Color me blue this morning, because there’s some significant info out regarding WiiWare exclusive Mega Man 9, and it’s all goooood.
First, price. It’s going to be $10. Yeah, $10. I was actually expecting more for some reason, but I’ll gladly pay ten bucks for a brand new 8-bit Mega Man title. Considering what I paid for original NES games in the 80s and 90s, this is a steal.
Next, new screenshots. Unlike today’s typical screenshot, which is usually a render or some grab of a cutscene (“bullshots”), you can’t really fake an 8-bit title. What you see is what you’re going to get, and they’re glorious (I’ve heard the music kicks 8-bit ass too).
only 10 bucks awsome i was gonna get it anyways but this is just even better i cant wait till it comes out
I've actually seen a couple of complaints that this game should be 500 points.
That is ABSURD. I'm just glad the game is so affordable. 😀
This is great news in my book.
500 is for a 20 year old NES game.
This is a brand new NES game($50 back in the day). $10 is a steal.
WOW. $10USD?
That is a great deal!
I was thinking $15, which I would pay gladly, but $10 for a new 8-bit game rocks!
I could be mistaken, but I don't believe this is a Wiiware exclusive game.
@ Mr. O-G: according to gamepro megaman 9 IS wiiware exclusive.
$10 is a steal. I am notoriously cheap and will gladly pay that. A new Megaman game in the vein of the 8-bit ones is a decision by Capcom that I really and truly respect, and this price tag just makes me respect them more. Obviously, it's not going to cost as much to develop this as it will for them to eventually make Resident Evil 5, and I appreciate that they are recognizing that fact and charging a very fair price.
now i must replay megaman 2 in preparation. who will join me?
@ jack / mr. o-g.
sorry, didn't mean to rub it in – jack posted while i was writing mine 🙂
This is great news. I'm hoping other companies take note and create new sequels to their old franchises. How about Nintendo creating an all new 8-bit Super Mario Bros. 4?
I'd prefer a new 16-bit 2D Metroid adventure game myself.
But I'd like a SMB4 as well.
Sold, nuff said.
This is great news! With Capcom making decisions like this I hope other big name companies will follow suit.
It's beautiful. When's the actual release date?
Am I the only one skeptical about this title?
Back when NES was king of the hill, Megaman 2 and 3 were awesome games worth playing. Then 4 and 5 were decent sequels that didn't live up to the previous games. After 6 I simply stopped playing, because it looked like the well had run dry.
When Megaman 9 comes out, I'll be interested to hear more about it… but the game doesn't get an automatic pass on account of nostalgia. It has to prove that it's actually among the "good" Megaman games instead of being another "lesser sequel".
Also, I have a hard time believing that the game will remain Wii exclusive if the game is popular. Why should it? But Wii owners should still be happy. Timed exclusives are almost as good as permanent ones, and Megaman 9 does have the potential to be a great retro throwback.
I'm with you, ejamer. And it hurts me to say that, because I've been begging for Mega Man to return for years.
I'm still not happy about the literal retro approach to the game. The graphics are ugly, period. I am as nostalgic and teary eyed about Mega Man's return as anyone else, but come on. There is a reason visuals have progressed since the NES.
I much would have preferred Mega Man 9 be realized with more contemporary graphics. The whole thing reeks of lazy development, actually.
If Capcom wants to develop an NES game, they should have a limited run of NES cartridge versions. I'd rather play the game that way than on Wii.
Hmmm… this is very interesting. I am a bit surprised to see the majority of folks here with only positive things to say about this game. I am huge nes fan/collector but I will still say that I hope this game doesn't really play like it is actually running on nes hardware. I want no slowdown, more stuff happening on screen at one time, better music and sound effects, and some updates to the gameplay like maybe let MegaMan duck for crying out loud. I wanna be able to see that there is no way the nes could handle this game and still have it look 8 bit. Anyway bring on the cool power ups and clever boss battles.
@Derek, ejamer:
Please don't be such a spoil-sport upon graphics.
Dude, they did it in 8-bit! Do you know how many colors that is?
The binary number 11111111 translates into 255, and don't forget to add 1 for the number 0 (aka the color black), and you get a maximum of 256 colors to use.
These are beautiful 8-bit graphics! Don't compare today's graphics to 8-bit – you simply cannot do that due to the palette availabilities.
Lazy development? WTH? Excuse me, but if they intended to do this in 8-bit, then you can't get better than this. They worked hard to make a worthwhile 8-bit game, not a 512-bit game.
This game is only going to remain exclusive to Wii.
"Why?"
Mega Man is one of the biggest franchises since the beginning. It originated on Nintendo, and has only been on Nintendo consoles.
"What about the 15th Anniversary Collection? That was cross-platform!"
Sure, that's fine. You re-released several games in the past, and allowed users from all platforms to play it. A celebration for the one of the biggest 3rd-party franchises deserves to be distributed to everyone.
But they didn't create new Mega Man games on those other non-Nintendo platforms, did they? Nope.
Capcom realizes Mega Man's true roots, and that's Nintendo.
They've stuck by them for all time for a Mega Man game to succeed.
"But Mega Man didn't show up in Brawl!"
So what? I would have loved it as well, but who wants a clone of Kirby?
Joltman, 8-bit doesn't refer to the number of colors you can produce. The NES could only display 13 simultaneous colors from a 53-color palette.
There have been many Megaman games released for non-Nintendo consoles. For example, Megaman 8, X4, X5, and X6.
Site translates to a September 2008 release date.
Even if the graphics aren't what you're looking for it still seems like a great premise with a lot to offer. The gameplay will probably be updated a bit like the New Super Mario Bros, but the look gives it a nostalgic feel. I'm wagering this will be a fun game and at a price that can't be beat (considering they could've been a**holes and charged us $40 for the same game on the DS with better graphics that still lacks the charm) and honestly do you really think it is going to run at NES speed and have slow down issues because of too many sprites??? C'mon
A small clarification
I look forward to Megaman 9 and can't wait to see it released. The 8-bit graphics are fine, and hearing some old-school NES tunes will be great. If Capcom stays true to the formula while still providing some innovation and new ideas, then I will be the first to extoll Megaman 9's virtues.
HOWEVER…
I'm not giving the game a "free pass" because it's staying true to retro roots. While some games in the Megaman series were NES landmarks, roughly half of them were uninspired repeats hardly worth playing (despite tight controls and high production values).
I'm hoping that Capcom finds a way to pull the whole package together, and really improve on the old classics instead of just offering a stale retread. Time will tel.
Derek. Man. "If Capcom wants to develop an NES game, they should have a limited run of NES cartridge versions." Do you know hoe ridiculous that is? The sheer cost of putting NES cartridges back into production would be staggering. No one still has the assembly line for those things set up any more. And I doubt they even still have the parts laying about. Plus, there's the consumer aspect of it. Who still has a working NES? A goodly amount of people, sure. (Mine, sadly, is sitting catatonic on a shelf.) But what about all these youngin's who never had an NES, plenty of whom were born AFTER the end of the NES's lifespan? They wouldn't be able to play it. The Wii on the other hand, is firmly installed in a huge consumer base.
The very premise is just horrible business. To pay vast amounts to produce a product that is limited in who can consume it. To release the game through Wii Ware is an extraordinary business move. There are NO cost to produce the product, as there IS NO physical product. It's extremely easy for people to purchase, and they can do it from their couches. And last (and most importantly) the potential consumer pool is already huge. Capcom is definitely making the right move.
i believe Capcom's doing this both for the fans and Nintendo. They really want to get back on their good side and to have their VC titles released.
…interesting speculation from gametaku. ejamer hit the nail on the head with this one… sure lets hope for the best but lets not get carried away with all this.
NWR is reporting that MM9 will have DLC as well.
Truth be told, I would have been willing to pay $20 for it, so this is absolutely icing on a wonderful cake.
I'm sure you will end up paying $20 (or more) after factoring in the DLC. 🙂
cautiously optimistc!
the vids I've seen look pretty good, and the price point is nice. Not a free pass, but definitely strong interest.
I still think 2.5D graphics (ala new super mario bros) would've helped so much the franchise's rebirth. Kinda like it did for a true and back to the simple fun style of 8 bit with better visuals and sound without messing with the formula.
Wow, I guess it doesn't cost a lot to make an 8-bit game nowadays.
Cheap comes to mind when I see this game.
I guess this is how Capcom sees the Wii.
Acutally, not true… the game is in for Wiiware, X360, and PS3 so that's just the way they decided to go for it