for the kids that looked up to X, they developed copy X.
You people are the worst man, I personally thought Zero was far cooler than X when I first saw him and played as him, long before I ever even knew the name of Keiji Inafune, long before I knew what anime was or that it was Japanese even, that must mean I'm in on the conspiracy to destroy the blue bomber and "replace" him cause I hate him. (sarcasm)
We're not the ones dangling the bait of empty promises in front of you until you cough up the dough.
DeleteIs this a new subtitle? I don't remember it.
ReplyDeleteThis blatant ripoff of Mega Man Legends gets fully supported at the last moment by a completely unknown company that's based in a country that just lifted it's ban on video game consoles and such only 3 days ago?
ReplyDeleteAdded to the fact that the FUZE website is a freaking mock up, using ripped-off commercial assets from other companies with nonsensical slogans and promises of a new video game console, Inafune-san and company sure as hell aren't getting any money from me for this one.
I want a new Mega Man Legends, but I'm not that desperate.
China actually lifted the ban on video game consoles in January this year and even then it's not determined how long the ban will be lifted for.
DeleteOther than that I completely agree with you.
Why not? People seemed to be that desperate after MML3's cancellation .... a long time after the cancellation, in fact only just after Red Ash's announcement is when I think the desperate cries stopped and the bad business and ripoff cries started.
DeleteIt's true that Fuze just started its site up recently. I'm not sure how that equates to a mock-up unless I'm missing something. The 'nonsensical slogans' are likely translation errors. They are a Chinese site. Compared to other sites, their English is actually pretty good.
DeleteDo you have sources for where the assets were ripped off from? Because we could really use the fuel for the fire.
Delete@9:20 Anonymous: This is their website. http://www.fuzegame.tv/e/index.php I'm sure you can identify at least one known asset.
Delete@7:00 AM Anon - Red Ash is a quick hustle, plain and simple. I'm desperate for another "Mega Man Legends", not a generic bargain-brand version.
DeleteThis whole campaign has been a mess from day one. Comcept clearly did not have enough planed or ready to launch this kickstarter. Everything was handled so last min. When they saw that the funds stopped moving with only 5 days left they probably ran like crazy trying to find a Developer to fund their game! Like Protodude has been saying, this whole project was launched way to early. Kenji Inafune was being a bit too ambitious and impatient to start his next project. With all that said, I'm glad to see that the game may still happen. Time will tell if it was all worth it or not.
ReplyDeleteI'll wait for the smoke to clear a year or 2 from now when I can buy this game on PSN (or if physically released, at my local used game store). I fear my sanity will be compromised if I follow the unfolding of how this game actually gets created.
ReplyDeleteAaaand any hope I had left for this game is now gone.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's exactly why I want to follow it. There is so much drama and bad luck that seems to follow Mega Man Legends and this wherever it goes that if it were to be condensed into a 2-hour movie, it would probably win an Oscar. I mean, there was a movie about Facebook, so it's not entirely impossible.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how badly this whole Kickstarter was handled. With their past successes on Kickstarter and having observed other successful Kickstarters this past year, Inafune/Comcept of all people ought to know how to make a good presentation. Did they assume they would just be able to coast off of the hype they had from their previous projects? Or that the demand for Mega Man Legends 3 would be enough to ensure success? I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteI wanted a spiritual successor to Mega Man Legends to happen, but this one just feels wrong. At the start, I just "wasn't feeling it" (chalk that up to the lame character designs, mostly), but every development since then has only made it feel more wrong. How is anyone supposed to get behind their plan, when they're making it up as they go along? They've run this campaign like they don't know what they're doing. I had hoped the Kickstarter would fail, so they could take time to prepare a better campaign that will generate the hype a spiritual successor to Mega Man Legends deserves. But now they're just getting bailed out with outside funding? That only seems like it will reinforce their current approach.
We'll see how it goes, I guess.
Follow-up: The revised Kickstarter stretch goals feel like a step in the right direction. But these are stretch goals we should've had in the beginning, instead of having to put up extra funds just to unlock all the "episodes" of the prologue. With FUZE's funding the main content of the project, stretch goals can actually be for extra things, which is nice. (And how it should be done.)
DeleteI doubt it will succeed in any case (time is low and backers are still dropping off), but if they *re-launch* the campaign and make it more like this, I'll feel much more optimistic about the project as a whole. (Lame character designs notwithstanding.) Hopefully they haven't turned too many people away already, though. (Hype is a fickle thing..)
To all those complaining about "unending hate" and such
ReplyDeleteSo are those with genuine disappointment and discontent about the game for actual valid reasons just supposed to keep quiet about it? Comments exist to reflect opinion of something afterall.
And this? This is just poor dishonest business.
How is it poor dishonest business? The whole point of Comcept right, is to be sustaining and retain the rights to their IPs, no business wants to collaborate with another business that wants full ownership and creative freedom of the products especially if they are flipping the majority of the bill.
DeleteSo Comcept does a kickstarter with a long wanted series in mind as a spiritual successor of sorts, "PEOPLE COMPLAIN THAT IT IS TOO EARLY FOR ANOTHER COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROJECT TO MN9"(<not yelling just emphasizing, and don't know how to bold my writing in black) their rational is they don't know what quality Comcept is capable of delivering based on how MN9 turns out, a more than 3 year old project, completely different style game with different developers in major areas that specialize in different things mind you. So they say they will not fund the project because of these reasons, oh and that Red Ash can't truly succeed MML an apparently unpopular opinion up until recent. So the project bombs. People than suggest that there is nothing of substance to base their decision on in terms of game engine and gameplay, so the team develops and releases a mock-up of a pre-beta engine releasing it so people can get a feel for the pre-beta gameplay using one pre-beta character model for a character playable in the finished game. People than say Comcept is getting desperate and that the project and its proposal is a mess. So Comcept eventually finds an investor from another country willing to fund them but let them keep full creative rights and the full licensed ownership of the thing. Then fans complain...yati yata yata
Notice a trend of blame here? Blame everything but....
You're calling it a trend but ignoring the causes of each step. I bet you don't even know what the team developing Red Ash even specialize in.
DeleteFans of Banjo Kazooie and other old Rare titles are over joyed with the fact that their original creators are attempting a spiritual successor to their beloved franchise, which is a project called Yooka Laylee. It funded over 3 million US dollars. I don't hear their fans bashing their game and refusing to support their work because it's a blatant 'rip-off' of Banjo Kazooie, instead I see happiness and joy for their series and genre to finally get the attention that it deserves with a new light.
ReplyDeleteNow, Mega Man Legends and Red Dash on the other hand, I see many fans with anger and unhappiness towards Inafune. Why? Because he is doing everything in his power to make a dream come true and to give the fans what they want. Even though what they want is completely out of his control (Legends3) so he's doing the best he can to make something that will appease them with the capabilities that he has at his disposal.
Calling it a 'rip-off' and 'it is a mockery of Legends'? Really? We sound like a bunch of five year olds who didn't get their red Power Ranger instead got the blue Power Ranger for Christmas. Maybe we didn't deserve Mega Man Legends 3 after all. I feel really embarrassed to be a Mega Man fan right now.
You're full of it. People aren't mad at Inafune because he wants to "give the fans what they want." They're mad at him for handling these spiritual revivals like a scam, and it's clear for everyone to see that it is. Multiple kickstarters for the same project, talking about doing TV shows before the games are even out, and announcing that they've already received a publisher while a Kickstarter is failing, effectively rendering it moot.
DeletePeople are also mad at him because they realize what a charlatan he's been, both back when he worked at Capcom and after he left. He demonized the Japanese industry for not catering more to the West or being more like Korea, rather than encouraging them to be themselves and to stick with their strengths, while contradicting himself and being the man responsible for several of the failures that he pins on Capcom, like the Lost Planet franchise or Legends 3. That was his petulant exit interview with the hack game journalism media. While he worked at Capcom, he was also content with being called the "father of Mega Man" for the sake of popularity, even though he never created anything but Zero. Hideki Kamiya was right. Inafune is not a creator, he is a businessman, and an unethical one at that.
What you're seeing now with people calling Red Ash a cheap knockoff of Legend reflects recent developments: a lackluster playtest demo released 25 days into the Kickstarter, made not by Legends developers but by mobile games & visual novel developers, while Yooka Laylee opened with a beautifully functional demo on day 1; and the fact that Inafune arranged for a shady Chinese company, with ambitions to making the next OUYA, to publish their poor spiritual successor to Legends.
Make no mistake. These games are not labors of love. They are barely that, and we could not have realized this back when Mighty No. 9 was first pitched. These are callous, nostalgic cash grabs by a man with delusions of self-importance.
The difference between Banjo-Kazooie and Yooka-Laylee is that YL still has its own identity. It is not a direct copy or replacement to Banjo-Kazooie, nor is it attempting to be one. For sure the two have plenty of strong similarities, but YL still intends (and actually tries) to do things its own way. The creators have also stated this.
DeleteRed Ash on the other hand, quite literally copies plenty from Legends to the point where it looks almost nothing original. Call, Tyger and Tron v2 are all extremely obvious on who they are based off of, as well as Gopher to an extent. The Reaverbots even look like Reaverbots. Making a spiritual sequel is one thing, but it is another when it literally copies the source it is based off of and does not make any kind of attempt in having its own identity. Even the so-called Pokemon rip-off RPGs that plagued the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance era had something that made them unique.
But besides that, it's also people irritated by the extreme mis-management of the past Kickstarter and this Kickstarter, which imo has fared even worse than MN9's. That's not something that's easily deniable.
I wanted to be happy with Red Ash and to be thrilled, and I was at first, but it's just been one thing after the other. Playtonic at least has the courtesy of keeping realistic expectations and a very clear goal of what they want. Here's hoping they stay on it.
- Dr. Jerk.
No Anonymous 2:04, you are the one full of shit. I'm not gonna even address all of your obvious slandering of Keiji Inafune, I'll just address one to exemplify the quality of the rest, because I can't be bothered dealing with the mind numbing rest of it.
DeleteEven if I were to believe and ascribe your idea that Keiji is conning people into giving money to scam projects, how the fu** would he be doing that by announcing a TV show before a game came out??? If he asked for funds for the TV series that he will not be involved with and it turns out to suck, WHO IS THAT ON??? Why should he be responsible for your decision to support something he recommends and ties to his brand? Not only that but he never asked for a dime of money for the project on kickstarter or otherwise, literally Digital Frontier took it upon themselves to fully invest in their project. Yet they can't advertise it, develop it, dare I say release it all because of some arbitrary standard that the show shouldn't predate the game? Like really, that is the rational?
By that same logic the joint Strider project started by Capcom and Moto Kikaku which the game was being developed on while the manga was being developed and released which were both released within several months of each other with major differences in lore. Or for a more recent example, if Sonic Boom the animated series required the game to be good than when it was released it should have tanked in ratings and reviews, but it didn't it had vastly better reception than the games, by your logic if the show came or was even announced before the game that would be a scam and shouldn't happen.
So, let me get this straight, anon. You're saying that Digital Frontier is doing it for free?
DeleteWho gives a fuck about a show if the game is shit or unreleased? This shows that it's not about fans or games, but business. Inafune wants to show that he can do better with Mega Man than Capcom, by making more money on it than them. Fans don't want this. They want Mega Man. That's what makes then fans. They didn't want a TV show or a competing brand.
No DF is not doing this for free they will find their own investors independent of Keiji's kickstarter. You wanna know why you can't grasp this simple concept? It is because you are not interested in thinking logically about the situation or having love for Mega Man, but rather taking the opportunity to flame and spread ill will.
DeleteAt the risk of adding more fuel to the fire... Has anybody heard about Mighty No. 9 getting delayed from its September release date to December 2016? If this is true, then I'm sure as hell glad I didn't donate anything. Otherwise, I'd be pretty pissed.
ReplyDeleteWait, December 2016?? When I heard that rumor, I thought it was December 2015.
DeletePlease, somebody give me a perfectly good reason why an already finished game slated to come out this year would be pushed to the end of the next year. Because I'm done.
- Dr. Jerk.
The Fuse deal seems like all benefits if you ask me. I hope the game comes out super good looking and polished.
ReplyDelete