Mega Man Legends 3 cancelled, crushing dreams of community developers everywhere

It was just last year at Comic Con that Keji Inafune teased the long-awaited third entry in the cult franchise Mega Man Legends. In the last year, things have been pretty crazy for the title: it was officially announced, Inafune left Capcom soon after, and Capcom revealed interesting community development featureswhere fans could make gameplay suggestions. Finally, Capcom announced back in April that the game would launch with Nintendo’s 3DS eShop. Of course that’s when the good news ended, as Legends 3 was met with quiet delays and eerie silence, which ended with today’s ignominious cancellation.

Given MML3’s bumpy development and connection to one of the least famous branches of the Mega Man franchise, this isn’t a huge shock, but it had come so far that this can’t help but be a major disappointment. Series fans were likely hurt the most by the news, especially those that had been working through Capcom’s online community to help develop the game through suggestions and polls. The 3DS eShop release, subtitled Prototype Version, was planned for players to test out the title and offer suggestions for improvements in the final release, so those anticipating the title were even more involved in the hype than your standard game, making this news all the more painful.

In Capcom’s official statement on its community blog it’s not hard to see the author’s sadness at having to deliver the news. Here’s the explanation for the title’s demise:

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“From the outset the MML3 Project was intended to give gamers across the world insight and input into the development process. Part of this process includes an assessment of whether the title will go into full production, and is based on a number of criteria with input from different sectors of the company.

Unfortunately it was not felt that the Mega Man Legends 3 Project met the required criteria, and it is with regret that we must announce that the Mega Man Legends 3 Project has been cancelled, meaning that Capcom will not be releasing the Prototype or the full game. Additionally, updates of the Mega Man Legends Developer Room will cease as of today, though the North American Developer Room and its forums will remain open indefinitely.”

Capcom clarified some other parts of the news, saying that Inafune’s departure was not a factor in the cancellation, that this termination encompassed all versions of the game including the 3DS eShop release, and that despite Legends 3 and Mega Man Universe going to gaming purgatory, the Mega Man franchise is still important to the company. Obviously fan reaction was immediate and annoyed to say the least, with over 400 comments lamenting the news. It’s sad to see this happen when release seemed so close, but it looks like MegaMan will never come home.

Jul 19, 2011