Mighty No. 9 Faces Third Major Delay, Release Slips to Spring

Backers of Mighty No. 9, the Comcept-developed spiritual successor to Mega Man, are going to have to wait even longer to play the game they crowdfunded into existence. Originally scheduled for release last April, then delayed until September, and then until February 9th, the game's release has slipped yet again. In a letter released on the game's Kickstarter page, producer and veteran developer Keiji Inafune explains what the hold up is this time:

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solution for each platform is slightly different) and the other stems from the fact that the engine we are using is no longer being updated which means adjustments for matchmaking and online code are being made manually (actually reprogramming parts of the engine by the dev team themselves).

Inafune owns up to the delay being the development team's fault throughout the letter, but I can't imagine that's much comfort for fans who were promised they'd receive the game last April. Especially since they may need to wait until this April--if not longer--to play the game: Inafune is cautious to give a new release date for the game, but "expect[s] it to realistically be in Spring 2016." We'll see, I guess.

The tone from backers in the comments is mixed to say the least. A few sympathetic fans offer support, but lots of people are understandably upset. Backers write that they feel "hollow" about the project, that they "regret backing the game," and there are more than a couple refund inquiries. Unsurprisingly, it even gets a little mean in there. People have feelings about faux-Mega Man, y'all.

While I can't support the name calling, I do get where the frustration comes from. Many backers were giving their support--financial and emotional--to a game that was supposed to pick up where their favorite Mega Man titles left off. With rareexception, the majority of those classics were single player experiences. So I'm not surprised that those fans were upset when they read that Mighty No. 9 was being delayed (again) because of busted netcode. At the same time, if the game launched without the multiplayer functionality pledged during the Kickstarter campaign, I'm sure I'd be here raking the developers over the coals for not delivering on their promises.

It would be easy to dismiss this as just the latest example of Comcept fumbling with a Kickstarter campaign (and maybe it is that, too). But I also see it as the latest illustration of the difficulty of managing these sorts of campaigns, where new features are promised in order to bring in more crowdfunding. For that matter, it's also the latest example of how crowdfunding shifts the standards of successful development. If this were a big budget release, some fans would be disappointed and others would be happy that the developers were taking the time necessary to fix things up. But once backer money is involved, everything gets much more complex and way, way more heated.

If Mighty No. 9 really does release this Spring, I wonder if fans will think the delay was worth it. Even more than that, I wonder they'll think backing the game to begin with was worth it. With so many projects up in the air, Comcept needs a hit so that the company can recover the good will its spent the last year or so rapidly losing.

As a backer I must say this doesn't bother me at all. Too many other games to play at the moment anyway.

I've backed 40 titles on Kickstarter and this is the only one I regret, having played the beta. The delay email I got today wasn't surprising in the least.

Delay No.9

Sorry, just had to.

More like Might Be Never Mine, amirite?

The only upside to this delay is I guess I don't have to juggle this game and Fire Emblem at the same time? About the only silver lining in this :/

At this point I might just give my game code to someone else when it's finally done. I don't know. The demo didn't do much for me and I would feel kind of shitty at this point if I said "ok give me my 20 bucks back"

I really don't think people would be too upset if they had just released the single player portion first, as that's the thing you think about when Mega Man comes to mind.

This whole thing is a mess. It looks terrible, far worse than the concept art implied, and the demo they released was bland and uninteresting. They already cut the original idea of combining and utilizing the powers of the basic enemies (Kirby-style, I guess) back to just the standard Mega Man boss powers, and the various PR fiascos (all the forums drama, opening a second Kickstarter for a different game, the previous two delays) have only served to amplify minor setbacks into major headaches.

Every time I'm reminded of MN9, I regret giving them my money. What a mess.

I was looking forward to buying this one last September.

First delay made me never want to play the game, second delay just makes it a joke.

Boy this game seems like a hooooooooooot mess.

I am really happy I decided against backing.

This entire thing has been a disaster.

Kamiya-san was right.

I wonder if this will qualify for 2016 or 2017 Hottest Mess award.

I didn't back this but was really looking forward to buying it. With all the delays I barely remember it exists.

I look forward to playing Might No. 9 at it's release in April 2018.

To quote Mr Gerstmann. 'What are you DOING!?'

i'm a backer and i've regretted it for about a year now

the biggest issue i have with these delays is that that they keep happening DAYS before release. i'd still love to be pleasantly surprised, but i've lost all faith in the total product

Why the hell does this even have a multiplayer component? This whole thing seems like a total mess.

@giant_frying_pan: What was wrong with the beta? (I didn't back this game)

@sessh: Who knows, dude.

As a backer I don't really care about the delays, IMO it only matters if the game is good eventually.

I am really happy I decided against backing.

This entire thing has been a disaster.

Kamiya-san was right.

That is brought up as nauseam and is never actually relevant. If you look at the context it wasn't even meant as a negative.

As an outside observer and not a backer, this just seems confusing to me. I certainly don't want to sound like "that guy" but all I can think every time another one of these stories breaks is "isn't this just a new 2D Mega Man/X? Why is this so hard?"

Obviously I know that making games is hard but this one is seeming particularly bizarre at this point. At least if something like Star Citizen goes completely sideways (if it hasn't already, depending on your opinion) you can probably see why. This is supposed to be a pretty version of a game that has already been made by small indie developers (at least in my experience).

I didn't say it was necessarily negative in the context which it was said. Which it wasn't, its simply fact. Inafune almost never takes direct involvement in the games, he is almost always a producer role.

It is very relevant then when the entire idea behind the kickstarter was that this is a Mega Man game by the creator of Mega Man, which is very wrong. As he didn't really have direct involvement beside minor things until the X series.

His failure is even greater as a business man, considering just how poorly at every turn this kickstarter, the Red Ash kickstarter, this entire development has been handled.

I'd rather this (or any other game for that matter) be delayed than it come out broken or never come out at all.

@kidavenger: well it hasn't come out yet, may never come out, and, if it does come out, may still come out broken so...a delay like this doesn't really mean anything but something to be concerned about today, I would argue.

The positive spin on a delay is entirely hindsight. And it really only works, IMO, when studios are footing the bill, not Kickstarter backers.

I backed it, but I've long since cooled on the game. I still wanna play it, whenever it comes out; but I'm having trouble mustering any kind've emotion to the news of another delay. Having also backed Shantae and Hyper Light Drifter, I'm at the point of, "Well, it'll be out when it's out."

...I'm curious what the reaction will be to Mighty No. 9 if, after it comes out, the game is still kind've a mess?

banned.

Is there anyone who backed this with any interest at all in the online components? Of course when producing a spiritual successor to an old game you want to add some things but the fact that the online functionality has been cited as the reason for each delay must be really frustrating for fans.

So... wager pool: does Star Citizen or Mighty No. 9 release first?

Between the delays, and the weirdness that was Red Ash, I'm kinda done with this before it even comes out. It's a real hot mess.

Still bummed I backed this game.

Should've listened to Kamiya...

Everything I've heard suggests the backer expectations for this game have been low for a while, so this is just another nail in the coffin for future "Hottest Mess" nominee Mighty No.9

Boy, I hope this game turns out great or else people are gonna flip their shit....well, more than have been flipping their shit anyway

i wonder why they just don't release the single player as is and promise the multi in an update, but i guess it's more complicated than that. People would complain regardless, but maybe less in that case.

matchmaking

/ˈiː/ SPORTS

@madman356647: I was sort of assuming the Star Citizen guys had already run off and bought an island nation somewhere

You're right.

I wasn't pissed off at the delays but the way the delays have been handled and communicated to backers. I don't care about the game anymore as the Beta wasn't fun and I can't see it being much good when it arrives. Still, not my worst Kicksarter experience as they have managed to deliver my T-shirts and soft toy.

I backed this. I don't mind. Or rather, it sucks, but I stopped caring about it a while ago and just want to see what the final game is like.

Not backing either the castlevania-like kickstarter or Red Ash was enough for me, when I was frustrated by the delays.

Mighty Delay No. 9!!!!

Just keep pushing the bar up higher I guess.

I continually forget this game even exists until I hear about these delays. That's one hell of a marketing strategy.

Honestly when ever i back something ive learned to just let it take its course. Not to mention releasing a broken product can really kill the game on release depending on what is broken. Network stuff is usually something that keeps a game alive well after release so I'm guessing fixing the thing that will keep people interested i nthe game longer than a month actually seems important.

This is seriously a hot mess. I don't necessarily have any sort of investment in this game, but from where I'm standing it doesn't look like anything has gone well. Besides the Kickstarter, I mean.

I'll be interested to see release day for this game. If they can turn all this around, it'd be pretty impressive.

Comcept has only been citing the online portion of the game as the setback. If that is true, the only changes they may be making are to online code.

I think it is telling that Comcept wouldn't just go ahead and release the Single player component and patch in the multi-player later. It doesn't seem like they have confidence in either component.

I appreciate that backers are frustrated, wondering how their money has been spent (having been a backer myself on a couple of years-long-delayed projects), but entering with the mindset of "I've given them money in advance, now I get a very specific thing in return" is just the wrong way to approach being a backer, no matter the promises made. Yes, crowdfunded projects do 'promise' to meet certain goals, and yes, backers are technically 'investing' in the product or are 'purchasing' it in advance, but time and time again we are shown that that just isn't how this shit works.

It's often not a matter of dishonesty or secrecy or mismanagement that causes these sorts of issues; shit just happens in development that causes projects to be delayed or to change in some way. When backers cry foul about this, the reality is that they didn't buy the product they are upset that they don't yet have. They gave money to help realize that product with the promise that, if it comes to fruition (a big fat "IF" here) they will get what their backer reward promised. "When" is NEVER part of what is being paid. It's an expectation, because a 'promise' has been made (and often no promise is made at all, just guesses which are held as promises by those 'invested'). However, backers don't buy products, and they certainly aren't buying delivery dates for those products.

As soon as the idea that backers are invested in a product (or, worse, the insanely lofty idea that they are invested in the company itself) is abandoned by backers, I think a lot of the stress that backers experience will settle. Truth is that once the project is backed, money spent by backers becomes a bet, not a purchase.

Every time I see some news about this game, I just roll my eyes. Their reasons for delaying the game seem like they're in development hell.

>Engine is no longer supported

But they are using Unity. Can they really not be bother to upgrade to 5?

The proof is in the pudding. It's only a failure if the game:

A) is cancelled.

or

B) comes out and is bad.

Neither of which seem likely so far.

Money

I

Gladly

Have

Taken from

You

Mighty No.9 and the whole kobe beef jerky fiasco are the reasons why I will never donate to Kickstarter. Both were projects I seriously considered backing, thought better of, and then found out later that being stingy was the correct choice. I would rather wait for a finished product to be out there on the market before dropping my money, because as promising as some of these campaigns can be, the direction they take once funding wraps is really up in the air. I was hopeful for MN9, and am really bummed out by the direction it took. I can't say I was deep enough in it to be mad, at least, but the whole story behind it is really fascinating to me.

If you want to look at a real 5-star trainwreck of a Kickstarter campaign, check out all the business revolving around Kansai Club.

I do not expect this to be good at all. And I say this as a backer.

@atwa said:

I am really happy I decided against backing.

This entire thing has been a disaster.

Kamiya-san was right.

Yikes!