Keiji Inafune is one of the top creative minds at Capcom and has shepherded many of the company's greatest franchises over the years. "Mega Man" is obviously one of the biggies, and with the success of the downloadable release of "Mega Man 9" and the upcoming release of "Mega Man 10" next month, Capcom opened the fan floodgates for an online Q&A with Inafune-san.
In one of the questions, a fan asked Inafune what he thought about reviving the 16-bit style of "Mega Man" games. His response was pretty positive on the prospect:
One of the biggest reasons for going with the 8bit style [for 'Mega Man 10'] was the success with 'Mega Man 9.' 'MM 9' succeeded beyond our wildest expectation. We had initially thought of bringing back to the series the feel of the NES to create a sense of nostalgia with 'MM9.' Receiving the great reaction from the fans over it, we decided to establish the style as the game genre for Mega Man. In line with this concept, reviving the 16 bit game style in the series seems like a great idea. We certainly would like to consider trying it out in future when there’s a chance.
The closest thing to a recent 16-bit revival was the release of "Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter" on the PSP, which featured the same gameplay as the classic SNES game, but with improved graphics. It'll be interesting to see if Capcom's willing to invest in a brand new SNES-style release, but there's little doubt that the fanbase exists.