Mega Man Battle Network turned 20-years-old today.
It's a milestone anniversary that, at first, appeared to be marching in-line with Capcom's Mega Man X 25th anniversary output. "Capcom Seeking Partners for Mega Man Battle Network 20th Anniversary Products" was a headline that carried major implications. For the most part, it still does.
But that headline dropped in May 2020. May. We were two months into a raging pandemic, facing a remarkably uncertain future. To say COVID-19 hasn't had an impact on Capcom's plans, let alone the industry as a whole, is an understatement. And today, on Battle Network's actual 20th anniversary, the company finally acknowledged it.
Rockman Unity, Capcom's official Mega Man news outlet/blog, laid out a slew of different Battle Network-related announcements today. Although most of these announcements aren't actually new, per se, the post concluded with the following statement from Ucchy-san:
"If the world hadn't been in this situation, If the world hadn't been in such a state, I might have had other plans to announce. But for now, I think it's time to be patient.
Of course, washing hands, gargling and social distancing are important, too.
It's always Rockman who beats the virus after all!"
In other words, the pandemic has waylaid additional 20th anniversary plans. Nothing is cancelled, but nothing will be announced for a good while, it seems. So if you (like many of us) are holding out for some hypothetical Legacy Collection news, you can breathe. Ucchy-san is asking for our patience. That's all.
In the meantime, let's wish the Mega Man development team good health and good luck. We'll be here to enjoy the fruit of their labor when things are good and ready.
Battle network + starforce legacy collection??
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday EXE!
DeleteAnd it's unlikely. Ideally I think a EXE collection should be split into two like classic and X, each with 3 games, but to avoid them being too small, they also have some side games. And all have online NetBattles and Battle Chip trades.
MMBN Legacy Collection 1:
MMBN1, 2, 3White, 3Blue, Network Transmission, Battle Chip Challenge, Operate Shooting Star
MMBNLC2:
MMBN4RS,4BM, 5TC,5TP,5DS, 6CG,6CF, 4.5, and toy PETs (like the minigames in Power Stone Collection and the Chocobo game in Final Fantasy 8). Like the Zero 3 cards, 4-6 have their cards available, and also digital versions of toy chips. And hopefully 5-6 will be compatible with a future Boktai collection.
MMSFLC: MMSF1-3 (all versions), and with their two terminal toys, Battle Cards, Wave Command Cards, etc. SF1 is also compatible with the Boktai collection, and with the MMBN collections.
But considering that only main games were included so far, I would not be surprised if we get something like this:
MMBNLC Blue: MMBN1,2,3B,4BM,5TC,6CG
MMBNLC Red: MMBN1,2,3W,4RS,5TP,6CF
MMSFLC: MMSF1-3 (similar to SF2, each game will have one save for each version)
Unlikely, Protodude said that the BN legacy collection will sell by its own. My intuition tells me that it will be a hit.
DeleteUnlikely, as Protodude said that SF could sell well by itself.
DeleteLegacy Collection Hot: MMBN1, 2, 3W, 4RS, 5TP, 6CG
DeleteLegacy Collection Cold: MMBN1, 2, 3B, 4BM, 5TC, 6CF
Nerf a gamebreaker like FolderReturn, etc.
If Star Force Legacy Collection keep dual version of SF2 while make SF1 similar to SF2, probably have Pegasus X Leo, Pegasus X Dragon.
Or maybe make a third version SF3, support Lyra Noise and four new Noises. New finalize based on Heartless' EM change.
Star: Pegasus, Zerker, Heart, +Playable Sonia in Extra Mode
Moon: Dragon, Ninja, Ace, +Playable Luna in Extra Mode
Sun: Leo, Saurian, Joker, +Playable Bud in Extra Mode
My ideal BN collection has these features:
Delete* Every Battle Chip. And I mean EVERY chip. Even promotional chips and cross over chips.
* Online Battle Chip trading.
* Battle Chip Gate simulation, for all applicable titles, in English.
* 4.5 in English.
Happy 20th Anniversary, Rockman EXE! Not my favorite series, but I like some of the designs~
ReplyDeleteUcchy-san is a guy we can trust, in my opinion. He's been nothing but nice and nothing but helpful, even on the US side of things. If Ucchy-san is asking for patience, then by golly, I think we can give him, and the community, at least that much.
Guess they wanted to make another theme park collaboration then? Or some other sort of public event I guess.
ReplyDeleteCapcom Public Relations & Investor Relations Section
ReplyDeleteMajor Takeaways
Regarding H1 Results
•Digital sales for major new title and catalog titles contributed to YoY sales and profit growth
•Impact of COVID-19 on businesses and development currently negligible
~ Capcom Investor Relations
Negligible but we do know for a fact (from the leaked, pre-COVID release schedule) that several unannounced titles have been delayed. What's more, this only accounts for Capcom's internal development. Pandemic has affected outsourced work and licensing partner work (collaborations, tie-in products, etc.) Said security breach in November also forced several Capcom employees to return from a work-from-home model back to in-house development. That hasn't been ideal for anyone.
DeleteAs much as I would complain about the lack of Crashman.exe, I love Capcom. And who am I to complain when they ask us to be patient during this pandemic?
ReplyDeleteI just hope the in development game from 2019 is not cancelled
ReplyDeleteRemember, megaman puts on a mask to fight the virus, happy anniversary old friend.
ReplyDeleteWait, you're right, I never thought that would fit in this situation.
DeleteOn one end I’m happy for battle network fans, I myself have played and enjoyed the games, but they weren’t my favs.
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard not to be a tad salty when I see this series getting so much love for its anniversary, meanwhile Legends had it’s 20th back in 2017 and got nothing last I checked. I get it, battle network made them a lot of money, and for a while was practically the face of Megaman in the early to mid 2000’s. Same can go for ZX, so much potential in these games that are left to mystery if we’ll ever see them make a comeback.
How would Capcom treat the multiplayer aspects of these games?
ReplyDeletePlease MegaMan Battle Network Legacy Collection!
ReplyDeleteIdeal BN Collection
ReplyDeleteBN1 Operate Shooting Star, BN2, BN3Blue, BN4RS&BM, BN5TC, and BN6CG&CF
Everybody wants a collection wtf how bout a new game? Bn7 or sf4 but preferably zx3
ReplyDelete