The producer for the upcoming Mega Man XI has given fans some insight into why it took a whole seven years for a new game in the series to come out, with the blame being pinned on the departure of Keiji Inafune for the neglect of such an impactful franchise.
The latest issue of Game Informer revealed a brief interview with Mega Man XI producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya on the matter:
“To be honest with you, when Inafune left it was a difficult atmosphere with the company. It was difficult for somebody to step up and say, ‘I really want to work on Mega Man.’
Inafune-san was definitely a brand leader for the franchise. He helped pave the way for its success, and he had a lot of brilliant ideas. That’s an absolute truth.
So when he left, there was a sense of emptiness, and a sense that no one was appropriate to pick up the mantle and pave a new vision for Mega Man.”
Director Koji Oda also spoke his mind on the topic:
“I still feel like Mega Man is one of the most important pillars of the company.
At the end of the day, we asked ourselves, ‘What does Capcom need to do for its fans? Should we act like Mega Man is a thing of the past? Should we toss him aside?’ I felt like that would be a foolish gesture.
Mega Man is such a treasure to the company that it would be a waste to let him go because someone left.”
Kazuhiro Tsuchiya recollected the wise words of Inafune for his closing statement:
“When Inafune-san was still our boss he said, ‘Don’t let brands stagnate. Always keep moving forward.’ Yes, we did have a seven-year absence, but it doesn’t mean that we stayed still. We were always moving forward and try to figure out what to do next.”
Mega Man XI is slated for release on the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2018.
Okay cool.. Now what’s the reason for Power Stone’s neglect?
And Breath of Fire’s
I am surprised at the growing number of people who can’t stand the 8-bit format.
I thought there will be an overwhelming amount of nostalgia Luddite hipsters infesting game forums but instead, I’m hearing more approval for the departure from the 8-bit style.
All of them paid capcom shills, probably.
Being chills or not all a lot of hipsters will be buying this game to post gamer pics on instagram/twitter. Doubt it will tank.
I was told that Inafune was more responsible for the money and business side of Megaman than the game itself. Which makes sense if you look at how s♥♥t a game Crappy No 9 is.
“when Inafune left”
What?! Didn’t they fire him?
Last I recall he was working on Megaman Legends III and they closed down the game and fired him after we all voted on who the next Roll Casket would be. :/
I remember this, the game was near completion and capcom just axed it and devastated the fans. Also meant we get less tron bonne =(
Needs more Tron
Needs another Tron Bonne game too.
let’s be fair and honest
would the suits at Capcom have any reason to care about Mega Man had Inafune’s Giant No. 2 not been a colossal turd?
I think we all know the answer to that