Mega Man's not dead yet, obviously, but one wonders how long it can go on without getting much support from it's primary sponsor (and I don't mean Dr. Light).

Udon's been making a terrific job by not only translating long-awaited books, but also by producing original material. Archie's comic is young, but shows a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to each issue. Inti Creates' albums are original and go far beyond being mere OSTs. However, how long will these companies have a large enough audience to cater to?

Back in 1998, Activision earned the rights to produce Star Trek games from Paramount. They released several great titles on the next few years. The two Elite Force games especially stand out among a sea of poor licensed products. However, in 2003, Activision sued Paramount and it's parent company Viacom for allowing the franchise to decay. They claimed that there was no set direction for the future of the series, and as such, their well of opportunities was drying up. Who says that we won't be facing a similar situation eventually? No one needs to sue: contracts just won't get renewed due to a general lack of interest.

Yes you can, actually, as a corporation with a long-term contract. I'll use Archie for the sake of the example.

Imagine that Archie signed a 5 years deal with Capcom to publish comics based on Mega Man. Imagine that, unknown to us, a Legends comic was planned in parallel to the current one. Launched at the same time as Legends 3, this tie-in would have benefitted from the sales of the game, while the game itself would gain extra exposure from the availability of related media. With the cancellation of the game, and nothing even been planned for the franchise as a whole, Archie could sue for breach of contract along with uncooperative behavior leading to a loss of revenue.

I don't think I'll happen, mind you. I'm just saying that it's possible.

As it happens often in such cases, both companies settled out of court in 2005. The details, such as any monetary compensations, were not released publicly. Activision hasn't released a single Star Trek game since then, which is a shame if you ask me.