A Fandom Survey

[chomp0]

Hi everyone. This is my first post here, although I've been lurking around here for a few years now.

I'm taking a fandom studies class at the University of North Florida, and I decided that the fandom I would study is the Mega Man fandom. I've absolutely loved the franchise since I was a little kid, so Mega Man isn't anything new to me. What IS new to me is writing an ethnography of the fanbase.

I have a survey and I really need some participants. I'm not asking for any personal information and you can be as general or specific as you want, but if some of you could fill out this survey or pass it around, I'd be really appreciative!

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
7. Have you met other fans in real life?
8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?

Any replies that I could get would really help a lot! Thank you!

Edit: I'm done collecting survey results. Thanks to everyone who replied! I'll leave the survey up since it seems like people still want to fill it out. Again, thanks a ton!

[Dashe]

Apologies for the bluntness. I'm currently going through my Jaded Phase, which is something a lot of Legends fans go through every now and then.

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
Mega Man Legends. I also found the rest of the series to be disappointingly dull in comparison, though from what I've found I'm pretty sure this is a minority opinion.
2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
I only make art and videos for Legends, and I only do it because I run this forum. If I didn't run this community, I would be making original material instead.
3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
Only Legends, for the same reasons as why I make fan stuff.
4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
Too much for me to ever just drop it. That's not happening till Legends 3 is in my hands.
5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
I'm not a Mega Man fan. I'm a Mega Man Legends fan, and I've been a Mega Man Legends fan since 1998.
6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
A sadistic combination of tenacity, responsibility towards the fandom, and a strong sense of justice. I genuinely believe what Capcom did to this fandom is wrong and I have a very hard time letting go of grudges that way. I also happen to like some of the people I've encountered.
7. Have you met other fans in real life?
Yes
8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
If it comes down to it, I'd rob a bank to make sure Legends 3 gets produced, just so I can say we finally got Mega Man off the moon, move on with my life, and never touch another video game again. I honestly, honestly, honestly don't care much about what happens to the other Mega Men, though I can certainly empathize with the subsections that haven't been touched in years.
9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
24, USA (no specific area affiliation), trans-curious.
10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
I believe I've addressed this in items 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8. For the record, it's Legends.

[Mikéy]

1. Legends. At the time, I was young, and already knew 8-bit Megaman existed, but playing Legends first-hand gave me a whole new respect for the series as a whole.

2. Not really. I did participate in Legends Station's Secret Santa event and made one true piece of artwork, if that counts.

3. Kinda. I did grab a copy of Megaman 64 (Legends 1 in Nintendo 64 form) purely for novelty, but that's it.

4. Lots of time, but not a whole lot of money.

5. 11 to 12 years.

6. The charm. The people. The fun. The need for an ending. Legends deserves as much love as it can get at this point. Megaman in general too, I suppose.

7. Nope. I wish. I know they're around, though.

8. Being optimistic has only come back to bite me so far, so I can't give a realistic answer or I'll jynx it all.

9. 18, US - Kentucky, male.

10. Legends. Legends. Legends. Legends. ...Yeah.

[Bean]

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
It was Mega Man X that got me into the series, even though I had played a few of the NES titles before it. Facing off against evil and saving the world as a super-powered robot that gets more powerful as he goes along? Yeah, that's pretty cool to a kid that's eleven.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
I've done game playthroughs of titles in the Classic, X, and Zero series. I wanted to keep my writing up, so I combined it with a series I enjoy. Wound up being mostly Mega Man just because.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
I'm just subscribed to the comic series by Archie right now.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
$20 for the comic subscription, but typing up words for the playthroughs can take upwards of two to three hours apiece on a 15 minute video. Yikes.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
Since I first played Mega Man X in 1994.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
The many branches and entries the series has had until recently.

7. Have you met other fans in real life?
Nope.

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
The Classic series will get another entry eventually after 9's success and 10's follow up. It's just that all of the others are in hibernation at the moment and Legends 3 getting canned annoyed me. As for the fans, they're actually doing decently considering the circumstances in the last year or so.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
29 / Nope, USA / Male

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Was X back in the day, now it's Classic.

[Kyle]

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
That'd be Mega Man Legends. While the other series are awesome in their own way, they never really appealed to me that much.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
Does an Ask-Blog on Tumblr count? If not, no.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
Not really into the whole collecting thing, boss.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
Lots and lots of time, but I've only spent a very small amount of money.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
Twelve or thirteen years. Granted, that fanmanship is only towards Legends.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
A contract I signed At this stage, it's mostly the community.

7. Have you met other fans in real life?
No, but if I did, I'd imagine that the scenario would be similar to Cheers.

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
I try not to think about it, so I can't really give an honest answer. Sorry.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
17 / Co. Westmeath, Ireland / Male

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Mega Man Soccer. No wait, it's Legends.

[HF]

Well, let's see...


1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
Got my hands on a Chinese copy of Iwamoto's X manga as a child, which eventually grew on me as I managed to find the games and have a go at them. Then the rest was history.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
Mostly illustrations, but what I believe to be most noteworthy is a comic adaptation.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
Mostly artbooks and comics, which is the same case for any 'good sources'. Rare cases like the E-Can mug is mostly out of amusement.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
A few hours a week, though this is mostly for RMDL.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
Started around when X3 came out, in which my interest in the series became on/off; my interest returned when X4 came out for PS1, when I got my hands on a copy of DASH 1 & 2 (and once again when they got ported to the PSP), and when I started RMDL.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
Incredible soundtracks and gameplay (for X/Zero Series).

7. Have you met other fans in real life?
None that I recall of as of recent.

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
No comment.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
25, East Asia, Male

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
I like them all; each for their own set of reasons.

[Blackbeard]

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
To the series itself? That Ruby Spears' Mega Man cartoon. It was a action cartoon with a pretty badass soundtrack although the script makes me cringe these days I loved it when I was a child.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
Yes, some fanart here and there. I had my stages with Classic, X and Battle Network, but Legends was the only one that continued consistently.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
Not really, I only buy the games. When I was young I had a couple of toys related to the cartoon and some comics - all were lost either while moving houses or given to charity by my mother.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
No money these days as no new games are coming out. Time... well, it's inconsistent, on a monthly basis it could range anywhere from a couple hours doing a fanart to 10-15 hours if I decided to replay one of the games.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
If counting my experiences playing with the "unknown blue robot" 20 years. Counting from the Cartoon onwards when I actually got to know what was Mega Man, 17~18 years.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
The gameplay, the music and the fun factor. The gameplay is, with very few exceptions, always solid and fun and the soundtrack is always good. The games are also a great example of good game design.

7. Have you met other fans in real life?
No. I have a few friends who liked some of the games but there's a big gap between just liking something being a fan of it.

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
The future of Mega Man? Considering that Inafune left Capcom and the current posture of Capcom towards the series I'm betting it'll become the same as Darkstalkers: a franchises with a really passionate following that the company throws a bones to every now and then in the form cameos.

It could also be that the franchise reached the point of saturation in the past years and they're now letting it lay low to come back in half a decade or so, but I'm really not holding my hopes up.

The fandom will probably survive strong - albeit chances are that it'll decrease in size as time goes by.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
22, Brazil, Male.

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Legends. My playtime on the Legends series is only lower than the time I've invested in the Suikoden series and Final Fantasy - which are RPGs with games that take WAY more time to finish.

[Chiz]

• What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
  It was...2000 probably. The (long-since closed) video store across the street rented N64 and PS1 games, and amongst their lineup was MM64 and MML2; played them, loved them, then promptly forgot about them for 5 years 'til I ended up here.
  
• Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries?
  Ah, I've tried to do fangames. Many times. Lot of failures. Every attempt was Legends to my knowledge, however. As for art and videos, I'm what you might call "challenged" in producting the traditional arts.
  
• Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia?
  If I had money to burn, I might be. But I don't, and am typically quite poor, so no wonderful array of toys and miscellany for me.
  
• How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
  A lot of time. I must sink 2-3 hours a day on average between my Legends-centric projects (primarily DASH2PC) and MMLS. As for money, see above.
  
• How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
  12 years, 7 actively practicing.
  
• What keeps you coming back to the series?
  The money, the power, and the women. Although I've yet to get any money, the power is dubious at best, and the women are borderline non-existant. Sooo I guess I'm a sucker for nostalgia. Also contractual obligations, as per GPow's response.
  
• Have you met other fans in real life?
  I probably have, but not knowingly. That is, I haven't met them as fans, and haven't acknowledged them as fans.
  
• What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
  It depends on if you mean short-term future or long-term future. If the former, we can expect to see it very soon; otherwise, we'll have to wait a bit.
  
• Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
  20-something-and-one*, Canada, Male
  
• What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
  I like the free lunches I get in the staff lounge. Considering it's free food, I really couldn't complain that much either way, but they're nourishing and tasty, so I'd say that's my favourite.
  
  EDIT: Oh, you said subseries, not subsidies. Legends.
  

* - I was 20-something last year, but I know I'm older now, so I'm 20-something-and-one.

[Chaotic Chao]

I'm not a big fan of Mega Man in general (other than Legends, is what I mean), but I figured that's what'd make my survey unique.
1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
Megaman Legends, it's sound effects, voice acting, music, gameplay, characters...you name it.
2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
Not for Megaman.
3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
Nope...
4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
Time? Quite a lot, trying to figure out how to emulate The Misadventures of Tron Bonne some of the games in the series. But not much else.
5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
I can't remember. Probably for just a year, when I started liking Legends. That is, it may have been a year ago...
6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
Legends. It's a very interesting series to play and learn about, and the characters are oh-so charming. The main reason is probably just because it's a fan favorite of mine.
7. Have you met other fans in real life?
Of Megaman? Oh yes. Of Legends in specific? Sadly, no.
8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
This again? Well, Capcom hasn't done Megaman too much justice lately, but even they have to admit that it's their mascot franchise. Putting Megaman "Later" on the to-do list is like Nintendo ignoring Mario. Their most famous video game character. THE most famous video game character. Ever.
9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
Age: 14 Location: U.S, no more specific
10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Um...I think...let me see...X? No...Ah, I know! Classic!
...I mean Legends.

[Deleted]

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?

I used to play the classic Mega Man video games (Mega Man 1-5). The Ruby-Spears cartoon also helped me get into the series. I found the games to be hard, yet fun.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?

I had produced a bit of fan art for Classic, Legends and Battle Network. I am more inclined to produce fan-fics, however.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?

I collected the source books for Classic, X, Zero, Battle Network and Star Force. I also collected the manga for NT Warrior and Mega Mix/ Giga Mix. I also collected the DVDs for NT Warrior, Ruby-Spears, Star Force and the OVA

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?

About R3500, give or take

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?

About 21 years.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?

Part nostalgia, part because I love the characters.

7. Have you met other fans in real life?

No, I haven't met anyone in real-life that liked the Mega Man series

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?

I am certain that the fandom will strive for years. There seems to be new fans arriving quite often. As for the series itself, I'm not certain. But, I'll hope that it will still live.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.

26. South Africa. Female.

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?

Legends is my favourite sub-series. Star Force and ZX are a close second and third.

[TronBonne]

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
Mega Man X introduced me to the series. To keep a long story short, my brother received Mega Man X as a “gift” for saving my life while we were on vacation. So because we had this game, and I knew the circumstances of why we got it, I became fond of X, even though the game was too difficult for me to beat back then. It wasn’t until I played Mega Man Legends years later that I really became fascinated with everything and anything Mega Man.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
Nope. I’ve doodled a few things here and there for Legends but nothing serious, since I don’t know how to draw.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
I try to collect what I can, from every series, but it has to be accessible to me in terms of price, shipping, etc. So besides the games, I’ve been picking up all of UDON’s Mega Man related releases, and the Archie comics, since I can buy those online for decent prices or walk right into a local bookstore. I don’t really have anything from Japan, except for a few Legends related items.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
Currently only a few dollars a month for the Mega Man comic. But for time my Christmas Eve is always dedicated to one of the Legends games until I fall asleep.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
17-ish years?

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
I love how every “Mega Man” seems to have a strong sense of justice, or adventure, or just some trait I can identity with. Mega appeals to my own personal values and ethics, so I keep coming back because I know I’ll always be playing as a character I will eventually respect and admire.

7. Have you met other fans in real life?
Yep. When I went to a convention there was a Mega Man panel, everyone was so enthusiastic about their favourite series!

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
I’m not sure at the moment. But I know the fandom won’t ever die down.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
22/Canada/female

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Mega Man Legends. <3

[Adrian2040]

1) The fact that it featured platforming gameplay with shooting abilities.
2) I'm currently producing a fan video game and a board game, both for the Legends sub series.
3) Yes and for all sub series.
4) So mucho money and time that I lost track already.
5) Since I was 2 years old.
6) It's pixel-perfect and reflex-demanding platforming action. Also, to a less extent, moral analysis.
7) Yes.
8) More games will be made and the fandom won't increase nor decrease significantly.
9) 19, Lima Perú, Male.
10) MegaMan X

[Loken]

@ TronBonne, That's an awesome story about you and your brother!

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
Megaman Legends at an early age.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
I made a fanfic and I make what-you-could-technically-call-art for Legends all the time.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
No, Legends stuff is hard to come by and doesn't have Teisel.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
Depends on how you mean cost. I spend time playing the game every month or two and I had to buy 2 very expensive copys of MML2.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
11 years now I think. Just Legends though.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
Well nostalgia, unique gameplay, adventure, great characters, cool enemys, awesome story universe, beautiful music, and these folks right here at the station. Also a certain cast of characters on the moon.

7. Have you met other fans in real life? No. I have met people who have played the game but not any you would call 'fans'. I wish to though!

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
Well capcom is putting it on the back burner nowadays but they will bring it back. The fans won't go anywhere, and maybe Capcom can market Megaman to the new generation when they get around to it.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
18. Corning, AR, USA. Male

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Legends!

[Satwing]

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
I played Okami, which somehow led to me checking out other series and eventually leading me to the various Mega Man series.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
Yes, I draw fan arts for almost all of them (but especially Classic). I on rare occasion write fan fiction too. Why? It's fun.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
Besides the videogames, I like to collect some comics from any of the sub-series. As much as I like videogames, I often prefer to read instead. I also collect posable figures, because it's nice to look at the details put into heavily articulated figures and I find that effort gone into them to be fascinating.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
A few hours of my time every week.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
Since mid-2009.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
Mostly replay value.

7. Have you met other fans in real life?
Other than my own siblings, no.

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
I don't think of the future. If a new game, or anything else, comes up, then awesome. If not, I have a large selection of old games, comics, etc, to choose from. As for the fandom, I don't really think of it much to have an opinion.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
New Zealand, female.

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Mega Man ZX.

[Tau]

1. What attracted you to the Mega Man series in the first place?
My first exposure to the character was actually from a novelization of Mega Man 2. I thought the concept of a robot fighting other robots and taking on their powers was pretty neat, but I didn't have an NES. It wasn't until a friend got X4 on the PS1 that I really got hooked. When I got a PS1 of my own, I found Legends 1 in a rental store. It was completely different from X, but I loved the characters, world, and RPG elements. I eventually bought it, and the rest is history.

2. Do you produce fan art/videos/games? If so, why and for which subseries (Classic, X, Legends, Zero, BN, SF, ZX)?
I produce a Legends-based video series. I enjoy writing and making it, and people seem to like it, so I've kept going with it.

3. Are you an avid collector of Mega Man media/memorabilia? If so, why and for which subseries?
Nope. I only have the games, and even those I buy in collections whenever possible.

4. How much of your time and/or money does being a fan cost you?
Not much money (though I did shell out a decent sum for MML2 and MOTB) but I've put many many hours into my videos these past two and a half years.

5. How long have you been a Mega Man fan?
I can't put a date on Mega Man as a whole, but I've been a Legends fan for 10 years now.

6. What keeps you coming back to the series?
I haven't played a Mega Man game newer than X5, so I can't say I've kept up with the series as a whole, but I enjoy the challenge of the classic and earlier X games and replay them from time to time. As for Legends, they're just great chill-out games. Fun, not too difficult, fairly short, and I love the world they're set in. Pretty good fan community too.

7. Have you met other fans in real life?
A few (my closest real life friend is one) but none from here that I'm aware of.

8. What do you think of the future of Mega Man and its fandom?
While things look bleak at the moment, I suspect Capcom will eventually get their head screwed back on straight and the series will spring back. It's only a matter of time. As for the fandom, I'm incredibly impressed with the dedication that has been shown this past year. I don't think either Mega Man or his fans will be going anywhere soon.

9. Demographic information: age, location (city, state/country), gender.
21, California USA, Male

10. What is your favorite Mega Man subseries?
Legends