Mega Man Legends 3 3DS Cancelled

Capcom have announced that Mega Man Legends 3, which was to be released on Nintendo 3DS, has been cancelled. In addition, the Prototype edition - a prologue to the game's story that was to be released as a 3DS download title - has also been halted.

The writing has been on the wall for Capcom's Mega Man Legends 3 Project for a while now. After a lengthy, ten year wait for a new entry into the Mega Man Legends sub-series, Mega Man Legends 3 was finally announced in September 2010. However it wasn't long afterwards that Mega Man co-designer Keiji Inafune resigned from his Capcom Global Head of Production role in October 2010 to pursue new opportunities with his own company, Comcept.

Later, Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype, a prologue to the main game's story, was announced to launch with Nintendo 3DS' eShop; a target that was missed. It also became apparent that Mega Man Legends 3 was not yet officially greenlit for development despite ecstatic fan reaction, with Capcom merely allowing the team to continue working to prove the project worthy.

The cancellation announcement came through the official Capcom-Unity blog.

We'd like to thank you for your ongoing loyal support of Mega Man Legends 3. Today, however, we must regrettably announce the discontinuation of this project.

From the outset the MML3 Project was intended to give gamers across the world insight and input into the development process. Part of this process includes an assessment of whether the title will go into full production, and is based on a number of criteria with input from different sectors of the company.

Unfortunately it was not felt that the Mega Man Legends 3 Project met the required criteria, and it is with regret that we must announce that the Mega Man Legends 3 Project has been cancelled, meaning that Capcom will not be releasing the Prototype or the full game. Additionally, updates of the Mega Man Legends Developer Room will cease as of today, though the North American Developer Room and its forums will remain open indefinitely.

We can only express our deepest apologies to all of you who have lent us your unending support, including participation in the Mega Man Legends 3 Developer Room. On behalf of the entire Legends team, please accept our sincere apology for failing to meet the expectations of the fans.

We thank you all so much for your extended support of this title and this community, and we hope that you will continue to support the Mega Man franchise as well as other Capcom games.

The post then goes onto an FAQ that shut downs any hopes of further plans for Mega Man Legends 3 at this time and refutes Inafune-san's departure had anything to do with the game's cancellation. All fan ideas submitted to the Mega Man Legends 3 Project's Devroom for possible inclusion in the game can, of course, no longer be used, nor will they be implemented into future games.

Update: Keiji Inafune has apologised to staff and fans on his official blog.

The decision for the cancellation was out of my sphere, but as someone who took part in the development, I'd like to convey something to the staff: I'm sorry that I couldn't be of assistance.

How do you feel about Capcom's decision and the treatment of Mega Man Legends 3?