Capcom on the wait for Mega Man 3DS VC games in North America, retail vs. digital
Japan has been getting classic Mega Man 3DS eShop titles on a regular basis. That hasn’t been the same in North America, but Capcom finally confirmed that the NES title will arrive starting on December 27 and throughout 2013.
Capcom senior community manager Brett Elston was recently about the hurdles in releasing the Mega Man games on the North American eShop. Ultimately, the delay came about since Capcom wanted to have the retro titles lined up for Mega Man’s 25th anniversary.
“Now that we’ve announced the release date of these titles (starting with MM1 on 12/27), we’ll come clean and say most of those ‘hurdles’ were getting everything lined up for the anniversary period. We wanted to have MM1 arrive as close to 12/17 as possible, which required close coordination with Nintendo.”
Elston also commented on whether he believes Mega Man could still find a home at retail. He noted that it is “entirely possible we’ll find an idea or concept that warrants a full disc release, but for the immediate future, digital feels like the right way to experience Mega Man.”
“It’s entirely possible we’ll find an idea or concept that warrants a full disc release, but for the immediate future, digital feels like the right way to experience Mega Man. What form it takes, and which platform(s) it appears on, would need to suit the game and the intended audience. That said, the perceived quality of a digital title should be quite strong these days; just because something arrives via download and not in a box doesn’t mean it’s ‘lesser’ in some way.”
