http://www.themmnetwork.com/2010/10/29/keiji-quits/

I'm surprised, but not THAT surprised. When someone publicly (that is, thought the internet) says they hate their job it seems likely they'll lose it one way or the other.

It's kinda sad, especially since Legends 3, a game he says he always wanted to help make, is finally being made, along with a ton of new MM stuff, but it's not truly surprising.

That's quite a blow to Capcom. This is going to have an immediate effect on whatever's in the pipeline, and will have a lasting effect for a few years to come.

Whether he hated his job or not, Inafune was the public face of the company. A guy people could relate to, and probably the only person gamers could name from Capcom.

It'll be really interesting to see what the do with his franchises without him.

Good luck, InafKing, where ever you go.

I don't really blame the guy for doing this. I mean, if you aren't enjoying your job, you should probally find another one.

Still, I wonder what he could have planned for him life next.It sounds like he was is going to try and challenge himself now that he'd reached the top at Capcom, but I'm not sure when we're going to hear from him again (if at all).

Keiji's still fairly young, so you know he's still got some fight left in him. I look to see him make a big announcement for his future once the news of his resigning dies down. He's a brilliant figure, and it's clear he's been pessimistic about gaming (especially in Japan) the past several years.

Some are saying his leaving has to do with the most recent Legends poll not going his way. I don't know what to make of it. At best, I'd say it's simply bad timing, but who knows. Maybe the poll made him think of modern Mega Man fans in a different, less agreeable light. It's not like his design came even close to winning - last place, if I recall correctly. So perhaps that has something to do with it, but there's no way of knowing.

I'll certainly miss Inafking being behind so many of our favorite games, but I wish him all the best.

If his choice to resign honestly had anything to do with that poll, I'd be disappointed, really. I just got this feel from Inafune that he truly loves his fans and wouldn't hesitate to find a way he and they could both be happy, rather than having to do things his way.

As much as I'd like to say I'll miss the games that would have been and all that, I'm actually happy for him. His peace of mind comes before what other people would like from him, as far as I'm concerned, and if this helped him emotionally in any way, then I honestly think things turned out all right to some degree, as much as it may impact Capcom and the like. It's better than him supervising all these new games and whatnot without his heart being in his job.

Here's to hoping he once again finds the heart he once had.

It had nothing to do with the poll. He admitted earlier that it wasn't his best work. He likely threw the contest since he had no intention of sticking around (this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment quitting, he just announced today what he was likely planning since before the MML3 announcement).

I think Megaman as a whole will be fine. As creator, he hasn't had much of a direct role in the franchise for years. It will certainly be different no longer having his name scroll by last in the credits, but I have little doubt there are enough successors in the industry that can carry on the MM spirit and continue to produce fun games for us.

Legends 3 I have less faith in though. I was expecting him to make it a labour of love, get lots of money to pour into it, release it, then quit and avoid the consequences if it failed to meet the necessary returns like Legends 2 all over again. Basically go out in a blaze of glory. Leaving now means he's leaving the project in Eguchi's hands, which kinda makes me worried we'll be getting "Legends 3 Blue", "Legends 3 Red", and "Legends 3 Black" or something. Just not sure we can trust the remaining developers to make the game as intended. Sacrifices to the budget to reduce the risk of poor sales seems like an increased possibility.

I doubt his leaving had anything to do with the Legends poll as well. They've had polls since MM2.

I do tend to think it has to do with his uncharacteristic frankness about his job satisfaction, though. In North America that sorta talk would get you fired. So maybe it got Inafune fired. Or rather told to exit with dignity.

It doesn't come off as something planned though. Not with his heavy presence promoting the recent MM games. He's even in the online ads. This makes me think something fishy is going on.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=411847

Cross-posted from RPM; 4Gamer's translated interview with Mr. Inafune.

Nice. I made a comment on it on the blog.

It makes me think I'm in an akward position. On the one hand I want Inafune to do well and want to root for him. On the other, I want the Megaman franchise to succeed even without him. But, in his mind, the big test will see if the games he was involved in - especially Legends 3 - will succeed or fail. And, as a fan I'm put into the position for rooting more for Capcom on this front.

While I certainly don't care to see Mega Man Legends 3 fail in any regard, I want Inafune to do well on his own. The franchise has been out of his hands for some time now anyway, from the looks of things. If anything, I imagine Legends 3 will go well, but titles after will start to lose steam and not fare as well.

I really loved the interview to death. You can easily see where he's coming from on the East/West superiority front. Good deal.

Hm, it seems as though Inafune wants a sort of profit-sharing pay system, where your paycheck is directly reliant on how well your last game sold.

I really don't know how that'd work. It sounds great on paper, but I'm not sure how realistic it is. I understand his frustration towards people mailing it in on a daily basis, but this is more of a fault on Capcom's employment practices.

You'd think Capcom would have a glut of talent to choose from. Look at how many people have this dream of becoming the next Inafune, even if the numbers don't add up. Seriously, the amount of dreamers out there is insane.

This said, I would think Capcom would be able to simply fire the worst slackers and replace them. It's a job making goddamned video games, for fuck's sake! Who "falls into" that industry by mistake? Its not the sort of job you begrudgingly take because you have no other options; at some point in your life you really wanted to make games, so you spent some money, went to school, and lobbied for employment. Why would you blow it by being a slacker asshole? Its not like you're curing cancer or developing the next super food; you're making goddamned video games!

So I totally see where Inafune is coming from. Going from being a hungry young developer to the boss of all the supposedly younger, hungrier developers in his later years, he's seen the entire operation from top to bottom. This all coincides with an article I recently read where he Japanese youth of today are becoming very laid back, sort of like the West. It doesn't jive very well with the old Japanese "work to death" ethos. Inafune may be an old schooler lost in the new school.

So, if he has attempted to try and motivate his workers, but to no avail, and not have upper management provide solutions, its possible that leaving Capcom was the only real solution to his woes.

On the issue of Keiji Inafune being a big enough factor in selling games, I'm sorry to say that I doubt that. Most people I know wouldn't know who the hell he is, but they'll know Megaman. They don't care who made it.

Its not Hollywood, where people anxiously await the next Christopher Nolan film because they appreciate his work. Game makers are far more anonymous in comparison. On this issue, I believe Inafune may end up sorely disappointed, especially when he claims that a minimum 500k selling title is a hit. People want a good game, bar none- they really don't care about the names behind it. This is why people who dream of living a rock star's life as a game developer have a lot of growing up to do.