Keiji Inafune, the creator of Mega Man and the guy who helped to create franchises like Onimusha and Dead Rising among many others, has put in his two weeks notice at Capcom, so to speak. There are no sensational stories about creative frustrations, missing money or office-destroying grand exits, it just sounds like Inafune was ready to move on to something new. Whatever comes next may not even be videogame related, as he makes no indication about what his future plans are.
Inafune had a few projects in the works, including Mega Man Universe and Mega Man Legends 3. These projects probably won’t be cancelled, but it will be interesting to see what direction they will take after a new driver takes a seat behind the wheel.
Inafune mentioned wanting to quit during interviews at the Tokyo Game Show, and even stated that he believes that the videogame industry has reached an apex. It seems as though he is taking pre-emptive action against a crumbling industry by getting out early. All that time in the Dead Rising universe has probably convinced him that the end of the world is near. Hopefully his fears are unwarranted. He wrote about his decision on his blog, which is very much in Japanese, but you can check it out anyway, if you want to see some sparkly gold.
[Kotaku]
