Capcom promises Mega Man announcements "in due course"
"There are times we have to make decisions that don't make sense to the community."
Capcom has promised disgruntled Mega Man fans it still remains committed to the franchise - and revealed plans to announce new games in the series "in due course".
The Japanese publisher disappointed many Mega Man fans when it canned Nintendo 3DS game Mega Man Legends 3 and the Prototype version of the game, intended as a Nintendo eShop download.
This, coupled with the departure of Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune, caused some to fear Capcom had ditched the blue boy robot for good.
Not so, Capcom US boss Christian Svensson told Game Informer.
"Change has been a constant during my six years at Capcom (vastly for the positive) but I want to be crystal clear on this point," he said. "Mega Man is a key brand for Capcom and will remain so. I don't have any products we've announced publicly that I can point to and say 'see, I told you' but there are 'top men' ('top men'? 'Yes, top men') within Capcom thinking about the future of the brand and where it's going.
"We will have official announcements in due course."
Capcom's decisions around Mega Man (fans had hoped he would be a playable character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3) have contributed to a growing sense of frustration at the company from its hardcore fans.
Svensson acknowledged this, but promised to work to win back their loyalty, pointing to Capcom's Fight Clubs for Resident Evil and Dead Rising projects and the re-launch of CapcomUnity.com.
"This is absolutely an issue that keeps me up at night," he said. "Unfortunately there are times that we have to make decisions that don't make sense to the community and the fallout, while understandable is regrettable. Our relationships with fans are extremely important and I know we've got some that are disenfranchised right now.
"Unfortunately, in this situation, there is no panacea. It's going to take time to rebuild those bridges. Product cycles are long and it'll be a little while until fans can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And the last thing I want to do is prematurely announce something in the name of sating the fans that gets cancelled or redirected later, thereby creating an even larger wound. I can only ask for people's patience.
"In the meantime, we're going to be stepping up our community engagement efforts in the West."