So it was okay to get everyone's hopes up for nothing and completely fail to take responsibility for it? Keep in mind, the Prototype, which was supposed to help gauge how well the final game might sell, got canned before release too.
Nope! Don't believe I said that. The point wasn't that Capcom did or didn't [tornado fang] up (they did), it was why they did it. What precedent(s) they may have been looking to to inform their decision. The precedents of a big 3D spin off series and 2.5D handheld reboot games that both underperformed shouldn't be ignored. They made a mistake by letting Inafune have his way with Legends 3 while he still worked for the company (notwithstanding all the other business decisions Inafune spoke out against), and we had to find out at the worst time and place. Capcom failed us, but we still can't forget that it's Capcom's risk to take on these sort of projects. They're not a victim, but if a project doesn't pan out, they take the fall for it. Not us. Most of us just [sonic slicer] and moan about it, for better or worse.
I've heard "patience" thrown around so many times in past arguments that it's just about lost all meaning (in this context, at least). It's easy to TELL people to be patient, but it's another thing for them to DO that when Capcom has given us either total garbage or empty words.
And yes, I know that Street Fighter was once considered a "dead" series. From the sound of it, it took a freaking miracle to revive SF. I can't speak for you, but I absolutely do not want to take any chances.
Patience isn't easy. Especially when you don't know how long to wait.
Also, why are you acting like you have any commanding stake in Mega Man's future? It's not in your hands; you have no chances to take.
This is worth emphasizing in general: the only one who's in the position to take big chances here is Capcom. They're the ones we're asking to take big risks, promising that we'll love them for it with our money. Our promises aren't enough. The burden is on Capcom not only to cater to their legacy audience, but to draw in new ones and grow the brand in a way that will be successful. This could be done in any number of ways, even ones as cheap and unpopular as a game like Xover, because apparently that's doing pretty well despite everything going against it. Behold, the power of free/retro/casual/insert-buzz-word-here.
This is why something like SonicZH's game is so helpful right now. Capcom (of Japan) is not inclined to invest a lot of money in Mega Man right now, AFAWK, and online polls and forum posts don't speak as loudly as sales. So, what's the next best thing? Download traffic. It doesn't necessarily predict whether these people downloading the game would be willing to pay for it--fair point by Protoman Blues--but clearly it's the next best thing. Not to mention it's yet another good demonstration of corporate-consumer relations on Capcom's part that in the case of Mega Man, begins to repair the relation between the two.
Actual care and effort (in Xover's case, NOT SFxMM's) is a "grand, unmet expectation?"
Relative to what it is (a cheap-as-free iPhone game) vs. what people want it to be (a real Mega Man game), yeah. I'd say that's about right.
But to be fair, if SEGA can put out a decent port of Sonic 4 Episode I by themselves (and not [tornado fang] up a great port of Sonic CD by a fan), I don't see why they couldn't have made a more respectable port of MMX to the iPhone, let's say. Or perhaps made Xover a true platformer with the same RPG elements and enemies it has now, but as it is, the bar's fairly low for successful iPhone games it seems. People seem to want to play them for the convenience and social aspect moreso than the traditional gameplay value. Also, perhaps Capcom thinks it's onto something with the whole retro-celebration of not just MMX, but every franchise (except Zero ... ?)
It's still an irrelevant measuring tool, because the main thing they want to know is "is MegaMan still profitable?" A free downloadable game does nothing to accomplish this for every reason you mentioned. You cannot measure a product's worth when it's not going to net a profit in any way, especially in this new age of "free internet downloadable swag" we live in. I have Angry Birds: Star Wars on my GalaxyMan. I got it for free. I got it because it was free. People will get this for free. Hell, if Capcom wasn't Captarded and actually put HurlOver on another platform besides iOS, I'd DL it to because it was free. This does nothing to show what the product it worth, no matter how many people download it. There is no way to know if those same amount of people who paid 0 for the game will pay $30-$60 for a new game. This is why it's a free t-shirt, regardless of push or pull. I'll go to Citi Field and try to catch a free Mets T-shirt in the 5th inning. I'd never buy one cause I'm a Yankees fan.
Fair point. Free =/= profit, but free can still sell stuff. SEGA sold the Genesis with a free copy of Sonic 1. Cave Story started out free and then became a huge re-released hit. So, free doesn't get you anything in the short-term, but it can have long-term benefits.
Also, the pull from the Legends 3 project came from the fan involvement. That's one of the reasons why when they pulled the game away from fans they were livid, and still are. I mean, let's take this game for example. Can you imagine how heartbreaking it would be if Capcom got involved with the SF vs. MM fan project, then not only pulled their funding but refused to let Sonic ZH make it at all? That's what Capcom did to their fans. They broke their hearts. And if you've ever been in love, heartbreak is not an easy thing to get over, especially when the person who broke your heart is a goddamn cocktease.
Preaching to the choir, brother. My point here was that it was even less reasonable for Capcom to expect a huge turnout for Legends 3 because of the level of commitment it's Devroom phase demanded from fans. Most people just hung out their for staff updates, voting, and otherwise eating [parasitic bomb], but the real action happened with the boss design contests. So, basically you could see the game as it was being made before it gets released. Maybe people weren't too keen about spoilers, but I'm not sure I buy that entirely. Maybe just not enough people were into Legends for it to seem profitable to Capcom. This is where I fault Capcom for not going into this knowing it was a risk and intending to stay for the long haul.
It would be in everyone's best interests, yes. Here's the problem though; fans HAVE been patient. They were patient with Legends 3 for over a decade. As we've discussed in length, look how their patience was rewarded. People still want compensation and while Capcom doesn't owe their fans anything, they still need to give them something for vomiting all over their hopes or else this endless cynicism and bile will continue (IE: The Great Gonzo). Patience only goes so far before you realize that you are being suckered. As long as people continue to accept the "low-cost experiments" then that's all that we'll get. MM9 & 10 are fun for people like me, but it's not the future nor should it be. This is why SF vs. MM should absolutely not be used to judged fan interest in MegaMan's future. It's a good looking fan game for free.
That's my main problem with Capcom. It's not the games as much as the abject [tornado fang]ing stupidity when it comes to PR. It makes no sense from a business standpoint.
Let's be honest. I don't many of us think Capcom has been great at business decisions for the past I-don't-know-how-long. Their recent successes with Ace Attorney, Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, Lost Planet, and Resident Evil seem to have been more the result of passionately obstinate developers determined to getting their way than it was a result of good executive leadership and business acumen. This seems like a case endemic to Japanese corporations in general. However, I don't think it's all bad, and something like SF x MM is a shining example of what could be that traditionally never was, even if it's more CoA's doing than CoJ's. It's almost like Legends 3 Devroom, which is something I want to see return along with its game.
But let's get down to the heart of the matter: what's our role in this? Honestly, I don't think it's anything more than doing
what we've always been doing, with occasional works like SF x MM or MMX:C coming out here and there. We could do with a little less overreacting.