Capcom disowns Megaman

Well, not officially. But consider the following:

http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...nniversary.html
http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...-cancelled.html
http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...-cancelled.html
http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...ting-worse.html
http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...-marvel-vs.html

Certainly you see where I'm coming from with this.
The Zero series evolved into the stunningly awesome ZX, only to be cancelled after its second title.
The upcoming (and admittedly ugly looking) twist on the Classic series, Universe, has been aborted the moment Inafune got out of the execs' way.
Legends was finally about to be resurrected but it got the axe again, likely for good this time.
And lastly though X was the winner of the on-line poll for inclusion in MvC3, Capcom's denying this and including the characters that came in second and third.

Needless to say, there's no classic or X series game on the horizon (apart from cellphone games and the Korean Online game which is NOT made by Capcom, and even that I question whether it'll ever come out).
Not even BattleNetwork or StarForce I think.

It couldn't really get any more obvious than this: Capcom doesn't want anything to do with Megaman anymore.

But you know what I say? They want us to make the game for them? Why not make it for ourselves then?

We (the internet I mean) certainly have the ability to do so, there's no doubt about that.
So, seeing as they were going to let us do much of the work, why not go all the way? Who needs Crapcom anyway? We most certainly don't. They've been doing nothing but fail as of late.

Then again, I can't say I don't understand them. It's been proven again and again that Megaman is no longer profitable.
This just isn't his time anymore and he may just have no place in a market filled to the brim by casual games and first person shooters.

Still, really lame dickmove to expect the fans to make most of the game for them. Again, unless it's a freely distributed fangame, that is

In fact, for lulz:
http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...-legends-3.html


Anyway, yeah, Megaman's dead, or at least deep into a coma. Same as Bomberman now that Hudson's been very nearly shut down by Konami (and the only upcoming game of a franchise that had never missed any console since the 16 bits generation, the 3DS one recently got cancelled).

Times have changed and those that cannot adapt will have to go. Maybe I'm among them, Lord knows I haven't taken to any new franchise in a long, long time (even ones from Nintendo, like Pikmin or, gah, Animal Crossing). I'll keep on playing I guess as long as new Marios, Zeldas and the likes keep on coming but it's narrowing down definitely.

My opinion about the series:

Original series: All awesome.
X series: Awesome up to 5.
Legends series: Not awesome.
Zero series: All awesome.
Battle Network series: Awesome up to 3.
ZX series: Not awesome.
StarForce series: Not awesome.


My opinion about the current situation:

There's no doubt Capcom made a huge mistake by canceling Mega Man Legends 3 the way they did because of the huge involvement of the community. On the other hand, it's surprising just how many Mega Man games were released in total and still managed to find an audience. Considering the Legends series were the least successful, I'm surprised Inafune was able to find a loophole to even start its pre-production before resigning, and let's not forget, this game was still in pre-production when it was cancelled.

Because of the huge growth in competition coming from cheap downloadable titles, video game companies basically entered survival mode and focus more and more on short term profitability rather than long term profitability by minimizing risks. This means stop thinking rationally, killing innovation and milking franchises until they're dead. Guitar Hero was one of the first casualties, and now it's Mega Man. Soon it will be Zelda.

Speaking of Capcom milking franchises... Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter x Tekken, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition. Pattern much? (Well at least 3rd Strike is one of the best fighting games ever so I can't complain much about that one.)

The main problem here is that it's innovation, not big investments, that equals big profits, and many companies prefer to rely on their established franchises instead. I believe we're on the verge of a video game depression caused by an oversaturation of cheap shovelware and expensive disappointments on the market. Nintendo was able to reverse this trend in the 80s with its "Seal of Quality" content control. We'll see how it will turn out this time around.

(Personally I would like to create a new small company, but my current financial situation is a bit tight for that in the moment, not to mention the lack of teammates.)


In the meantime, Rockman 2 NETA might fix your Mega Man needs. Try it if only for a good laugh.

This post has been edited by SmashManiac on Jul 22 2011, 05:28 AM

Whyyyyyy????

And yet, they are citing insufficient involvement as the reason...

True that.

Yeah, that might be the case.
But I'm not sure whether Zelda will be hit the same way those two have been. That is, dropping into a no-releases coma. Seems more likely that it'll continue to be twisted into something that it should not be.

Hehe...

Agreed. I wouldn't expect another crash of the same magnitude as in the past, but a dark age of crappy games may well be upon us.

Yeah I think we may be at the forefront of a video gaming dark age as well. No so much because the downloadable games and casual games are crap, but instead because so many games are coming to us bound up with DRM-based licensing limits. The modern trend that bars consumers from access to installation material and to full versions of games is exactly the same as early experiments in the mid-1990s where consumers would only be able to play games that were broadcast to their SFC add-ons. Obviously we can all see that this was a mistake from our modern perspective but at the time gamers probably felt much the same as we do today about all of the download-only remote-installation content that is taking over the entire market. The seemingly-trivial games of today will one day be "classic games" and 30 years down the road when almost nothing whatsoever remains of large subcategories of games from the 2010s, we will regret it just as much as we regret the loss of information about the real Dark Ages when records of art and culture ceased to be kept. We used to own games but now we just license them and licenses are only as good as the integrity of the licensors.

The modern trend to rush dowloadable content out the door is also reprehensible and it just goes to show that the middlemen standing between artist (creator) and consumer - the distributors and similar corporation-oriented groups - don't give a fig for the games or for the gamers. Money corrupts, and I think DRM is the clearest example of the corruption in the gaming industry. The constant refrain to the distributor's lament is that digital pirates have become such a problem that they can no longer operate without protection. My question is why do we need distributors at all? In an era when the internet networks us directly to messages from the President of the USA, how can it be that a game's artist/creator needs external self-interested distributors to reach the gamer? Let the old monolithic companies strangle each other in their zeal for profits. They're due for a scaling back anyway. I often get way more excited about the latest offering of certain small-scale or indie developers these days than I do about established companies. Hard times drive evolution. A video game depression might be just the ticket to wake everyone up to reality at last.

/rant

Whyyyyyy????

Much lower difficulty compared to the Zero series, fake open world structure, constantly having to switch forms, not being able to continue using X form after acquiring ZX form, lots of backtracking, no significant differences between guy and girl characters, biometals have no personalities, the leader of the resistance is the immature little girl with her cat puppet from the Zero series, the girl character's voice pierces through my ears every time she jumps... do I need more?

And yet, they are citing insufficient involvement as the reason...

I thought it was "for not meeting certain criteria"...

Well personally I feel the franchise has been staling after Minish Cap, with no real improvement to gameplay since. Even Skyward Sword's integration of Wii MotionPlus appears gimmicky so far.

I'm not very afraid of that one considering how quickly games are cracked, but I agree the current popular DRM systems doesn't solve anything and actually causes more problems to the customer.

I sooo agree with that one, and that's the main reason why I'd like to go indie myself.

I'm not very afraid of that one considering how quickly games are cracked, but I agree the current popular DRM systems doesn't solve anything and actually causes more problems to the customer.

Well OK, popular games are cracked. I'm cursed by a love for some non-popular titles too, though...
Luckily Europe seems less gung-ho about DRM so I just import whenever I run out of options. I just got a Russian game like this a few months back. I had to import it from Germany so it's in German but at least it works. (Also it's a point-and-click so it's not like the language barrier means much of anything).

Not a very good idea to import from Germany. Their laws causes most video games to be heavily censored.

What kind of obscure-yet-with-DRM games are you trying to buy anyway?

Ah that was a plus for me. I found the Zero series extremely aggravating, even more than X6.

Uh?

Well at least you had reasons to do so. In most Megaman games there's weapons you only use at certain bosses and then forget all about.

Yeah that was stupid... but at least it's possible to keep it if you fully complete the game.

That's something I like in action games (you know, as opposed to ones with menu based battles)

Oh yeah, that was completely pointless... but they did learn from that mistake in the sequel!

Okay these are very marginal points. I could argue them but come on...

At any rate, it's too bad you didn't like ZX. Personally, I thought they were the best thing that happened to Megaman since X5.

Yep. And that was the criteria. Capcom gauged interest in the game based on partcipation to the developer's room thingy.

Yeah and that's not even where the descending quality arc begun.

What concerns me about Skyward Sword is that the flying part seems eeriely similar to TWW's sailing. Lots and lots of empty space you have to traverse rather slowly to get from one point to the other.

Ah that was a plus for me. I found the Zero series extremely aggravating, even more than X6.

Just don't aim for a good rating then. Using cyber-elves lowers the difficulty a lot, you know.

Uh?

Well you can't really explore where you want when you want since you have to follow zones in a particular order to complete the main missions, or eventually hit a wall if you try to bypass them.

Well at least you had reasons to do so. In most Megaman games there's weapons you only use at certain bosses and then forget all about.

The problem with sub-weapons in most Mega Man games is the limited ammo. They fixed that in ZX, but then they force you to switch between them constantly. Out of these two evils, I prefer not using sub-weapons at all and only use my main weapon instead but be very experienced with it.

Yeah that was stupid... but at least it's possible to keep it if you fully complete the game.

I did more than enough backtracking the first time around. I must have played the game like 5 times in a single playthough.

That's something I like in action games (you know, as opposed to ones with menu based battles)

I prefer choosing to replay the game myself rather than being forced to do so.

Oh yeah, that was completely pointless... but they did learn from that mistake in the sequel!

Barely. You have to be in human form to see the few differences, and you almost never do that in the game. Only the 1st level is different, but both versions are so easy it's not even worth mentioning.

Okay these are very marginal points. I could argue them but come on...

The voice definitely isn't, it's like having a high-pitched Navi nagging you 100 times more than normal. As for the story (these 2 bits were just examples), they made me not interested in the ZX universe at all, causing me to be much less invested in the game.

Well I didn't hate it either, I just found the design flaws too overwhelming to enjoy this series much.

Yep. And that was the criteria. Capcom gauged interest in the game based on partcipation to the developer's room thingy.

Possible, but you'll need to show me evidence on this one to convince me.

Yeah, but that goes against my every basic instinct because I'm a pack-rat gamer. You know, one of those that have to get everything in the game. And you only get the techs if you are A or S when killing bosses.
At the same time, there's stuff I normally would collect in X games you can only get by killing off your elves, such as E-tanks. So either way it sucks for me.

But isn't that how this generally works? In Ocarina of Time you can't go to Gerudo Valley the moment you leave the forest. The world expands bit by bit.
I did feel that this was definitely improved in the second game though.

Mh, well personal taste. I really enjoyed the various forms in ZX. In fact, I was actually bummed out by how little use I got out of the A Trans from Advent (technicly the other biometal forms are A-trans as well, but you get my point).

*lol*

Ah, so you like backtracking when it's not mandatory? I see what you mean. It still didn't bother me, but I can understand your point of view.

Wait, youre talking about the sprites? I didn't realize that. Well it's still easy to tell Gray apart from Ashe when merged with Model A (not the A trans obviously since those change their entire bodies). But more to the point, they actually play slightly differently. It's most noticiable in their charged shots and specials but there are other subtle differencies. And the same goes for all biometals they copy (for Gray some biometals kick ass and others kind of suck... it's nearly the opposite for Ashe)
In fact, the final boss is almost a joke with Gray but not so much with Ashe.

Again, didn't bother me at all, so it's gotta be a personal thing (unlike with Navi who is universally hated)

Aaaand again personal. I was really invested in it.

Well, on the bright side you got to (moderately) enjoy them without being sorry that there won't be any more.

Yes I understand you would... how about the fourth link this thread's first post?
http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...ting-worse.html

The barrier in your example is near the entrance, but in ZX the barriers are often just before the end of each section. But yes ZX Advent was better on this regard.

I too enjoyed the various forms and was even impressed by the quantity of them in ZX Advent. However what annoyed me is the constant required form switching. I'm surprised you felt the opposite.

No I really was talking about the gameplay. Maybe I haven't played enough with Ashe to notice the more subtle differences (again I can't stand her voice), but they didn't seem to affect the gameplay much from what I experienced.

And I agree, the final boss is a joke with Gray; the L button on my DS broke at the beginning of the battle and I was still able to beat him on my 1st attempt. How is the battle different with Ashe anyway?

Yes I understand you would... how about the fourth link this thread's first post?
http://protodudesrockmancorner.blogspot.co...ting-worse.html

Well played, my friend. However, as far as I know, Capcom Europe was not involved at all in the development of Mega Man Legends 3, so I don't see what kind of basis this tweet has other than rumors and speculations.

Ah this is a family-friendly game. Nothing to censor. Also my choices were Germany, Czech Republic, or Russia and none of these countries ships very far abroad. The only reason I got the German version is because I have Austrian relatives. Well that and the fact that I trust German companies more to take and protect my credit card info than I do strange Aral-Sea-based money-exchangers for the Russian sellers.

This specific game I'm talking about is called Polnya Truba. It's animated by one of my favorite animators of all time.

I'd switch mid-fight, mid-jump... I had a blast!
It's worth noting though that I completely customized the controls in both games.

Ah it's Ashe that bothered you? I thought it was Aile.
Some boss battles require completely different tactics. Especially ones that are weak to ice (that is a wildly different power).

The homing attack used to take down his shield is different. Its targeting isn't nearly as large and rather than shooting several blasts that hit at the same time it's just one that bounces between targets, so it's harder to catch all biometals and even when you do it won't instantaneously disable him.
It's not that harder, obviously, but it does make a difference.

Ah, were they not? These guys kept hammering about Capcom Europe which did have me perplexed so I just assumed CE was involved somehow. Weird.

Obscure indeed, not even Google has any idea what it is with this spelling.

Yeah that's my attempt to translate the Cyrillic. I'm probably reading the backwards Rs wrong

The English title translates to "Full Pipe".

This post has been edited by MadHatter on Jul 23 2011, 03:43 AM