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Mega Man producer Shingo Izumi has shed a little more light on why Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection came together, and what its success could mean for the future of the series.
In an interview with Crunchyroll, Izumi said one of the driving forces behind the collection was the lasting support Star Force has continued to receive from fans over the years. He also said the team wanted to give players who missed the original Nintendo DS releases a chance to finally experience them.
“The original Nintendo DS versions achieved a high level of player satisfaction, and the series continues to be supported by many passionate fans even today,” Izumi said. “Because of that, one of our motivations was to bring this experience to players who were unable to enjoy it when it was first released 20 years ago.”
Izumi also credited the success of Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection as a major reason Star Force returned, along with the many requests Capcom received from fans hoping to see the series get the same treatment.
“Another major factor was the overwhelmingly positive response to Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, released in 2023, along with the many requests we received from players saying they would love to play the Mega Man Star Force series as well.”
As for whether Star Force 4 could ever be revisited (learn about that game here), Izumi did not rule it out, though he made clear Capcom is currently focused on getting the collection into the hands of as many players as possible.
“At the moment, we are fully focused on delivering this title to as many players as possible, so it’s difficult to think too far ahead,” Izumi said. “That said, we sincerely hope that Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection will be played by so many people that it inspires us to consider developing a Star Force 4 in the future.”
With Shingo Izumi guiding the franchise and Capcom committing to further develop Mega Man as a core IP, the door feels more open than ever for Star Force 4 and beyond.
Oh please. Did X Legacy Collections success inspire X9? Did Zero/ZX Legacy Collections success inspire ZXC? Did Battle Network Battle Network success inspire Battle Network seven featuring CrashMan EXE? Instead of putting a gun to series heads and telling people to spend money on collections of games that already exist, they should just make new titles.
ReplyDeleteFunny how you conveniently left out the first Legacy Collection, because yes, it was cited as a big reason why they ended up making MM11, despite some "fans" calling for a boycott.
DeleteDo people realize just how poorly some of the early and mid-2000s MM titles sold? X7, X8, the ZX games, Legends, and SF all had anemic sales. Capcom isn't going to just take a chance on a sequel to a game released 20 or 25 years ago that didn't sell well unless there is some data to back it up, which is why Izumi-san is saying there's always a chance they get inspired to look at a SF4 if the numbers are there. Because that's how businesses operate.
And they are making new titles.
X technically gave xdive, Zero collection didnt sell well, BN said is why this collection exists and i've seen more collaboration with bn specifically. They dont come out perfectly but stuff happens when games sell well.
DeleteI'm with the top comment there is more evidence to support the fact that any form of success did not produce results and classic MegaMan being the cheapest to produce on account of "what it is as a game" is selling the bar as low as it could possibly be. I would also not accept that just because 11 was made with new graphics that it pushed the bar higher because classic is still the cheapest to produce no matter the case no matter what year it is lol. A new Legends Battle Network StarForce etc would cost far more. Get upset at me if need be but facts are facts.
Delete@momoyo Exactly. Capcom's been playing it safe with classic sequels. Where's X? Where's Battle Network? Oh, and I don't wanna hear "We got XDive" cuz that gooner gatcha slop doesn't count. Especially since the OCs look nothing like Mega Man X characters and more like typical moe gatcha wiafus.
DeleteI really hate Capcom holding sales of legacy collections over our heads to get a new game out of them. I miss when video games weren't a business and allowed companies to take risks and let their creativity flow.
@Nico: Video games have always been a business. Don't delude yourself with rose-tinted glasses.
Delete@Real: Can you knock it off with your nonsense? Both you and Momo are both acting like you know more than you actually do. You don't know any facts. You're just high on your ego and huffing your own fumes.
Videogames have always been a business dude. Companies don't exist to lose money making games just to placate diehard fans.
DeleteI love Mega Man too and would love to see new titles for every series but we have to face the fact that the franchise is not a top-seller for Capcom. I mean its best-selling titles pull in like one-tenth of what Monster Hunter and Resident Evil do. Why are we surprised that they continue to invest more in them?
It's obvious Capcom is taking a different approach from what it did 20-25 years ago when it was cranking out annual MM titles with minimal changes, opting instead for a wait-and-see approach and only focusing on games it knows will sell, which is proven by the fact that MM11 became the top selling MM game to date.
So with all this said, you can do one of three things: Keep being mad about it, just check out, or stay a fan and hope for the best.
@Velen That's straight up bs. Unlike you. I grew up in the 90s playing games since age 5, and video games weren't as mainstream, let alone profit-focused as they are today. The only one being delusion is you.
Delete@MatureMMFanAlso, I'm not checking out. Mega Man is my favorite video game franchise of all time, and me being "mad" as you say just speaks of my passion as a fan who loves this franchise. Take your delusional gatekeeping copium elsewhere
Yeah I don't gatekeep, personally I couldn't care less whether you stay a fan or not. But I also have no issue setting the record straight when someone pretends like the gaming industry at one point was a charity. It's always been a business. If you're too young to remember or weren't born yet, watch some documentaries. Atari and Nintendo were notoriously cutthroat even in the 70s and 80s.
DeleteNearly every week on this site I see people demand that Capcom make specific games at specific intervals. Like, I know you loved them when you were a kid, but some of these games didn't even break the 100k units sold mark. We as consumers didn't give a reason to keep producing them like their other franchises. You can continue disagree with Capcom's handling of the franchise (I do myself) but you can't argue against the data either.
I never said it was a charity. I'm saying it wasn't like how it is today. Get some reading comprehension. Also, what data? Where are your sources? You can't make a claim like that without citing your sources. Typical internet mentality where the source is literally "trust me, bro".
Delete@Nico: I've been playing games since the 90s as well, bud. In my 30s here. So you can't try to pull that card with me. Super Nintendo was my first console and Mega Man X was my first Mega Man game. Still have my original SNES too.
DeleteGames have always been a business. You're right about it being less mainstream and that were was more freedom and experimentation. But the idea that they've never been a business is ludicrous. The nature of the business has changed considerably is what's happened.
Again, reading comprehension. Video games weren't a business like they are now compared to back then. Also, I'm not your bud.
DeletePeople keep saying it is business, sure, but that did not stop them making two new Megaman games every 1.5 years sometimes. I remember those days. If they want good business, they will return to making them more often. I think if they started making them far more often, many would be happy and buy them like in the past. Oddly enough, MM!1 and collections did sell well and yet it did not spawn any new (Dive does not count to me). Only now finally a new legit game is coming. Clearly it spawned countless sequels because it was a good enough seller relative to their lower overhead costs. Oddly, it seems that prominent people behind Megaman leaving like Inafune and also the MM11 director leaving could be a reason for so many canned games or gaps between any new game, so it seems sales aren't the only thing they are factoring in, which is odd.
DeleteSpeaking of ages, I'm approaching mid 40s here, and grew up with the NES for years before getting SNES, Sega Genesis, N64 and PSX (this latter two in high school when I got MMX4 in 98), etc. Of course Nintendo did not exist when I was born and I don't recall playing Atari back then, though Atari-like games like PacMan and Space Invaders existed in the arcades. Even early ones like Pong and Asteroids of course existed, and in the early 90s in elementary school, I was playing games on a green and black monitor off floppy disks, so there was Oregon Trail, Number Munchers, even Conan (all in monochrome). I just got the SNES around that time, and was thinking how much better SNES looked vs what I know now is Apple II or Apple II e games.
DeleteMM4 was the first MM game I owned, though a friend of the family around my parents' age did rent what I later by chance discovered was Megaman 1. So I got MM4, then for the first time, played 1-3 only to discovered that MM1 was familiar to me because that friend of the family rented it years before (at that time, I did not know what it was, but noticed it was hard, especially Ice Man's stage). At around 5 years old, it was harder. I beat it when rediscovering it though in the early 90s. But so was Ninja Gaiden when playing that around 6 around 1989, or Legendary Wings, but I beat them too. When I got SNES around 1993 and played Super Mario World, I was not used to such graphics and it blew my mind at that time, even though I did recall playing some arcades with better graphics, like the arcade version of Super Contra, though the NES version has more levels and they each have their pros and cons. I think I did play some early Super Mario World demo in K-mart though back then which looked different than the final version. Same for the original Star Fox (it had a demo in a store). I also recall playing Final Fight 1 in the arcade and later played it on the SNES (it's a trilogy).
@Nico: I don't want to hear about needing reading comprehension from someone who apparently doesn't understand what a business is. All you're doing here is just repeating yourself to try to make something true.
DeleteNintendo, arguably the most prolific video game company, started 100+ years ago with *playing cards* and made business with *toys* throughout the years. Heck, the goal of the NES was to bring simple arcade games to the home as a toy, as put forward by Hiroshi Yamauchi himself in the early 80s.
The NES was as much a business move as it was an innovation. Just because the 90s and the SNES and the N64 gave us a golden age of games alongside other consoles, doesn't mean it wasn't a business. It absolutely was. It just doesn't feel that way cause of how they did things back then.
@Velen Nice deflection. Of course you don't wanna hear it cuz I'm right. The only one here repeating yourself is you, and your argument still falls apart cuz it still doesn't change the fact that what I said is true. Like imagine getting salty and hostile over something like that. I swear, Mega Man fans are some of the most toxic and nasty people I've had the misfortune of dealing with.
DeleteI don't care if it is Classic, X, Zero, ZX, Legends, Star Force, BN, Xover, Ability ... Just bring MegaMan back!
ReplyDeleteTHIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo... if this is true... then that means that a Legends collection...
ReplyDeleteI have no attachment to the series but, I hope the fans get a sequel for sales. I hate that Capcom is still doing Capcom shit.
ReplyDeleteI'm working on creating my own manga one day so reading this has greatly inspired me to keep going.
ReplyDeleteClearly, Capcom wants to feel secure enough to launch more elaborate and different projects from Mega Man; it's a franchise incredibly rich in content to be explored. It's strange that she didn't start this after the explosive success of MM11, but lately Capcom seems to be trying much harder than before to insert Megaman into all sorts of places with its collaborations, It's as if she wanted to get the potential audience (I'm referring to those who haven't/have never played a Mega Man game) used to developing a prior interest in the franchise before even releasing anything.
ReplyDeleteCompared to MM11 from 2018, the franchise currently seems much more user-friendly for newcomers. Various collections of classic games, 2 modernizations for more current consoles...
Thing is, MM11 wasn't an explosive success, it was a gradual success. It took several years to get where it is in terms of sales and those sales are only record breaking for the franchise. Other Capcom properties do those numbers opening week.
DeleteI bought my copy. It is in terms of packaging the best Mega Man collection yet. The games are fine too. highly recommend.
ReplyDelete