Level 5 and Comcept merging?

[Segata]

[ZeroAX]

Isn't this a pretty weird combination for a merger?

Especially when it comes to the quality of the games they make, this is kind of like Samsung deciding to merge with (present day) Nokia so as to beat Apple.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I think it can only be good. After how much Keiji Inafune clealy bit off way more than he could chew with Mighty No 9, being back in the business side of things rather than the development side will likely be a very welcome change for him. I don't really see it changing much on a games-level, but maybe the next Youkai Watch spin off will have MN9 easter eggs in it or something now X3

[Xeogred]

Doesn't really seem good or bad to me, just "huh".

[marurun]

This isn't a merger. Level-5 still exists. Comcept has just been picked up by Level-5 as a subsidiary, as Level-5 Comcept. So Level-5 is the parent company, and Level-5 Comcept is a subsidiary studio. Maybe it means Comcept won't have to keep contracting work out to Inti Creates and can do more in-house.

[Gunstar Green]

So this happened after nearly a year of radio silence.

Hello Mighties!!
*日本語は下の方にあります。
It’s been a long time since our last update. This is due to some internal adjustment we had in comcept for the past few months, but now everything is back on track! We are very sorry for the long radio silence. Here is what is going with Mighty No. 9:
1. Hand Held versions They are not being cancelled, we are still in the process of porting. The porting had to be put on hold for a while due to the other versions being delayed and the recent adjustment we had in comcept. However, everything is back on track now. The developer restarted the porting process in early May, and we estimate to release them within 2017 (it could be earlier, but it’s hard to estimate a more precise date at this point). We will update on this when we have more information.
2. Rest of the physical rewards They have been manufactured (most of them), and are getting ready to be shipped out in a couple of weeks. We estimate to ship everything out (with some reaching the backers) by mid-August 2017. Again, we are very sorry for the delay. Fangamer will be sending out emails to everyone (who is waiting for rewards) to confirm the physical address before the shipping. We will update when the email is out, and if you by some reason DID NOT get the email, please contact Fangamer at [email protected] so they can verify the information.
3. The “New Company” This is probably the biggest piece of news. As many of you may have heard, Akihiro Hino (LEVEL-5 CEO), and Keiji Inafune (comcept CEO) will be co-founding a new company “LEVEL5 comcept”. What does this mean, you ask? It means that Akihiro Hino, and Keiji Inafune will be teaming up to make new games!!! This does not affect Mighty No. 9 in any way, but who knows, maybe in the future Beck, and your favorite LEVEL-5 characters may be tagging along in new adventures? The possibilities are limitless here.
That is all for this update. Hope we answered some of your questions/concerns with this update. We will try, and bring you the next update much sooner next time!
Mighty No. 9 team

I'm guessing Level-5 is paying to have the rewards produced and to finish the development on the handheld versions. It may have even been part of the acquisition deal.

Pretty shocking news considering most of us backers had already written this stuff off as vapor.

[Segata]

I stopped caring about those rewards ages ago. If it arrives dunno what I will do with it. Fuck the game fuck inafune. I never want to buy anything he has touched ever again. He is a con artist and conned 70K people including me.

[marurun]

I stopped caring about those rewards ages ago. If it arrives dunno what I will do with it. Fuck the game fuck inafune. I never want to buy anything he has touched ever again. He is a con artist and conned 70K people including me.

Except if those backing rewards ship and the mobile ports appear, he will have essentially fulfilled the Kickstarter, making him no longer a con artist and nobody will have been conned.

[MrPopo]

I think the implication is that the game did not turn out like Segata had envisioned in his mind and thus he feels conned.

[Gunstar Green]

I stopped caring about those rewards ages ago. If it arrives dunno what I will do with it. Fuck the game fuck inafune. I never want to buy anything he has touched ever again. He is a con artist and conned 70K people including me.

I will certainly continue to be leery of Inafune's future projects but if I get what I paid him for then I'll finally have closure on this issue and will consider the campaign's promises kept.

The game not turning out great was always a risk as it is for any crowd funding campaign. My biggest grievance with Inafune was not getting the physical copy for PC that I paid extra for.

Even though I don't particularly want the rewards anymore, it's the principle of the thing. At this point they don't have to deliver, they're under no legal obligation to do so because Kickstarter is not a pre-order service. They're doing it anyway even after everyone has written them off. There's no sense at getting angry at a company for trying to do the right thing even when they don't really have to.

I've spent almost a year being angry at them for not doing the right thing, after all.