Thursday, September 22, 2022

Capcom Ends Mega Man Powered Up Online Service After 16 Years

We have to step off the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection hype train for a bit for some not-so-good news. Capcom delivered a surprising, but unfortunate update about Mega Man Powered Up; an underrated gem that didn't exactly sell well in its day but did plenty right. 

Find all the details after the break.


Despite not meeting sales expectations, Capcom kept Mega Man Powered Up's servers online for more than 16 years. However, that will soon change. Capcom have announced that Mega Man Powered Up's online functions will end service on November 30. Players will no longer be able to download or upload levels, let alone access special data.

Mega Man Powered Up was originally released on March 2006 for the PlayStation Portable. The game was a remake of the first entry in the classic series. It was packed with content including a robust free DLC content roadmap and even a stage maker (a concept that was later popularized by different fan-games and even Super Mario Maker).

The online functions allowed players to download stage packs, promotional stages, and unlock Roll as a playable character with 12 different costumes every month.  The most important feature was the ability to upload custom-made stages and exchange them with other players around the world.

If you'd like to preserve any stages you uploaded to the network, grab this handy fan-made tool. It allows you to download stages directly from Mega Man Web and upload them safely to PC. Instructions here!

Feel free to share your Powered Up memories in the comments.

37 comments:

  1. I am really worried. Is ist possible to download all official content and backup it? This is really bad.

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    1. All the official content has been backed up online (and don't take my word on it, but I think is legal since it was all distributed free), so all we're really losing is the user-made levels. Which, I mean, is also a pretty huge deal, but at least you can play as Roll

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  2. interestingly not long after the online for megaman battle network legacy collection was announced, a soul for a soul i guess.

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    1. I'm guessing the people who got hung-up on the Powered-Up artwork and design were not people who actually played the game. It was a great game; level editor, and being able to play through the game as EVERY robot master, in addition to Proto Man and Roll. The quality of the game itself makes the art irrelevant ... but I actually like the art, too.

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    4. This game was amazing, if only because it was the first game where you could play as different characters with actual differing abilities. Up to this game, the Classic series only had the standard "buster-style" playable characters.

      On top of that, this remake tells a story through voice-acted cutscenes and remixes all of the stages a bit, plus it adds a lot of collectable stuff for replay value. It's really a great game worth preserving.

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    6. There are tons of games that did and do well on portable, it's fine if you don't like it but it is not a "majority", more a "to each their own" thing.
      Personally I think gameplay is far more important than fancy graphics when it comes to platformers and powered up was solid in that regard.
      Plus "the majority didn't feel it good enough" implies that the issue was that many played it but didn't like it, this isn't the case, thoses who did play it generally liked it fine.
      The issues were more that it released at a time where the franchise in general wasn't doing too well on a system that wasn't particularly associated with Mega Man, and wasn't particularly advertised. Not many people outside of dedicated fans even knew it was a thing.

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    9. @Gary Daniel: I don't remember if you were the same person I've conversed with back then, but if so, I remember you saying Smart Phones (which are barely even phones at all anymore, and more like mini PCs) were a trash medium for games, yet here you praise Nintendo Switch as mobile gaming done right.

      There is nothing functionally that a Switch could do that a high-end gaming phone can't do (at least in terms of Android) except maybe run modern concurrent Nintendo published/licensed exclusives to Nintendo platforms (cause of buggy emulation from them being so new). Gaming phones nowadays are faaaaaar more powerful than a Switch, with higher and faster memory, much wider memory bandwidth, higher spec and clocked CPU and GPUs, much better screen tech at higher resolutions at a much higher framerate natively, much more advanced wireless technology allowing for lower latency and stronger connections to way wider selections of controllers/peripherals in addition to wired connections through USB-C, including modern controllers like the DS5, XBS and even the Joy-Cons. Most importantly though is every single modern gaming phone is able to be hooked up to an external display with a modern day display cable or adapters easily. In the case of a modern flagship Samsung phone, you can straight up project it to your PC, S-TV or S-monitor wirelessly and transform it into a full fledged desktop set up while using your phone fully functionally separately.

      Yes I know the next argument... "but phone games suck" "mobile means not a full regular game but one with micro transactions and live service fees and stipulations with artificial gameplay grind etc etc". Well don't blame the hardware for that, clearly there is nothing stopping developers from making a regular console style game on high-end phones, they just for the most part choose not to. I know cause I play PSX, PSP, DC, SNES etc games on my phone all the time at higher resolution most of the time than their native counterpart with way more quality of life options much more conveniently. Games like MHX and MMPU look and play much better on my phone than they ever did on my PSP for example, load times gone, more and better graphics settings (including close to the vanilla experience if you want that), better screen (OLED at 1900 nits vs LCD), better controller (GameSir X2 vs PSP one analog stick and mushy buttons for on the go), better battery life, better sound quality, better save functions that I can easily transfer between various consoles and PC, the works. Also in MHX and MMPU's case in particular they run flawlessly with little to no noticeable bugs (which is kinda rare for PSP games).

      I think you also ranted about how phones would never be as powerful as a top PC, well they certainly are becoming beasts in their own right nowadays. Who knows? While I don't think they are getting anywhere near 4090ti or some absurd nonsense, pretty much that is overkill at that point for modern conventional games anyway. BTW just an update I updated my 3060ti to a 3080 about a month after we talked last time just saying.

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    12. "BTW, gaming phone kind of sounds like an oxymoron (never heard the term gaming phone before, that sounds funny since phones are not for games but for calling people and communicating mostly)"

      Yeah gaming phones are a thing, look up Red Magic 7s PRO (you said phones don't have fan systems, this is an example of one that does) or Asus R(epublic)O(F)G(aming) 6 https://rog.asus.com/phones/rog-phone-6-model/ . I barely use Smart Phones for the phone functions anyway. I talk on the phone part of the smart phone like maybe at best 2 times a week (if it is a special week) maybe if not a month. I almost never text on the phone messaging app and almost always use a 3rd party apps like Skype or Signal.

      98.9% of what I do on smart "phones" have nothing to do with a phone at all. Most of the time I am web browsing, or watching videos and consuming media like music and manga at work or something. Also yes I game on my phone at work on breaks too. I never have problems seeing things on my "tiny" screen either, my phone has a 6.8 inch display and the UI is good at easy simple zoom and clarity functionality even though I see fine most of the time without that (much better than any dedicated handheld game console I will tell you that much Including the Switch). I only just started using smart phones like 2.5 years or so ago too, before that I only ever had second hand experience with them. I was actually one of the few holdouts to get a mobile phone that I know of, and its only cause I absolutely had to for work and to function online since so many things require a phone (like google accounts for example). That is to say I am not biased, I have since loved my phone and really appreciate how far we've come with tech. I still can't believe phones are this amazing nowadays, high-end PCs are even more mind boggling its crazy and they are STILL getting stronger and better.

      Anyway I lost my train of thought and started rambling but "smart phones" are really just phones by name, they are way closer to a PC than what people traditionally think of as phones. They have CPUs, GPUs, Storage, RAM memory, HD displays, GUIs, OSes, USB adapter ports, internet connectivity, file system managers and files to go along with that etc etc

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    13. "why even bother with a phone if gaming is their priority? at least use a laptop if they want to game on the move?"

      Because I definitely can't carry a Laptop at my factory warehouse job, that is way too much bulk and would be way more receptive to breaking, I don't even know where I would put it (and keep it safe from being stolen) at work. With my phone I carry it in my pocket and the Gamesir in my lunch bag in its case which I keep near me at my work station. Anyway I am not comparing laptops or desktops to phones I am comparing portable game consoles like Switch, at least in terms of hardware and convenience... and... even software if you include emulation into the mix.

      Obviously I wouldn't make my phone my only gaming device since part of my original comment was that native phone games are just cash grabs because no company wants to make good games for it or at least good ports for the most part (like the Dragon Quest DS remake ports which were almost perfect and faaar superior to the DS versions if not for the MANDATORY touch screen controls haha). Also just FYI you are preaching to the choir, I've been for as long as I can remember team PC master race. In fact the only thing I think that competes with gaming phones in terms of potential are things like Steam Deck which is basically everything I said about the Switch compared to a gaming phone but with Steam support and just straight up being a Linux PC. But I don't see why I have to choose, I use my high-end PC and my phone for gaming, I use both and it doesn't make me any less of a hardcore gamer. I know cause my Steam, Epic, GOG, UBI Connect, Origin, Prime heck even my RetroArch gaming library and list of achievements are GIGANTIC, well over 1,500, with just what seems like endless hours of playtime.

      First off my phone is definitely secondary for computing to my PC, but just clearing stuff up, you can definitely connect all those peripherals to a phone at the same time, you can also provide it with power to last indefinitely at the same time just like a PC. Also PCs overheat too it just takes waaay more to do it. But I get you point and agree high-end PCs are obviously way more powerful, all I am saying is phones are no slouch and in my opinion potentially better than dedicated portable game consoles.

      "My Iphone 10 does not even seem to have additional ports"

      Let me stop you right there... iPhones are... not good for this type of thing at all (I would say iPhones are not good in general). Let me put it like this, would you game on Mac? Obviously not, than why would you try to do anything flavorful on iPhones? iPhones are incredibly limiting, no wonder your outlook of smart phones are they should just be phones. macOS is one of the most restrictive, just barebones anti-user agency OSes ever made, the literal only thing I can think of that is worse is iOS. All the advantages I talked about with smart phones, you can just throw out the window with iPhones. iPhones have good hardware (gimped to death RAM tho) but in that case it is highly optimized for users to just and only JUST take what Apple gives them and even then sometimes Apple takes that away retroactively. Even jailbreaking the thing for some semblance of freedom is a nightmare. Not to mention iOS itself, which is so behind the times on the phone line, it can't even properly multi-task... iPhones are like the exact opposite of gaming phones, they basically are just good for talk, text and camera work, I mean they don't even use USB-C, they are still to this very day stuck on Lightning connectors, good lord... Not to mention they ruin the phone market by setting trends that take away features... Just no...

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    15. I agree with everything you just said 100%. In fact power consumption is the literal only reason I am not going to upgrade to a high-end 40 series card. Most people hate Nvidia right now because they treat their customers, AIBs and the general market like crap with things like, naming a 70 class card an 80 class card to coincide with an actual 80 class card and having them share the same name, raising standard prices for the industry, flooding the market with cards directly selling to miners and so on... But nope, not me, it is only power consumption, it is the only reason I won't upgrade.

      Speaking of AIBs tho my card is an EVGA RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA, I feel happy that I supported and own one of the last great cards from EVGA. Also no I won't go AMD either, first off there are certain A.I programs I run on Linux(dual boot from separate drives) that requires Cuda, second I just don't really want to or need to right now. The 3080 is more than good enough for me (heck the 3060ti was) I mostly game and do stuff in 1440p anyway and it looks and runs good to me. I don't play competitive FPS games and actually think it's stupid that your hardware could give you a competitive advantage because it is variable, they should really make a settings and frame rate lock standard. Also I am desensitized to anything above 90fps, so 400+ ridiculous amounts of frame rates really don't impress me, I simply do not see or feel the difference. That's not me coping either, I own many things that run at over 120hz (including my phone) and some that go 160hz and I've tried many games and videos at those FPS, I can't tell the difference I am just not sensitive to it. More power to those that are tho.

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  4. Download Mega Man Maker for free and have unlimited Fun and get a boner by playing/using that game/program

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    1. It ain't the same. Similar, yes, but not the same.

      For one, Mega Man Maker doesn't have a story campaign.

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  6. The guy who made that downloader said he's also made an archive. I asked him if he'd share the link to an upload of it, so maybe we can access that soon.

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  7. Mega Man Powered Up and Maverick Hunter X were amazing back in the PSP days. I loved Powered Up because of its insane replayability with all of the characters you could unlock and the awesome level builder.
    Downloading levels from the internet and playing them on your own PSP was crazy when it came out. There really wasn't anything like it. I didn't have Wi-Fi back then (like a lot of people in the 2000s), so I would have to download them on a PC and move the files onto a Memory Stick. Even then, I think I spent more time designing goofy levels that only my brother and I would play. It was a lot of fun. Honestly, I'm surprised the servers are still up. Thought they were shut down years ago. I hope Capcom re-releases MMPU and MMMHX one day, super underrated games.

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  8. Thinking a bit more on this game, it was pretty close to perfect. Solid gameplay. Fitting soundtrack. Good story. Competant voice acting. Valuable extra modes. And a large playable cast. I can't complaign.

    In fact a lot of what this game and IHX did are what I consider the standard should be, in gameplay, content and roster. Shame they never got proper sequels. I would have jumped on that.

    Wonder what would happen of they ported these to switch?

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  9. I remember when this was announced. It and Maverick Hunter X were the sole reasons I got my Sony PSP-1000 – which I still have to this day. It brought me hours and hours of joy and I even uploaded some levels to Mega Man Web. My levels were… very bad… but hey, they were mine~ It's a shame only me and one other person I knew owned this. I would've loved to try levels from people I knew.

    Well, I have a feeling that I know what I'll be doing come the end of November…

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    1. After poking around in the game for a little while (which I haven't since 2018-ish), I suddenly remember one of the biggest flaws it has.

      Being based on Mega Man 1, all the characters tend to be very slippery to handle when stopping.

      Other than that, though, I still think it's a heck of a lot of fun to play~

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  10. That's sad, but not too surprising. In fact I'm surprised Capcom kept it alive for so long.

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  11. Powered Up & MHX need ported and re-released so badly. Two great games showing two different extremes for the genre, giving all fans a run for their money. Bet they'd hit hard as heck these days. Show those Eleven-ers some more of what MegaMan can be!

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  12. This game was actually very good far better then i had ever expected. it wasnt perfect but it scratched the megaman itch at the time even now holds up surprisingly well for what it is. We are losing a very good feature i hope someone makes a private server or some sort of archive to download and upload stuff to it.

    farewell another big thing from my teenage years i will miss you and the hundreds of hours i spent making stages

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  13. Personally, I hated how Powered Up played and looked (not even the characters - the environments look like they were made in a level editor, which I think I know why, but that doesn't stop every level in the game from looking ugly and bland), I didn't even like the soundtrack much and the levels were extremely inconsistent, though I liked the bossfights. However, I really hope everything in it gets preserved - including all the fanmade levels, if possible. I've saw so much stuff made in the game's really nice level editor that it would be a shame if it all ends up lost.

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  14. There's an error in the app. The level/pack list screen is so small that's impossible to click the down button therefore it is impossible to scroll down to the rest of the list.

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  16. I was late... too late,
    I bought PSP back in 2021 and it was my first game ,in 2022 i have published 2 levels and forgot about these. Now i wanted to transfer from emulator my cool level(you needed to make your way through by using gutsman's abilities to build)but yea..

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