You know that Mighty No. 9 demo that was supposed to launch today? The very thing to compensate the full game's 2016 delay? Yeah; that's been delayed too.
Although a few backers got it early, the demo is no longer planned to launch for everyone else today. Comcept says "some issues popped up regarding the distribution method so there is a good chance it will not be ready to launch by the 15th." They're "really sorry for the inconvenience." A new release date was not announced.
Folks, Comcept is about as transparent as Vaseline. If it wasn't enough they told backers about the full game's delay weeks after retailers, they waited until the day of the demo's launch to tell you it's been delayed. And the little cherry on top? The announcement was slipped on to the end of an unrelated post about a contest. You can be better than this, Comcept.
Readers and backers alike, I am sorry you're being subjugated to this ongoing cycle. Try to hang in there. You'll get your money's worth one of these days.
UPDATE (9/18) - Comcept sent out a couple additional details in the latest backer e-mail. The tl;dr version, unexpected complications distributing through Steam arose. They're looking at alternate distribution methods, such as Humble Bundle. Comcept is also working on making the demo DRM free with no time restrictions. Because of all of this, ETA of the demo remains unknown.
Source: Comcept
You know it's bad when Protodude is bringing on the sarcasm. The delays haven't affected me much since I've had so much going on, but I feel for those who've been waiting on the edge of their seat for this to be released.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he usually reserves that for Twitter, where he doesn't have to be professional and polite. But clearly, he's as tired of all this as the rest of us -- backers, non-backers, and critics alike.
DeleteThat's exactly how I felt reading this post : )
DeleteProtodude is awesome about being a voice of reason and remaining moderate during times when the fanbase has legitimate reason to be upset. I honestly applaud that.
I want the demo to prove to people that the games actually good, and it is! That demo video I saw is so good and the beta from back when was great too! Ugh comcept stop droppin the ball and feeding the haters!
ReplyDeleteDid we watch the same demo? A game with falling platforms that are necessary to progress and don't re-spawn is not a good game.
DeleteI'm not sure which portion of the map you're talking about, but if it's what I think it is, those platforms aren't necessary, you can make that jump.
DeleteWell then, you're not thinking about what I'm talking about. You have to force suicide if you don't make the jump the first time.
DeleteJust unlock the damn thing and let steam update the beta. No keys required. That's how some people already got it, so do that.
ReplyDeleteAhh well. At least I get to listen to all the leaked music for the game.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQn7qXnrboAWHxndlNvLtRtV8TXVUISu0
Oh, brother.
ReplyDelete*slow clap*
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to delays and empty promises, in Comcept we trust. I'm not even surprised at this.
So anyway, I think given all that's happened up until now, I'm most definitely not going to get the game. Not only am I very disappointed and done with MN9 at this point, but I really don't think Comcept deserves any of my money after all this. You tried Comcept, but you've hit too far down.
- Dr. Jerk
I have no doubt that the game itself will be a fun little romp - nothing revolutionary, but good comfort food platforming. I don't think the $20 I put forth will be in vain when I finally get to play it. They're old hands at platforming games, I trust them with the design decisions within their means, abilities, and time to put this sort of thing together. All the gameplay I've seen feels fine by me, I like the pro-speedrun direction of the run-and-gun they got set up, and they've largely done a good job making important details visible and easily understood.
ReplyDeleteThe real honest to goodness surprise in all this is how many missteps there have been in terms of management and communication on all levels! Some of it may well be as a result of Deep Silver restricting what can be said and when (this is an actual thing, I remember a dev for Citizens of Earth saying they weren't allowed to specify what's in patch notes without consulting the publisher first), but this - atop issues like banned forum members apparently surrendering everything they're entitled to from their Kickstarter pledge while Comcept keeps the money - is crazy!
A while back I said this was a good look at the realities and conceits of game development when some things don't quite go as planned, but at this point things are just wacky!
I'm not the first person to say this, but I think the best way to go would've been to give the full single-player game and add in the co-op/online stuff in a later update.
Yeah, if I could, I'd take back the money I gave to fund this. This is just ridiculous now.
ReplyDeleteMy god, this is getting really bad. I was totally on-board with this project from the start but now I'm starting to regret funding this project. I knew I should have jumped on the Mercenary Kings kickstarter project instead of this.
ReplyDeleteThat is one of my many regrets over the years. Not supporting Mercenary Kings. Man, that game is awesome!
DeleteI probably should've backed Bloodstained, too, come to think of it...
I regret not backing Shovel Knight.
DeleteOf course, I didn't have any money TO back, but....
Why again did they get a publisher when kickstarter is to let you self publish? Ugh
ReplyDeleteFinally I can;t wait to see the awesome game Mighty no 9, after month of delay, now the trial can be finally...
ReplyDelete"Read News"
Oh......*add oil to the fire*
This is looking more and more like Legands 3. Can't wait to see the game get cancelled and its concepts and mechanics rebranded as a ReCore spin off (totally not lost planet with sand).
ReplyDeleteNah, it wont be cancelled. Have a faith. :-)
ReplyDeleteLet this be a warning about blindly throwing money at things in the future folks.
ReplyDeleteI understand the desire to 'show support for the series' or whatever else, but don't think companies won't happily take you for a ride.
I supported Inafune for the fact he try to make new games BUT NOW...
ReplyDeleteI just want my money back (of the mighty9 kickstarter), i have really a BAD feeling about it.
I paid for this kickstarter and at this point i'm not really happy I did. I think I'll just stick to my megaman fanatism and its old games an collectibles.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm doing.
DeleteI hate to say it, but I'm doing pretty fine in this " game drought" just getting things here and there as they come out and snagging some things I'm missing in my game collection. Letting go of the frustration and just appreciating the little we do get is a liberating type of feeling. And Inafune is quickly becoming irrelevant in my book.
I was thrilled at first as well.
ReplyDeleteI wish Comcept (of which Capcom is guilty though now I am starting to believe it's more Inafune's problem) would appreciate that the core of their fans are from as far back as the original Nintendo.
As such, we are getting older, and the corny stuff doesn't fly so much. You can keep a youth friendly story, but should also appear to an older demographic.
What little amount of voice work I have paid attention to has been distressing. The ear splitting cackling is not enjoyable anymore.
MegaMan 8 had terrible voice work. X8 had decent voice work for the most part by comparison. MN9 is more like the former for my liking.
Terrible is a very strong word. The only thing "terrible" about Mega Man 8's voice acting was Dr. Light. Everything else was fine. Duo could have been less soft-spoken, but it was overall fine.
DeleteNow when it comes to MN9's voice work, it isn't terrible either, but it does seem unrefined. It doesn't seem like they stayed in the studio long. Same case with MM8. To me, it doesn't sound bad, but some of the parts either seem too forced or the dialogue doesn't flow as well as it should. It is what it is.
I'll play the game through and see what's what.
"Hey, Bass(pronounced as in fish)? Why must I fight you? We are not enemies."
DeleteYeah, I'm gonna have to say no on the everyone else sounding good besides Dr. Light.
Hey Bass(sounding like a very high pitched little girl that makes *8* Roll sound like Don LaFontaine in comparison)? why must I---You know the rest...
DeletePowered up was good if not very PBS kids.
Whenever Mighty No 9 is released, if ever, I wonder if we'll get a news post on the sales numbers. After everything that's happened so far, I'm practically dying to see how much of a success or flop it turns out.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don't think it is going to sell well. I don't say this as a hate-wish, to me it seems like the majority of "sales" will already have been made via the backers that really wanted it.
DeleteIf the game reviews really well and/or gets positive buzz I can see it get a bunch more additional sales like Shovel Knight itself managed to. The game itself appears pretty decent, at worst. When it does get released I hope people will judge the game on its own merits, and not just get caught up in the hate (well-deserved as it might be) against the managerial side of it.
A company is not a singular amorphous blob of consciousness. It is made up of multiple individuals - I'm sure the actual programmers and other people involved in the actual creation of the game have done the absolute best they can to make a great game in the vein of our old late 80's-early 90's favorite platformers, in spite of how the marketing and communication side of things have bungled stuff on virtually every turn.
Oh I most certainly agree. I certainly expect it to sell very poorly. Practically almost no one outside of the MM community knows about MN9, a game that was largely supported and backed by MM fans. With Comcept having alienated almost their entire fanbase now, I don't think a lot of people will get it let alone have much interest. Even with a retail release I'm not sure if that'll help sales either.
DeleteHowever I'll have to disagree with you there to some extent. Comcept's been purposely hiding things from the Backers, like denying the game delay and then announcing it as "We couldn't hold it in any longer", and then putting the trial delay announcement at the bottom of a contest post that most people aren't going to read. That alone is really poor. I would have expected better out of them.
To put some further things into perspective, I don't know the stats on the other consoles, but the Mega Man Legacy Collection appears to have sold less than 20,000 copies on Steam. (I came up with this figure by checking how many people beat the All Robot Master Rush with no items challenge via its leaderboard, and then comparing it with the global achievement percentage of people who have it.)
DeleteThere probably isn't quite that much love from the old 80's-90's platformer crowd any more, at least in terms of traditional Mega Man games. Yes, I know about the whole Anniversary Collection thing existing possibly cutting into potential sales there, but that's still not a pleasant-looking figure for Mighty No. 9 if they're gunning for the same audience.
Granted, Shovel Knight did very, very well, at least 700,000 sales total I believe? They were after a similar audience and it paid off in spades. I guess we'll see, but I don't think it looks good.
I'm sure the game itself will be fun to play, at least.
The biggest issue MMLC faces are the multiple releases of the same games on other platformers. If people already have those or most of them, then they're not going to bother with the collection. I wouldn't take MMLC into account for assuming what MN9's sales numbers will look like.
Delete@Anonymous (September 20, 2015 at 1:40 AM)
DeleteNot to derail the topic, but I love that unintentional "paid off in spades" joke when talking about Shovel Knight's sales!
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha HAAAAAAA!
ReplyDeleteI wont buy the japanese game until they announce the sequel. If it is sell poorly then they wont make a sequel and I dont want to be victimised to my lose money toward it. I will back off and keep my eyes on this game. I am into Rockman games for a loooong time. I hope that this will succeed. Sorry about my English.
ReplyDeleteThat image of Beck makes me cringe every time.
ReplyDeleteThe model looks like a badly molded clay thing.
I wonder how much input Inafune had on the overall look of the game.
So sad.
we are being fucked with, nuff said
ReplyDeleteHate to scare backers, but Gamestop's website has it listed for release on 12/31/16, not even Q1 2016...
ReplyDeleteIt's a generic place holder. No biggie
DeleteI wish I could get my money back. :[
ReplyDeleteWell, glad I'm still happy with playing Destiny. I mean at least with Destiny, I know upfront what haggle I'm gonna have to face off against.
ReplyDeleteI have enough games to play right now, waiting longer for the game is no big deal for me. Glad I didn't back it though, I'd be pissed about the way they're treating backers.
ReplyDelete*reads the latest update*
ReplyDeleteOkay, wait. Humble Bundle? You mean Comcept might be charging... for a demo?!
No-no-no, this isn't like Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins or Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, people. Those had content exclusive to those demos. If Comcept intends to sell their half-a-game... Then again, that was the plan with Mega Man Legends 3 for Capcom, so...
Pretty sure the legends 3 one was a prologue and going to be separate.
DeleteIt isn't going to be sold through Humble Bundle. It's going to be distributed through Humble Bundle, since that is the service through which we're going to get our digital backer rewards upon the game's release. Big difference.
Delete@Anonymous (September 18, 2015 at 1:58 PM)
DeleteI think you're right, actually -- it was even titled as "prolouge". So, double-dumbass on me there. Heh.
@InfiniteJexulus
Comcept partnered with Humble for distribution of their backer bonuses? I didn't know that. How odd... Thanks for clarifying that though.
Still, it seems like selling the Trial Version seems like the kind of dirty move they'd do, even though zero signs point to that being a possibility. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens...
I'm glad I never supported this.
ReplyDeleteWell if their latest e-mail is any true, then good that they're removing the stupid time restriction. It doesn't make everything better, but it's a tiny step.
ReplyDelete- Dr. Jerk.
I still want to get this game and Red Ash but man this IS getting ridiculous! Is it really that hard to make a 2.5D side scroller with pretty much Mega Man X7 faces and Mega Man X8 graphic style? They are pushing this game back so much that two Mega Man games (of either classic,x,legends,zx or whatever) would have been made now if capcom still made those games. Although I am not a backer I can understand the complaints people are giving. I hope they transform this game a bit since they are taking so long. Inafune is taking so long with this game that If Mega Man X7 was being developed for this amount of time it would probably be a cool 3D game and one of the best Mega Man games ever. I don't mean to be so whiny but I hope the game does not look the same and has more content gameplay wise by the time it comes out.
ReplyDeleteI'll say one thing- Comcept is getting harder and harder to defend nowadays. I still believe it's really dumb to blame a forum moderator who had nothing to do with the development of this game. All this crappy stuff is solely on the developers themselves. If you want to blame someone, blame them. =P
ReplyDeleteWell in all honestly it is because of them why the that community manager was put in that position to begin with. The community manager wasn't great but yeah in the end it is comcepts fault for why this game isn't being done well at all.
DeleteShe has completely locked people out of what they paid for for daring to question her. No matter how you slice it, that's reprehensible.
DeleteStill can't get over the codpiece.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, I'm waiting for the announcement that I won't be receiving any of my backer goods. Ever. "Sorry, Beckers! But we really do appreciate all your support!"
ReplyDeleteThe people who got banned from the forums are, for whatever reason, no longer eligible to receive their rewards. So, technically, that already happened for a number of people.
DeleteHow can that be legal?
Delete