Capcom: “Mega Man Is A Key Brand”

Despite the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 and his increasingly hilarious snubs in Marvel vs Capcom 3, Capcom isn’t done with the Blue Bomber.

Speaking to Game Informer, Capcom senior VP of business development Christian Svensson attempted to clarify the firm’s position on the Mega Man franchise:

Change has been a constant during my six years at Capcom (vastly for the positive) but I want to be crystal clear on this point. Mega Man is a key brand for Capcom and will remain so. I don’t have any products we’ve announced publicly that I can point to and say “see, I told you” but there are “top men” (“top men”? “Yes, top men”) within Capcom thinking about the future of the brand and where it’s going. We will have official announcements in due course.

Oh but that wasn’t enough for the pixel-hungry Carl Bernstein analogues at Game Informer. Pressing the issue, they grilled Svennson on how the company plans to appease life-long fans outraged by recent decisions, such as the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3.

Svensson, showing admirable candor, explains:

This is absolutely an issue that keeps me up at night. Unfortunately there are times that we have to make decisions that don’t make sense to the community and the fallout, while understandable is regrettable. Our relationships with fans are extremely important and I know we’ve got some that are disenfranchised right now.

Continuing, Svensson highlights Capcom’s community outreach efforts like the recent Fright Night events that allowed players to get their hands on Resident Evil and Dead Rising games prior to release. According to Svensson, this is only one part of Capcom’s ongoing efforts to step up fan interaction in the West.

So, what have we learned here? Capcom absolutely realizes it made a mess by cancelling Mega Man Legends 3, but is currently unwilling or unable to explain just how it plans to reinvigorate the franchise. The company seems to be committed to appeasing its hardcore fanbase, but until Capcom is ready to announce a new Mega Man title, you still have free rein to gnash your teeth at the apparent death of the character as a pop cultural force.

While you’re busy gnashing though, keep your fingers crossed that these “top men” Capcom has toiling away will put together something impressive. Maybe, like, a new pack of DLC costumes for Marvel vs Capcom 3 that turns Amaterasu into Rush, or a really fancy Pachinko machine.

Source: Game Informer