When you make a pantheon of the most important and greatest video game characters of all time, Mega Man is most definitely on that pantheon. Born in the NES era, the Mega Man games have been fun, yet proved that games can be difficult while not being overtly frustrating. Over the course of many console generations and various iterations, Mega Man has grown in popularity in major ways. But, in terms of main titles, the last “main game” released in 2010. That is, until Mega Man 11 was released earlier this month.
But why the delay? Well, Capcom had their reasons, but in 2016, everything started to fall into place according to Mega Man 11 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya:
One day he (director Kuji Oda) spoke fervently, saying, “so many people are hoping for a new Mega Man game. As a game company, we really ought to meet their desires.” Being a creator, he had a tendency to push for the projects he wanted to work on, but the way that he phrased it as though it were the company’s duty gave the impression that it was more than a mere whim. Of course, he had certainly spotted an opportunity in the market as well.
But the team didn’t just jump into the title, rather, they made sure that they made what the fans wanted:
I performed detailed research to find out what Mega Man fans were thinking, as well as what people who weren’t fans but had heard of the series were thinking. The research showed us that the thing people wanted most was a new, full-fledged entry in the original Mega Man series, made with series fans in mind. This culminated in the development of Mega Man 11.
The research paid off, for the game has been very popular since release, and if the sales hold, Mega Man 12 won’t take 8 more years.
