Since Kazuhiro Tsuchiya's departure in 2023, the makeup of Capcom's internal Mega Man development team has been unclear. Masakazu Eguchi, fresh off Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, emerged as a public face for the team back in April, though his exact role remains unknown.
Fast forward to today, and we can add two new names to the mix. In the credits for Secret Level episode Mega Man: Start, we see Shingo Izumi and Hiroshi Ito. Izumi, who joined Capcom in 2018, was the producer behind Monster Hunter: World and the recent Ghost Trick HD remaster. Ito was a producer on Monster Hunter Stories, its sequel, and the Sunbreak expansion for Monster Hunter Rise. The other two names, Makhoul and Abe, oversee Capcom's TV and film operations. While not directly part of the internal Mega Man development team, they are credited on Start by association.
Izumi and Ito have not worked on any known Mega Man game before, so their association with the development team, which oversees the production of Mega Man software at Capcom Japan, signals the arrival of new talent in the post-Tsuchiya era. While we can only speculate on their exact roles, their experience as producers may indicate leadership positions.
With Capcom's recent push to revive dormant IPs—seen in the unexpected reveals of an Okami sequel and the long-delayed Onimusha—a path forward for the 37-year-old Blue Bomber may be taking shape. At the very least, rest assured that the Mega Man dev team not only remains intact but continues to evolve.
Nothing ever happens.
ReplyDeleteIt's happening.
ReplyDeleteHard to get excited about additions to the Mega Man "development" team when they're not showing off any new games they've "developed."
ReplyDeleteget ready for Maverick Hunter World: Rising Wilds
ReplyDeleteIdc what the odds are IM GOING TO GET HYPED
ReplyDeleteI don’t know, I feel if this was *actually* a move with importance, we wouldn't have heard about it in the credits of an Amazon short. For all we know, Capcom could’ve just added some misc. devs to the list to make it look like there’s an actual team. And I can’t help but feel that Mega Man isn’t quite on the shortlist for “dormant IP”(though if they end up making a new Gotcha Force, I will forgive any perceived slights).
ReplyDeleteThere are few opportunities to hear about this outside of new software announcements. Capcom rarely, if ever, highlights new staff in a big way; it’s usually something we notice in passing (like in credits) or when they speak up during press runs (interviews, press junkets, etc.). With Secret Level being, in all seriousness, one of the more high profile Mega Man projects in recent memory, it stands to reason the Dev Team were consulted on the project, with Izumi and Ito specifically credited as the do wield some form of power within the team.
DeleteWe are in a simultaneous state of nothing ever happens and it's happening at all times. Welcome to Schrodinger's Tango.
DeleteCapcom would be a dream job if I ever could relate, excuses.😒
DeleteWell, lets see what happens.
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody know what Tsuchiya-san's been up to since his departure from Capcom? I'm not on Twitter much now due to a wrongful suspension but I did check his account recently and he does post every now and then. He was recently at the PlayStation® Partner Awards too. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteMM Legends pls
ReplyDeleteI'm not at all worried that there might not be anything in development, I'm worried that it's Mega Man 12 instead of X9. I love the classic series too but I don't want Mega Man's future to exclusively include it.
ReplyDeleteWhy not both? I'm also worried every creative member of the Mega Man development quits or retires for good due of Capcom's dumb attitude.
DeleteNo Universe? So, there's no a announced new fresh about the franchise...? :/ Even no decent Studio Trigger adaptation of that Blue Bomber who has never let go by Capcom's dumb attitude?
ReplyDeleteRegardless, my expectations are low.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't really touched megaman and done much new in years. The mobile game wasn't fun. They could do something better, but fans will make a better game than they will.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I was thinking the same thing. All fangames are legit.
DeleteFans are the only thing keeping the series somewhat relevant at this point.
DeleteWould love a new Mega Man entry, been with blue bomber since the 80s, gotcha force is also another fave of mine from Capcom, hope something gets developed for one of these two
ReplyDeleteAnd no Darkstalkers? 🥺
DeleteI’d want a new Final Fight, Rival Schools, Power Stone as well. They have tons of IP’s I want to see return.
DeleteDarkstalkers really got the short end historically. I think it’s just symptomatic of being “the *other* Capcom fighter,” even though it’s still pretty legit. I’m sure SEGA would *love* to have a decent IP like that now, instead of having to resurrect their blatant Street Fighter ripoff.
DeleteNo offense Jack but Virtua Fighter isn’t a Street Fighter ripoff, you should really do some research before posting.
Delete@1:00
DeleteEh, agree to disagree. I’ll admit convergent evolution probably played a part in their similarities, but I see more of those than differences. You could’ve told me Akira was a version of Ryu and I wouldn’t think twice. Pai doesn’t help matters either.
Though I admit I’m not big on most fighting games. And I’d probably be much nicer to VF if they went with that Arab guy instead of Akira.
@ Jack, Yes let's just compare 2d fighters to 3d fighters that play completely different. If you want be that way, every video game in existence has copied something from other games. To single one series out is bs.
Delete@4:02
DeleteNotice I didn’t mention anything about how either game plays, because I’ve never played them. I’m comparing these games on surface level traits, because that’s all I care about or know.
And yes, that second sentence is absolutely correct. However, I didn’t think it was really relevant to mention how Sonic copied speed running from Mario or Pong is a ripoff of Tennis for Two. Because that, uh, comment on a blog, was just about how I thought Darkstalkers was cooler than Virtua Fighter, and not a comprehensive list of what is and isn’t a ripoff in all of video games. :p
I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but this feels like a little bit of a stretch.
ReplyDeleteYou don’t sound pessimistic, this is literally leading to nothing like that survey they had last year asking what people want.
DeleteWell, I'm out of copes. There are no more game conventions and Tokyo Game Show doesn't happen until September of next year. Any cope bets?
ReplyDeleteSwitch 2 launch reveal is my last cope.
DeleteNoted, hope you're right.
DeletePlease let it be something real.
ReplyDeleteJust bring Inafune back, they brought Kamiya for Okami 2 so why not?
ReplyDeleteThey really need to do this at a minimum, bonus points if they can get Kitamura too.
Delete...Pretty sure he quit. Why would he go back, and why would they bring him back after all the public feuding? It's not wrestling...
DeleteBecause Inafune was the only one who gave a damn for most Mega Man games. Even MM11 is indirectly because of him (spite game for MN9). Though I don’t really picture Inafune *wanting* to come back, even if he’s paid handsomely. I think the MN9 reaction soured his taste for action games as a whole, though he has credits as recently as Gunvolt 3 with “action supervisor.”
DeleteI think Kitamura coming back is more likely though. I can totally imagine Capcom dangling his involvement like Ohshima for Sonic Superstars.
Inafune bit off more than he could chew with MN9. A lot of people, even those with professional level experience, seem to underestimate how much Kickstarter takes from each project. They then promise stuff they can't deliver on, and no one is happy.
DeleteI doubt he'd want return. I very much doubt Capcom wants him back. Especially now tjatnthe old hats are moving out.
DeleteAlot of fans dont want him back as well...
I don't really understand why professionals aren't reading the fine print of KS service, and then people put it on the detractors when everything goes south. So the detractors get flak for not reading the fine print, when even industry professionals don't seem to understand how KS works.
DeleteThe whole thing was a circus show.
Who cares what "alot of the fans" want, he was the best man for the job. Everything he did since, save for Yabai, has been great, even ReCore wasn't even bad (just ... average). heck everything Mighty No. 9 that wasn't Mighty no. 9 has been great (like mighty Gunvolt and Mighty Gunvolt Burst). His executive producer roles on Gunvolt are kinda whatever, but he definitely helped plan and conceptualize the gameplay hook.
DeleteAlbeit, he needs Mega Man more than Mega Man needs him TBH, considering how well MM11 turned out.
Inafune is the "best" man for the job?
DeleteDamn, we are in worse shape than I thought...
@1:59 pm, I also really enjoyed Recore and the Gunvolt games.
Delete@shrap @Jark Spore Actually Inafune has been very upfront about the prospect of him returning to Capcom to finish Mega Man Legends 3 as long he's able to work with most of the same team (don't even think he would need to quite his position at Comcept seeing how Kamiya too is working from his own studio)
Deletehttps://www.siliconera.com/keiji-inafune-still-like-make-mega-man-legends-3/
But I suppose the bigger issue comes from Capcom themselves not in a hurry to make a new Mega Man game until a nebulous "brand awareness" quota has been met (through a bunch of empty cameos that only grab the interest of Mega Man fans rather than the other way around), in the same way I think Inafune hasn't been pushing hard for it like Kamiya did if he doesn't gets full ownership of the multi-media brand (and I suspect that's the real reason why he hasn't tried push neither Mighty No. 9 or Red Ash for that matter as any brand potential for those is dead in the water at this point/has to split any of the rights)
@Jark SporeDecember 18, 2024 at 11:34 AM
DeleteThe problem with such idea is that Kitamura himself has admitted to be completely out of touch with the gaming industry for the better part of 30 years. Compare this to Inafune, who like it or not, is *still* working on games to this day (Fantasy Life i coming out early next year)
And you know, without an ounce of disrespect towards the man, but I'm not sure if I like the idea of the community gassing up AK as the "true" creator of Mega Man and thus the person whose involvement in the next project would be received with roaring applause...when truth of the matter is that the guy's knowledge of Mega Man literally begins and ends with the first two games
Hell, Sonic Superstars banking so heavily on Naoto Ohshima's involvement ringed very hollow when you remember that, even before Balan Wonderworld, his company Arzest/Artoon was always delivering on aggressively mediocre games? I guess it's just a fallacy to think "only the creator does it right" when all of them are a bunch of old farts
@6:43
DeleteInteresting if this still holds water, that article is pretty old. I do think an olive branch *could* be extended here, though Legends 3 is probably the key factor. Legends never die, after all.
@7:12
Oh absolutely, I’m not saying either is actually a necessity (even if my first comment did lmao). I’d be excited about either returning, but I’d still give a new game without them a fair shake down. Even though I’m hard on MM11, one game without Inafune being mid isn’t enough to say Mega Man without Inafune is destined for mid.
I guess it’s just since Mega Man now is so… insular, it would make sense to have the men responsible for that image involved (though ironically, Inafune always seemed like the one that pushed Mega Man!). Its like not much has happened since they were both gone, whether it was 2 years or a dozen. It just feels like Mega Man needs some actual *vision*, not just a pretty good mechanic and a subpar soundtrack.
…maybe in that sense, X9 would be a good first step. :p
No one is denying Mighty No. 9 as a massive f up. The difference is, that doesn't screw my perspective up of every other accomplishment Inafune had. Clearly he took an L on that project but to suggest he was not THE guy driving Mega Man for basically its entire run is just.... to each their own I guess.
DeleteThe fact that it’s been 6 years since 11 and that Capcom hasn’t been working on any Mega Man games that entire time to me really says a lot, there should have been something by now. I don’t see anything happening out of this besides maybe a couple more Legacy collections for the remaining games not on modern platforms.
ReplyDeleteJust because they haven't announced anything doesn't mean they haven't been working on anything.
Delete@10:57 am, keep being in denial then and wait another 10 years for nothing to happen. 6 years has been more than enough time to make a new Mega Man game, they let that momentum from 11 and the collections go to waste.
Delete@1:03 PM You're the one in denial. With nothing announced, we don't know what kind of game they might be making. Meanwhile, they still actually have a development team and are hiring new people into it. We have no idea what's been going on in the past 6 years regarding Mega Man game development. It's unlikely that the next game started development immediately after 11's release and we barely even have any idea what projects have started and/or been canceled in that time either, let alone how big in scope they may be nor what might be approaching an announcement window in the next few years.
DeleteKeep constantly being negative like this though, and all you're accomplishing is being miserable your whole life. You're no Capcom insider, so you can't say they've done nothing. Meanwhile, what we outside Capcom CAN see is that they've been doing pretty much everything else imaginable with the franchise in that time span and clearly have something going on to be moving people into the Mega Man dev team.
@1:52 pm, right back at you. Keep living in denial all your life and nothing good will come of it.
DeleteWell with nothing announced after so long, it isn't a good sign. Sure, there is always hope of yet 'another' revival, but in life, best not to get one's hopes up and be very skeptical unless legit proof that there is something in the works. Another issue is they have a long hiatus then revive it after a long time, the gameplay and other details may be too different than they would have been if they released a sequel the year after, or other creators and teams would make it, and forget or not pay attention to the story of the prior games to make a decent sequel. My worry is that at this point if we got an X9, it would be quite a bit different than if it was released in 2005 like it should have been. It should have came out in 2005 or 2006.
DeleteAt this rate, people are going to need big time anti-aging gene editing in order to see them complete the X or Classic series like they did with the Zero series.
Maybe they should revive Legends 3 on modern hardware, you know since they never released the prologue demo back in the 3ds days before cancelling it.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Why did they have to mention Mega Man is 37 years ago? Someone fetch my walker!
ReplyDeleteCREATE MEGAMAN X9, AND TRY YOUR BEST TO MAKE UP FOR RUINING X7 AND X8.
ReplyDeleteMAKE X9 LIKE A COMBINATION OF THE ORIGINAL AND X4, GO BACK TO 2D
This would be awesome, I just don’t see Capcom bothering.
DeleteI know it's not possible, but i would like to see mega man star force 4 or a legacy collection.
ReplyDelete