I've played exactly one Megaman game in my life for like 20 minutes so I'm as neutral on this as they come.
I don't think this statement proves anything:
1. Nintendo made it clear that 3rd parties need to come to THEM, not the other way around. Inafune saying "They haven't called me" makes no sense and is likely a red herring.
2. Sega gave similar market speak about Sonic, saying that "M&S Olympics is a BETTER crossover", implying that the SSBB crossover wouldn't happen.
3. Inafune cannot announce Megaman in Brawl (if he's in). It HAS to be Nintendo, so anything he says on the matter HAS to be misleading and suggest that Megaman is NOT in Brawl, just like Sega did.
Think about it this way: if Megaman is NOT in Brawl, why wouldn't Inafune just say, "I'm sorry, Megaman isn't in Brawl."? I'm quite certain that he understands a fighting game which is two months from release doesn't have time for an additional character so the whole "maybe they'll call me" bit is completely unrealistic.
Bottom line, people in the industry have a way of dodging the question in which they say a lot without actually saying anything at all. Inafune here hasn't said anything at all so I wouldn't put Megaman's inclusion in Brawl out of the question.
"I mean, c'mon, Viva Pinata, a game with massive marketing, didn't sell worth a damn to the "sophisticated" 360 audience, despite near-universal praise--is that a sign that 360 owners are a bunch of casual ignoramuses that can't get their heads around a 'gardening' sim? Of course not. So let's please stop trying to micro-analyze one game out of hundreds and using it as the poster child for why good, non-1st party, games can't sell on Wii. (Everyone frequenting this site knows this is nonsense, and yet some of you just can't let it go because it's the only scab you have left to pick at after all your other "Wii will phail1!!1" straw men arguments have been put to the torch.)" - exindguy on Boom Blocks