The release of the successor to iconic video game Mega Man, Mighty No.9, has has been pushed back for a third time. The KickStarter funded game is being made by Keigi Inafune, the main illustrator and co-creator of the Mega Man franchise. Some KickStarter backers of Mighty No.9 are up in arms about the latest delay and have reacted by demanding refunds and more transparency about the games’ progress.
Initially pegged for launch in April of 2015, Mighty No.9’s release date was then moved to September of the same year before being extended again to February of 2016. Now with a launch date expected to “realistically be in Spring 2016,” some backers are concerned with how the games’ development is going.
“Can I honestly get a refund, I have no faith or respect for Comcept or Keiji anymore. . .,” one backer named Aaron wrote in response to Inafune’s update. Others felt the delays were symptomatic of how the whole campaign had been run, with many of the sponsors complaining of ignored concerns that were just being swept under the rug along with details on the release of the game.
“I could care less at this point. I’ve been left out, ignored, and taken advantage of when I repeatedly ask about and complained about not getting my survey to choose my platform and now all I hear is excuses brushing my concerns under the rug along with others. I honestly would like a refund,but like all other attempts I’ll (likely) be ignored. – Luis A Cocom Jr.
While not yet requesting refunds, other backers were still just as scathing in their assessment: “Absolutely disgraceful. Poor community manager at the start, gross mishandling of backer trust, begging for even MORE money after the kickstarter was finished, and several delays have really soured this whole experience.” . . . “This is really awful.” wrote Brad carpenter.
While backers were unhappy with the latest bad news to beset Mighty No.9, most agreed that it was better to wait and receive the game when it has been ironed out and is in its best state. Austin Evans, another backer of the game on the Crowdfunding platform wrote: “It’s not like we don’t have other stuff to play. I’d rather you delay and make sure it’s polished. I only get chance to play through games once nowadays, so I’d rather it be late and polished than early and buggy.”
The biggest gripe among backers is what they see as unnecessary upgrades added to the game as part of the funding campaign’s ‘Stretch Goals’. In addition to more stages, porting the game to consoles such as PS3, PS4 and PS Vita, the campaign ended up with over a dozen extra requirements that the games’ developer had to meet within the same time frame for just the PC, single-player version.
The update posted by the developers seemed to acknowledge as much, stating: “The reason for the delay is rooted in bugs inside the network modes, and specifically problems with matchmaking. There are two large reasons for this problem, one of them being the large number of platforms supported (the solution for each platform is slightly different)”
One backer who summed up the current mood among fans of the game was Ukshadow who wrote: “While the networking part is nice to have, it is ultimately unimportant. The games we know neither had, nor needed, any of this. The important (thing) is that the game itself is without bugs, that the controls are crisp, and the challenge is there for people to get their game on . . . Leave those issues for later, because frankly nobody cares about them. It is the game that matters.”
For his part, Inafune cites issues with the games’ mastering process for the extra delays, with the various console platforms creating a bottleneck in its completion as companies carry out testing on their platforms. “our case is that the MP is already built into the game itself and we started the mastering process as “a game with MP”. To cut out the MP from the current build, it will result in the entire process starting from scratch.” Inafune wrote in response to one backers concerns.
Lets hope Mighty No9 does eventually see the light of day sometime this year as it clearly has the potential to become a gaming classic.
Concerned about the continual delays to Mighty No.9? – Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
