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Get your weapons ready! The latest issue of Nintendo Power features some mega news -- specifically, the upcoming release of Mega Man 10 on WiiWare.

The new installment, like the brilliant Mega Man 9, uses an NES-style aesthetic, and features wacky new bosses like Sheep Man. Sheep Man! Proto Man returns as a playable character (this time immediately, and not as time-delayed DLC), along with a third mystery character! The extra character's identity: just one of the details, like the release date or whether or not it's on other platforms, that we're just going to have to wait to find out.

An image in the writeup also reveals an Easy Mode for the game, which we can imagine being welcome for a lot of people not accustomed to the uniquely painful experience of trying to complete an NES Mega Man title.

Doom's main character always seemed to be lacking that little extra something. Sure, he had a BFG 9000 and could battle demons with the best of 'em, but did he have a gun arm? How about a body covered by totally sweet blue metal armor? Didn't think so. And that makes all the difference in the Mega Man mod for Doom 2, created by Mike Hill of the UK. "I've been modding for Doom ever since I first got a hold of the PC version ... some may find it hard to believe that the Doom modding scene is still live and kicking after all these years," Hill told Joystiq.

The 22-year-old built the mod (still in alpha) as an homage to "the time when I feel Mega Man was in full fruition: on the NES," harnessing not just 8-bit sprites for characters but for entire levels. Mike Hill's hope is that someday the mod will contain "all the levels and weapons from Mega Man 1–6 (and maybe even 9)," though, as of right now, he's still got a long way to go. "Right now the gameplay is a bit slow paced and unbalanced, and the maps are extremely difficult to navigate ... expect a more stable release some time next year." He promises more levels and more weapons in 2010, but we're hoping the power of Joystiq BioMass™ can spur Mike on to get us more Mega Man deathmatch asap. Go forth and comment, BioMass!

Update: We've added a video of the mod in action just after the break.

For the longest time, we didn't understand game soundtracks. "Hey, just turn the game on and walk away," we said. But after our 17th red ring and 10th Cell chip to commit melty, plasticy suicide, we quickly began to see the value.

Capcom's feeding our new habit with three new additions to the Music section of the Capcom Store: Ten Years Of Resident Evil: The Official Soundtrack, Resident Evil 5: Original Soundtrack and Street Fighter IV: Original Soundtrack. If you too are hesitant about leaping into game soundtracks, Capcom's sweetening the offer with 25 percent off the Mega Man 9 score for anyone who purchases one of the new offerings.

Adding himself to the short list of things we associate with Sweden other than Volvo, Ikea, and delicious meatballs, Stockholm's Pato Pooh recently released a music video for his song "Follow Me." It features a regular who's who of 8- and 16-bit era gaming in the process, referencing everything from Mega Man's opening to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He even kills off that snickering jerk dog from Duck Hunt we all love to hate. Who's laughing now, dog? Who's laughing now?!

[Thanks, SuerDOS!]

Inafune also said he was "curious about how they made their games in hopes of being up to add some of the flavor into Capcom games." Oh em gee Mega Man FPS confirmed! Master Chief, Arbiter and Cortana in Bungie vs. Capcom! All jokes (or are they?) aside, it's pretty smart for a Japanese dev that's seeking partnerships with Western developers to scope out one of the more popular teams.

Plus: Mas-ter Chief. Me-ga Man. Think about it.

Shoryuken forum user mumu recently went snooping around the Japanese site for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and uncovered some interesting items. Within the source code of the character section of the site, mumu found lines of code hinting towards the remaining secret characters:

• 'images/oncharactor_btn_zero.jpg'
• 'images/oncharactor_btn_frank.jpg'
• 'images/oncharactor_btn_yatter02.jpg'
• 'images/oncharactor_btn_joe.jpg'
• 'images/oncharactor_btn_tekkabla.jpg'

So, aside from yesterday's Tekkaman Blade, mumu postulates that Dead Rising's Frank West and Zero from the Mega Man series are also going to be in the game and, on the Tatsunoko side, we'll get Yatterman #2 from Yatterman and Joe Asakura from Gatchaman. If you'll excuse us, we'll be crying in the corner, objecting once again to the lack of Phoenix Wright.

[Via Siliconera]

We love our parents, don't get us wrong, but we seriously missed out on a large part of awesome during our childhood thanks to these wonderful statues. Featuring your standard blue Mega Man, little sister Roll, and Chozo-suited Samus (among others), the set of resin statues was created by our new BFF, Dimension Diver (not to be confused with Holy Diver, though just as awesome). Head past the break to check out Samus and Roll, but be sure to hit up Tokyo Hunter if you're looking for more gaming characters. There are lots, believe us.

[Via Tiny Cartridge]

Every gamer worth his or her salt knows that Mega Man's real name isn't Mega Man. The true fans of the Blue Bomber know that he is known as Rock Man in his homeland of Japan. So, who renamed the little guy? Turns out it was former Capcom senior vice president Joseph Morici. The Mega Man Network uncovered the info in a 1993 interview with Morici with (the beloved) Game Players magazine.

So why did he change the name? He just didn't like it. "The title was horrible," said Morici. And thus, an American gaming icon was born. But, as Capcom Unity points out, the "Rockman" name brings the musical names of many of the other characters into context (Roll, Beat, Bass, etc.). Still, having grown up with Mega Man, "Rockman" just doesn't sound right.

Hold on, we know we've got a paragraph lying around here that will work with a minimum of editing. ... Ah, here we are, from March of 2008. We'll just put the new stuff in brackets, as we're a little busy for a whole new post.

Capcom has announced that [Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star] will be out for the DS in [fall, in Japan]. This action-RPG follow-up to [2005's Mega Man Battle Network 6 (Cybeast Gregar/Cybeast Falzar)] follows in [series traditions, remaking the first game in the series].

... There, that about covers it, right? We're sure this news is exciting to those of you who've found the hours in the day/willpower to tell Mega Man games apart anymore. Seriously, you're an inspiration to us all.

If Mega Man 9 isn't retro enough for you, you might enjoy the enormous, jagged pixels found in the Atari 2600 demo version of Mega Man created for 2007's I Am 8-Bit show. David Galloway has finally released the demo on Atari Age's forum, which means that you can download the game and play it on an Atari 2600 emulator right now.

The brief demo is an impressively faithful translation of the NES game's mechanics, with Mega Man running, jumping and shooting just as you'd expect (though shooting is mapped to down on the joystick, because the 2600 only has one button). The demake ends at the Elec Man fight, which is even harder in this version than it is in the original. A playthrough of the entire demo follows after the break.

[Via GameSetWatch]

Isn't this kid absolutely adorable? Yeah, he is. But thanks to the power of the interwebs, you can see him in motion learning how to become everyone's favorite blue bomber, Mega Man! (Check it out after the break!) This is guaranteed to warm your heart ...

...

Unless it's 15 years in the future, and you're the kid that stars in this video. Then, you're horribly embarrassed and you hate your parents.
[Via Capcom-Unity]

According to Siliconera, Capcom has just released Rockman Complete Works, a PS1 enhanced version of Mega Man 1 on the PlayStation Network. The problem? It's impossible for you to get. To celebrate the very-late PS3 release of Mega Man 9 in Japan, Capcom is holding a contest for those that purchase the game. Winners will be able to get either a free t-shirt, or a downloadable version of Rockman Complete Works.

We're certain Capcom won't restrict the release of Rockman to just this Japan-only contest. We wouldn't be surprised to see each and every Mega Man game released on PS1 to get its inevitable PSN re-release. Let's not forget, Capcom promised a lot of downloads this year ...

According to Capcom's investor relations website, the Resident Evil franchise has clocked nearly 40 million units sold since the series inception in 1996. The next closest to that is the (much older) Mega Man franchise, which has managed to move 28 million. Behind Mega Man is the Street Fighter franchise with 27 million to its name.

Even though Street Fighter can only lay claim to the third best franchise for Capcom, Ryu and friends can still boast about one thing: Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo, which released waaaaay back in 1992, remains the company's all-time best seller, pushing 6.3 million copies. That said, Street Fighter II had better watch its back, as Resident Evil 5 has already sold 4.4 million copies since it released in March, nearly surpassing the 4.9 million copies of Capcom's second best seller, Resident Evil 2.

[Via Gamasutra]

Source - Capcom | Total Sales Units
Source - Capcom | Platinum Titles

Your wardrobe could use a bit more gamer chic. One of Japan's more popular clothing brands is introducing a new line of t-shirts in collaboration with a number of gaming companies. The store is offering tees based on Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega-Man, PaRappa the Rapper, LittleBigPlanet, Resident Evil and more. The shirts retail for 1500 yen (about $15) each.

The designs are simple, often featuring very subtle references to these gaming franchises . This way, you can make a nerdy statement without actually having to look like one.

[Via Offworld]