Capcom to sell intentionally awful Mega Man 9 shirts

by Randy Nelson { Jul 23rd 2008 at 1:00AM }

In keeping with the retro-y spirit of Mega Man 9, Capcom decided to commission I Am 8-bit artist Gerald de Jesus to create the most awful faux box art possible for the game. Capcom then put it on T-shirts for its staff to wear at E3. The idea was to mimic the atrocious cover of the original Mega Man for NES (widely considered to be the worst box art of all time) and it worked. Really well.

Capcom's head PR honcho, Chris Kramer, has updated the company's blog with word that the exceedingly kitsch shirts will actually be re-printed for sale to the masses, although exactly when and where we can expect to snap one up is still being ironed on out.

Tags: capcom, e3-2008, mega-man-9, t-shirt

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Jono Stars @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:04AM

i'd hit that

....with a mace

nick_mjr @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:05AM

so awesome.

Huey2k2 @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:06AM

Pure win.

Shaq-Fu @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:08AM

make the shirt black (or blue) and we'll discuss it when we get home

juju187 @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:11AM

ironed on is correct

Batzarro @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:13AM

To make it even crappier, I'll copy the image, and print it at my local crappy print shirt place!

giantenemycrab @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:14AM

More like "sell intentionally AWESOME shirts." AM I RITE

Demaar @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:41AM

Yes, you are right. I never ever wear gaming shirts. Ever. I'd wear this though.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:16AM

lol @ the original box art's "High Resolution Graphics".

these shirts are seriously full of win though.

BananaBoat @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:53AM

Is that...Is that Fruit F*cker in the background???!

Hammer @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:17AM

Is that a hint of mustache? Well mustache or shadow, I'm sold.

juju187 @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:20AM

does look like porn stach

teitoku @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:26AM

I dunno, it looks more like the PAL MM2 box art to me :)

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/2/563442_58990_front.jpg

CyrusK @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:19AM

I used to love that mega man 2 box art when i was a kid, Classic nintendo game covers (even the ugly ones) like it made my imagination go wild.

I wonder if kids nowadays get that same effect from modern game covers which so often look like slightly higher resolution screenshots, not artists interpretations of the games like in the old days.

teitoku @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:27AM

I dunno, it looks more like the PAL MM2 box art to me :)

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/2/563442_58990_front.jpg

animeman_59 @ Jul 23rd 2008 7:55AM

Still not as bad as the original Mega Man boxart

*dammit my eyes are bleeding again*

Benjamin Gilbert @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:28AM

Saw dudes wearing this at E3 and wondered what the hell it was. Now I know. This is terrifying and intriguing, all at once -- a dangerous situation indeed.

Gapati @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:29AM

I dunno, it looks more like the PAL MM2 box art to me :)

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/2/563442_58990_front.jpg

vdeogmer @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:11AM

Fail post is FAIL.

Noshino @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:31AM

I might not like what they are doing with MM9, but goddamn, that is one amazing shirt

Cody @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:36AM

I'm still laughing at the top of the original box..."High Resolution Graphics" yeah....well 8-bit FTW.

Still awesome idea Capcom...I don't know why but something tells me it will sell good...even if you buy it as a present for your worst enemy. :) Don't buy it for your best friend though...for obvious reasons.

The Fatass of Kickassness @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:52AM

...unless your best friend considers himself a gamer, in which case you should buy at least twelve (so that said best friend can wear separate MM9 shirts on various appendages of his/her choice).

Cody @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:01AM

lol hmmmm Well, now I know what I can get my friends for Christmas. :P

Evan_ARRRR @ Jul 24th 2008 1:15PM

The shirts will sell well. The design is good. See what I did there?

BPM [MSN: BPMdotEXE @ hotmail.com] @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:48AM

I'll take eight!

Zippy5150 @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:36AM

You're becoming a crafty consumer.

CitizenSnips @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:03AM

+1 for the futurama reference.

Shaq-Fu @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:53AM

Anyone know where I can find shirts like this? I know some company makes shirts of the old NES SNES boxarts.

sinai @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:21AM

i like it, but i think the gun is a little excessive...

WHY DOES HE HAVE A GUN?

DeadPlasmaCell @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:32AM

See, that's where you failed. You didn't choose just to roll with it.. you had to go an analyze it. That's why you're bleeding from the nose & ears right now.

Courtney @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:29AM

Follow the link to the original cover and you can answer your own question.

sinai @ Jul 23rd 2008 5:05PM

except NOT. in the original cover, he doesn't have an arm cannon. in this rendition, he has an arm cannon and a pistol, thereby rendering one of them redundant.

THIS AND FAT PRINCESS IS WHY WOMEN SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO PLAY GAMES.

Beaver Of Love @ Sep 17th 2008 11:11PM

... I will choose to not find out where you live and beat your sexist fat head into your desk right now, because the blood would stain it and that would be a waste of a good desk.

Jacksons @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:21AM

Haha, Capcom rocks.

Genki @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:28AM

When you saw the robot in the bottom right corner of the shirt, did anyone else think of the fruit f***r from Penny Arcade?

Evan_ARRRR @ Jul 24th 2008 1:15PM

Did you bother reading the other comments?

Michael @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:12PM

I thought the same thing. That looks really similar to the Fruit Fucker.

I think Capcom is pretty awesome for doing this...it's nice to see companies that don't take themselves too seriously.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:54AM

Lol. I might buy one of these shirts.

CitizenSnips @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:04AM

oh my god, this picture just gets better everytime i see it.

Seroth @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:34AM

I still wish this was a retail game just so it could come in a real box with that art on it...

Mr Khan @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:57PM

Agree. A throwback to the days of misleading boxart is needed

Extra Cheese @ Jul 23rd 2008 5:05AM

It warms my heart to see this picture produced in 2008 capturing the magic just so astonishingly well. In a way, it reminds me of the DVD cover art for Grandma's Boy. GB's cover captures those hand-drawn 80s movie covers so well, right down to the peculiarity of some of the actors looking dead-on like they're supposed to while others you recognize but there's something palpably off about them -- you know, like, "Wow, that looks exactly like Chevy Chase, but why does Beverly D'Angelo look like she just smelled a fart?"

John Z @ Jul 23rd 2008 8:13AM

This is definitely going on the list of stuff to get folks for Christmas. Really, this isn't a shirt you buy for yourself... you buy it for the gamer friend you have who would know and appreciate it. I know three people who would howl with laughter when they saw this.

Wonder if Capcom might consider doing this with a couple other "classic" franchises-- SF2THDR might be the next contender.