As an homage to the roots of the Mega Man franchise, Capcom consulted iam8bit to create a completely 80s aesthetic for its Mega Man 9 marketing assault. Drawing inspiration from the original American release of Mega Man on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), artist Gerald de Jesus painted a “so bad it’s good” interpretation of the robot warrior’s world. The result was immeasurable internet buzz, leading to the creation of several ancillary items: an 18×24 inch poster of that same image was given away to attendees of the fourth annual iam8bitexhibition in August 2008, only to be flipped on eBay for over $100 each; and hand-made press kits, comprised of gutted and relabeled vintage NES cartridges, retail box, shrink-wrap and even a “sale” tag of $9.99, just like you might have found in your local videogame shop’s bargain bin in 1987. A single photo of the press kit (below) garnered press of its own, receiving more page views than any other story that day on Kotaku.com (40,000+ and hundreds of comments). At the peak of its fervor, the press kit sold for over $1,200 on eBay.