Update [Wed 18th May, 2022 03:45 BST]: Looks like the same countdown page on PolkaFantasy has now been taken offline. As stated in the original story, some believe that the whole project may be a scam (via @Protodude) – we will update this article as soon as it is confirmed in one way or another:
Original story [Wed 18th May, 2022 02:15 BST]: Mega man artist and Mighty No. 9 Creator Keiji Inafune is reportedly working on a new NFT project known simply as ‘Beastroid’. According to a countdown website discovered on the Japanese NFT marketplace PolkaFantasy (via VGC), the legendary artist has designed his very first futuristic NFT collection.
“Beastroid Vol 001 is Inafune-san’s first futuristic NFT collection integrated with incredible tools. As it steps into Metaverse, PolkaFantasy is proud to present the official debut of the robo-revolution collection on its brand new Marketplace 2.0.”
There are even some lore attached – to notice how there is one huge 2,620 Beastroider (translation NFTs) to be launched before July.
“The world’s first future-driven NFT revolution with 2,620 Beastroids landing on Earth to save all humans. In 20xx, humans are in danger of extinction. In their hopes of survival, Paradise is the destination. An organization led by a wealthy man Ethan deployed “Guardian V” for protecting the ground and for killing any human trying to break. For that counterattack, Beastroider is the only hope for humanity’s future. “
A roadmap reveals how Beastroid owners will eventually be able to explore the “infinite potential” of these NFTs, and holders will be eligible to “enjoy the privilege” of interacting with Inafune through various social events.
Although Keiji Inafune has a history of Capcom series such as Street Fighter and Mega Man, in recent years it was his troubled Kickstarter project Mighty No. 9, which made headlines. When this project was finally released, it overwhelmed the audience. There were also performance issues and it was eventually revealed that there was “zero progress” on the handheld ports.
Here are just a few of the Beastoids that Inafune has apparently been working on – with all of them apparently inspired by the Mega Man series:
It is worth mentioning the current debate about the legitimacy of the project and whether Inafune is actually involved, as his copyright and signatures are allegedly not displayed on the website. VGC editor Andy Robinson, who covered the original story, has responded to this via social media:
“As far as I understand, this project is not meant to be advertised – someone found it early on via Google – so it’s not surprising that Inafune is not talking about it. It’s also incredibly common for marketers to download bios from elsewhere. . “
“This seems to be a credible marketplace, and that site has Inafune’s name and a kind of original art over it. Could they have decided to build all that for a scam? Yes, but why? Anyway, I do not think the absence of his copyright and signature invalidate it at all “
Since NFTs started, various celebrities and even video game companies like Konami have been involved. How would you feel if Keiji Inafune jumped on the NFT bandwagon? Leave a comment below.