DHX Seeking "Pixel Art Animator" for Next Year's Mega Man Cartoon

A job listing posted a few days ago by DHX Studios suggests that next year's new Mega Man cartoon will be incorporating some 2D pixel-art. Here's the position's description:

"Do you love the Mega Man games? Do you have a passion for the classic 8-bit pixel style? Have you always wanted to combine your 8-bit passion with a Mega Man show?

Vancouver is currently seeking a 2D Pixel-Art Graphics Gale and Flash Animator to join our team on the new Mega Man series! If you've always loved pixel-art video games and want the chance to work on a major property that's rebooting as a 3D show with 2D pixel-art interstitials, this is the job for you! For this very unusual position, we're looking for someone who can animate in a clean, efficient fashion with a focus on storytelling and comedy, and a quick turnaround."

Under the "What You'll Get to Do" subsection, DHX says you'll "research from existing pixel-art sources for inspiration and workflow." In other words, it sounds like you'll be tasked with looking at Mega Man sprites from past games and integrating them into the show.

In the context of animation, the word "interstitials" typically means a short (very short) scene shown between two distinct segments. For example, an intersitital could be a bumper between the program and a commercial break. For Mega Man's interstitials, the implication here is there will be animated sprites – possibly 8-bit inspired – moving about to entertain the viewer from one portion of the show to the next. If anything, this could turn out to be a nice little nod to the source material.

If you live in Vancouver and know a thing or two about 2D pixel animation, you could wind up on the show's production crew. Check out the full posting here.

Another Look at Takara Tomy's Rockman Mini Figures

Proving once more there's no shortage of Rockman goods, Takara Tomy brings us our best look yet at their upcoming Rockman mini figure series.

Sigma Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Off-Screen Gameplay

Straight from the New York Comic-Con, here's some footage of Sigma bumping heads with Black Panther in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. He looks pretty good – kinda crazy how each slash seems to rip into the fabric of reality, or something.

First Look at the Redesigned First 4 Figures Zero Statue

In late May it was reported First 4 Figures' Zero statue was coming back from the dead thanks to fan support. Today, the new and improved mold made its grand debut at the New York Comic-Con showfloor.

Compared to the original mold, this new Zero features a completely redesigned head and face, among other minor adjustments. The LED lights – exclusive to the previously announced "exclusive version" – look quite nice against the refreshed red and gold paint. Word has it there may be a black armor variant on the burner too. All in all I think this is a pretty significant improvement over the previous mold. Zero's limbs, though, could use some work. A little too rubber hose-like, if you ask me.

No word yet on price or release date, I'm afraid. Hopefully those details are coming sooner than later. In the meantime, hop over to Mega Man World for more photos.

Sigma Joins Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite on October 17

Tremble with terror! Sigma, along with Black Panther and Monster Hunter, are headed to Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite on October 17th. Check out the gameplay trailer here. And would you look at that; Siggy's premium costume is looking rad! It's straight out of Mega Man X5.

Everyone who obtained the 2017 Character Pass will automatically get Sigma. You can also purchase Sigma and these other characters separately for $7.99 each, which includes their premium costumes from the get-go.

Source: Capcom Unity

Microsoft Seeds Mighty No. 9 Stability Update to Xbox Insiders

Members of Xbox Insiders were treated to a small 39.29 MB stability patch for the Xbox One version of Mighty No. 9 over the weekend. According to MegaMasterX, the patch was developed by Microsoft themselves (not Comcept or publisher Deep Silver) to improve general performance. He noticed a "significant improvement in performance on Cryo's stage (Water Works) and Dynatron's stage (Power Plant)."

MegaMaster X went on to tell me that "there's still some frame drops here and there (it's not a very optimized game to begin with), but some of the severe ones weren't as prevalent (i.e Dynatron stage)." Beyond that there's nothing else too noteworthy going on here.

Barring unforeseen delays, this patch should be seeded to the public relatively soon. Generally speaking, patches tested through Xbox Insiders are a good 2-3 weeks out before a global roll-out. Be on the lookout.

Thanks to MegaMasterX for the tip!

Rare Rockman Promo VHS Tape Found and Restored

My buddy Toad Titan found and cleaned up this rare 1992 promotional tape for Rockman 5, Rockman World 3 and RockBoard. The origins of the tape aren't exactly know, but it appears to be meant for retailers to drum up hype for these three titles. 

In any case, there's a number of neat things to see here. The footage for Rockman 5 features several differences from the retail version of the game. For example, there's a scene of Octoper OA with his missing tentacle (cut from the final version) and some special weapons have different mechanics. Other interesting things to see include a barrage of Rockman 5 boss designs, unseen and extended scenes from the Rockman 5 TV spot, gameplay from a development version of RockBoard, and a look at then-upcoming goods.

If you've got 20-minutes to spare, give it a watch! It's a neat reminder of an era long past.

Kazuhiro Tsuchiya: "Capcom Has Not Forgotten About Rockman"

The closing comments from Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya – who spoke at last weekend's less-than-stellar Tokyo Game Show 30th anniversary event – have been translated. Check it out:

"I want to say that Capcom has not forgotten about Rockman. This (30th anniversary logo) here is being put to good use. Rockman's 30th anniversary is coming in December – December, please remember that date!

On behalf of Ucchy and everyone here, we are looking forward to it very much and hope you are as well. We are deeply pleased to be able to share this with all the fans who have made this possible. Thank you for all of your support, up til now, and in the future."

Tsuchiya's statement, vague it may be, attempts to instill some hope. At the very least he's mindful of the community's general sentiment that Rockman is forgotten in Capcom's eyes. Tsuchiya isn't ignorant to that. However, think I speak for everyone when I say I'll believe it when I see it.

Thanks to Kobun20 for the translation!

New Promo Image for Mega Man 2018 Cartoon

A new promo image for next year's Mega Man cartoon has surfaced online. It's not much but it's something to chew on until the next big info dump.

According to the image, Mega Man will have a presence at MIPCOM, an annual tradeshow in Cannes beginning October 16th. What's more, the image further confirms the show's planned 52x11' format (52 episode, 11-minutes each). This suggests the program will follow a two-episodes-per-show format when it airs on Cartoon Network next year.

And that's about all that can be said for now. Maybe we'll learn more by MIPCOM?

Source: IMissBionix

Tokiko Nakashima Celebrates Star Force Mega Man 4Inch-Nel Launch with New Art

Sentinel's Star Force Mega Man 4Inch-Nel is now available! To mark the occasion, series character designer Tokiko Nakashima whipped up the above piece. And, man, is it ever good to see brand-new Star Force art. I've always loved Nakashima's stuff, Star Force 3 in particular.

There IS a mobile wallpaper version of this up on the Rockman Unity app. We should have those ripped for you relatively soon. UPDATE: And here they are!

Source: Rockman Unity

Bad Mega Man Volnutt, Hanayashiki Style Mega Man.EXE Coming to NYCC, Too!

Now this is a pleasant surprise. Hot on the heels of the 4Inch-Nel Geo variant, Good Smile announced Bad Mega Man Volnutt and the Hanayashiki Style Mega Man.EXE variants will be available to purchase exclusively at New York Comic-Con. Supply will be limited so get your keister over to booth #422 ASAP (on October 5th).

In all, that's three exclusive Mega Man 4Inch-Nels. Yeah; you're gonna need to bring some extra zenny.

Source: Good Smile US

Tokyo Game Show Mega Man 30th Anniversary Panel Live Stream (Update: ENDED)

UPDATE: And that's a wrap. The panel was, for the most part, the same as last Thursday's. No new announcements.

In just a few short hours the Mega Man 30th anniversary panel will take place at the Tokyo Game Show. The panel runs from 14:20 to 15:05 JST followed by a ten minute "Rockman Studio Talk" session from 15:05 to 15:15 JST. To find out what time that is in your neck of the woods, simply plug 14:20 JST in Google + your timezone.

According to Capcom, the panel will look back at past Mega Man titles and deliver the latest news on the 30th anniversary. Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya will be on-stage with guests America Zarigani, Chocolat Ikeda, and Ayana.

The 9/22 press only panel, which only ran for 20 minutes, delivered a new Roll design for 2018 and some merchandise. Tonight's panel may be more of the same – then again, maybe not. We'll see. Anything newsworthy will be made into its own post above this one. Stay tuned and remember: no expectations, no disappointments.