The thing is, they had the prototype complete, they showed it to the higher ups in the company and indeed, that's where the higher ups said that if the prototype didn't sell well they would cancel the game.
It is a shame then that we weren't even given the chance to prove that the game could sell well before they canned it... But with Keiji Inafune no longer working for the company... I figured this would happen sooner or later. While the FAQ says they didn't cancel it because of his departure (they didn't) the simple fact is that he was a powerful advocate in the company for the game. Without him they never would have even gotten that far into development and when he left, they lost the biggest key player in seeing it's release.
When the person who created some of your top selling series says "Hey dumbasses, this will sell... Let's finish making it!" you listen... (he's the guy who created Mega man after all, as well as Dead Rising and several other key series).
It is a shame then that we weren't even given the chance to prove that the game could sell well before they canned it... But with Keiji Inafune no longer working for the company... I figured this would happen sooner or later. While the FAQ says they didn't cancel it because of his departure (they didn't) the simple fact is that he was a powerful advocate in the company for the game. Without him they never would have even gotten that far into development and when he left, they lost the biggest key player in seeing it's release.
When the person who created some of your top selling series says "Hey dumbasses, this will sell... Let's finish making it!" you listen... (he's the guy who created Mega man after all, as well as Dead Rising and several other key series).