Where are those Capcom PSN re-releases?

While I’m sure the rate with which the PSOne/PSP games are released on the North American PlayStation Store isn’t controlled by Capcom, one has to wonder when the ten titles they promised us will be released in the coming months.  Let’s not forget how they’re aiming to re-release 20 to 40 games in the future.  Most importantly, will there even BE any PSOne Classics Mega Man releases?
Let’s get this out of the way right now: I’ve owned a PSP and PS3 for quite some time now.  While I’m used to PSN updates bringing borderline mediocre PSP/PSOne content for the months before, during, and after the summer period, 2009 almost felt like it could finally break free from being stuck in this vortex with Capcom’s release announcements.  Three months running, we’ve only seen three such releases from Capcom: One per month.  Worse yet, this last week saw the first PSOne Classic-less store update since the North American store started putting up titles weekly back in late May.

Let’s do the math here: 9 confirmed upcoming PSP/PSOne re-releases, 1/month average, start the countdown from August 2009.  By those numbers, we’re looking at the last of those games coming out in April 2010.  February 2011 for 20 games total and October 2012 if we get all 40 games Kramez was talking about.  With some people saying the next generation of gaming could come as soon as 2012, that’s hardly an appealing prospect, don’t you think?

Alright, so I’m being a bit unfair.  We all know that the PSP Go is coming this fall and that downloadable PSP games will be a far more interesting release by then.  I fully expect a lot of those re-releases to be out once the PSP Go launches.  PSOne releases, however, are compatible with PS3 systems and have seen very good sales without the need of a digital-only device.  Capcom has three such games confirmed yet not a single one has come out yet.

Even on the Mega Man front, the September release of the Irregular Hunter X/Rockman Rockman Value Pack might be what’s stalling the release of Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X and Mega Man: Powered Up; which is perfectly understandable since PSN releases are region-free.  Moving toward PSOne releases, we already know that Mega Man Legends isn’t cleared for release.  Stretching that, one could guess that licensing problems could afflict a number of other games with voice acting, so let’s count out Mega Man 8, Mega Man X4, and (to an extent) Mega Man X6.  What does that leave us with?  Mega Man X5 and MAYBE Mega Man Battle & Chase.  X5 could just as easily fall off the list if Guns N’ Roses need to be talked to…

While the prospect of Mega Man games being re-released on PSN in the near future is looking somewhat harsh, take heart.  Capcom haven’t abandoned the Blue Bomber and surely won’t just stop at the two PSP releases.  Japan will soon see the release of the first Rockman Complete Works game, so that’s surely a sign of something good to come.

LanceHeart