Mega Man creator takes to Kickstarter for spiritual successor
Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune has finally done what fans have been asking for since Kickstarter officially became A Thing: launched a crowdfunding campaign for a new side-scrolling action game in the style of his beloved blue hero.
Mighty No. 9 isn't a Mega Man game, of course - Capcom owns the rights to Inafune's creation - but its DNA is obvious. Inafune's studio Comcept is seeking $900,000 for Mighty No. 9 through Kickstarter and has already raised over $600,000 after just one day.
In the pitch video, Inafune references Mega Man Legends 3, which was to be developed in collaboration with fans of the franchise, but was cancelled, much to the community's disappointment. Mighty No. 9 will carry that spirit forward, as Inafune wants to involve backers in the design process via surveys, polls, contests and more.
The game is initially expected on PC, with other platforms as stretch goals, and it's due in northern spring 2015.
Comcept and Inti Creates are partially self-funding the project and using Kickstarter to lower the risk; in an FAQ, the developer explained that "both companies will benefit more than they would in a typical publisher-funded setup once the game releases" - although working with a publisher at a later stage in the projecthas not been ruled out.
"This is not a case where the initial goal is set irresponsibly low, risking everything in the hopes that the Kickstarter campaign will pay off over expectations and get us where we secretly, actually need to be financially," Comcept said.
The pitch video, campaign, and promotion at PAX this weekend are all being funded retroactively by the Kickstarter, too. Check out the video below and visit the campaign page to view available reward tiers.