After over two decades of jumping and shooting, Megaman has been put on an indefinite hiatus. Will we ever see the Blue Bomber return? Photo courtesy Google ImagesSo let’s talk about one of my favorite gaming franchises: Megaman. Known as “Rockman” in Japan, The Blue Bomber is one of gaming’s oldest and biggest icons, alongside other classic characters from the 8-bit era like Mario and Zelda. But after 20 solid years of robot-blasting fun, we have suddenly seen a drought in Megaman games being released or even developed for that matter.
Now the reason for this is no mystery. In October of 2010, Head of R&D Management Group, Consumer Games R&D Division and Contents Management Division Keiji Inafune announced that he would be leaving Capcom. Inafune had started at Capcom 23 years prior as an illustrator and graphic designer and was the lead artist who designed Megaman. Since then, he was involved in the development and design of almost every Megaman game. In a blog post titled “Sayonara” Inafune explained that he felt the need to “start his life over” and that he could no longer perform his job at Capcom to his own liking.
Another project that showed promise, Megaman Online was cancelled for reasons that have yet to have been fully explained. Photo courtesy vgboxart.comWith Inafune gone, the Megaman Legends 3 game that was under development for the 3DS eventually saw cancellation, despite attempts by Inafune to keep the project going after his departure from Capcom. Other Megaman-related projects also saw a similar decay. In June 2010, Korean online game publisher Neowhiz Games announced that it was working with Capcom to create a Megaman MMORPG. The game apparently was in the final stages of development; with a NPC design contest put out for fans with the prize being a chance to beta test the game. However, the contest winner never received any news regarding the beta and the restructuring of Neowhiz in 2012 had apparently complicated matters further. In the end, the game was recently officially announced to have been cancelled.
Since then, Capcom has made no announcement to develop any further games featuring the Blue Bomber. However, there has been a glimmer of hope on the horizon for Megaman fans like myself. According to a report by IGN, Community Manager Brett Elson had announced at Pax East that Capcom was in the middle of “discussions” about potentially developing a new Megaman game. With the major cancellations that Capcom has made in the past, the Blue Bomber is certainly overdue for a triumphant return. I know that I will be among the many fans eagerly awaiting further news.
So then fellow Megaman fans out there, what is your all-time favorite Megaman game?
What to get in touch and talk gaming? Contact the reporter at preston.sotelo@asu.edu or via Twitter at @p_sotelo
