‘And there was much rejoicing’
Just last week, Capcom announced that the six classic Mega Man titles would be coming to both iOS and Android on the 6th of January in Japan. When they were first revealed, these ports — which will be sold in piecemeal rather than as one full bundle and are set to contain additional cheat code-like features such as the ability to fire weapons automatically — were not confirmed for release outside of that one territory. This is to say that the possibility of a North American or European release was still up in the air.
Well, Capcom has now confirmed that yes, mobile gamers in Western territories will be able to play the first six Mega Man games on their phones come early January. As of this moment, there has been no mention of a more specific or concrete release date for the ports in North America and Europe.
If I’m going to be completely forward; I’m not exactly sure who these ports are for. Platformers such as the Mega Man franchise aren’t really suited for mobile gaming, unless of course you make significant concessions in order to better accommodate to both the limited number of inputs and the less precise controls that are often associated with the platform.
While both iOS and Android do support third-party controllers, if you want to make use of these, it means having to lug around an additional peripheral with you just for those occasions when you do want to play Mega Man or other mobile titles that allow for it.
At that point, you might as well just buy the Mega Man Legacy Collection for 3DS and be done with it. Although I guess not everyone has a 3DS, so it’s always possible that these ports may cater to the portion of the market that uses mobile as their primary handheld gaming platform.
At least Capcom is acknowledging Mega Man’s existence.
Mega Man 1 – 6 Coming to iOS and Android [Capcom via Gematsu]
