Legends Never Die

MegaMan Legends 3

What Happened

Here's one of those topics that you've either hear about in detail or never knew about. In 2010, Capcom began production of a 3rd game in the MegaMan Legends series; the first game of that long lost series in over 10 years. It was planned to be released exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.

Being of one of the more obscure branches of the Megaman franchise, Capcom decided to pull the plug on production when it decided that fan support was severely lacking. Capcom had an online “Development Room” where people would show their support and ideas about the game and based on the low number of members (rather than the results of a demo that was planned on being released), Capcom decided to shelve the project.

Note: This was right after the cancellation of the MegaMan Universe Project, a couple years of the failure of the MegaMan Starforce/Battle Network crossover and the resignation of Kenji Inafune (the head of Capcom and creator of MegaMan).

Revival Petition

The Logo created by the
revivalists.

The cancellation hit hard for many members of the “Development Room” as well as many fans around the world. A Facebook page entitled “100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3” was put together and its goal is to reach 100,000 “Likes” to show Capcom that there really is support and demand for the game. The American forums for the Development Room were left intact and a petition has been put together. If you’d like to help support the movement, you can simply “Like” the Facebook page or go the extra mile and make a “Serv Bot” account and sign the petition. They also host a blog page thatchronicalizes the situation and their efforts.

 

As a gamer, I personally hope to see this movement succeed. I’ve never played the Legends series, but I am a fan of MegaMan and Capcom’s work for Nintendo games, and a victory here could jump start the company. Since these two cancellations, no other MegaMan games have been announced and many fear that MegaMan is on his last legs. Let’s save the blue bomber. 

Links

http://getmeoffthemoon.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/GetMeOffTheMoon
http://www.legends3.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_Legends_3

How Does Motion Control Work

In the current age of 7th generation systems, each of the 3 main gaming systems have motion controlled peripherals. Whether it is the Nintendo's built in motion control in the Wii-mote, the add-on accessories of the Kinect for the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation Move of the PS3, they all support a library of games built around this revolutionary way to play games. But how exactly does motion control work?

One thing I should point out is that each of the 3 mentioned above work in 3 different ways in which I will describe and contrast with the others.

The Nintendo Wii-mote

Wii-mote: Right
Nunchuck: Left

From the day that Nintendo let on that the Wii was going to be the next gaming console, motion control was the biggest anticipation from the system. The wii-mote basically uses two components to track movement: a sensor bar and an accelerometer. The accelerometer is a device that is affected by gravity and behaves somewhat like the bubble inside a level (the tool, not the gaming term). Depending on how the controller is pointed and its direction, the information is then broadcast and picked up by the sensor bar connected to the Wii. This allows players to point at the screen and whatnot. There is an accelerometer in both the Wii-mote and its supporting Nunchuck controller, but only the wii-mote broadcasts a signal.

Added on in the latter half of the console's life time was the "Wii-motion plus" which increased the accuracy and sensitivity of wii-mote movements allowing for more precise commands and leaning away from randomly swinging and shaking to get results.