Topic: Konami Facebook team responding to Operation: Akumajo

[Joachimdragoon]

I think castlevania is still relevant and I really enjoy the story in Castlevania although it takes some work to get a timeline down as for Lament of Innocence I actually enjoyed it quite a bit especially the fact that you could play as one of the bosses which I thought was one of the coolest vamps in the game. I found Walter just a little boring my taste but the bossfight with him was pretty interesting. Compared to Castlevania legacy of Darkness I think Lament of Innocence is alot shorter but it doesn't bore you like Legacy of Darkness (although I do give props for trying to expand on something that was pretty cool in Castlevania symphony of the Night familiars, different weapons etc.) I for one love this origin story and yeah many people don't play it for the story but hey at least Konami tries sometimes.

[Ookalf]

I have to say, cecil-kain, I'm not sure I understand your current sig. You want Konami to "think outside the box" by... just retreading the same old gameplay and stories? Isn't that kinda the definition of thinking inside the box?

[Sumac]

yet people still want to hold on to blah blah 2-d stay 2-d boat what is so bad about moving foward an to try to better it's self? Hell in the end I really do not care, all what I just want is a awesome well polished Cv game just give time,effort the series deserves and it should sell well right?

I am with you on this. Some people just couldn't accept that they favorite series could be done differently.

Konami is content being just  another trend-chasing drone like Capcom and Square Enix --hardly any innovation or ambition between the 3 of them whatsoever.

And how its different from what game companies did in the past?
Stop living in nostalgia. It was always the case with the video games, music, cinema - as soon as one theme become widely popular, it usually become copied (and sometimes elaborated) by everyone else in idustry.

OA believes in seeing 2-D Castlevania retake its rightful place as a state of the art franchise.  Here is an excerpt from the Mission Statement to help clarify some of the specifics....
Naturally, we expect this game to honor the Castlevania legacy by embracing the highest standards of 2-D gameplay, graphics, and design.

And that's what I called "attempt of antique fanboys to turn time backwards".

Compared to Castlevania legacy of Darkness I think Lament of Innocence is alot shorter but it doesn't bore you like Legacy of Darkness (although I do give props for trying to expand on something that was pretty cool in Castlevania symphony of the Night familiars, different weapons etc.)

I believe. You meant Curse of Darkness.

I have to say, cecil-kain, I'm not sure I understand your current sig. You want Konami to "think outside the box" by... just retreading the same old gameplay and stories? Isn't that kinda the definition of thinking inside the box?

That's the basic definition of the old "hardcore" fans of any franchise.
Just don't tell it to them or they tell you that they most advanced and out of the box thinking guys ever existed. 

[cecil-kain]

I have to say, cecil-kain, I'm not sure I understand your current sig. You want Konami to "think outside the box" by... just retreading the same old gameplay and stories? Isn't that kinda the definition of thinking inside the box?

"Restore Castlevania" refers to how Konami mismanaged and allowed Akumajo Dracula to become a faint shadow of its former glory.  Since I first designed this particular banner, I found a more appropriate image for the "Restore Castlevania" part of the message.  And that will find its way onto the dungeon sometime soon...  As for "Think outside the Box" this was a deliberate comparison to Metal Gear Solid and how Konami gives Kojima Productions preferential treatment at the expense of all of their other IPs, including Castlevania.  The new message attached to "think outside the box" is simply "Celebrate Castlevania" referring to how MGS got an HD collection about the time Castlevania had a very sad and uneventful 25th birthday....

[C Belmont]

Change the question mark to an exclamation point and the crate to a Cardboard box with Kojima or MGS's logo on it and the message would probably have been a lot clearer, I actually thought it was about not following trends or something like that.

[cecil-kain]

And how its different from what game companies did in the past?  Stop living in nostalgia. It was always the case with the video games, music, cinema - as soon as one theme become widely popular, it usually become copied (and sometimes elaborated) by everyone else in industry

In the past, selling video games to a much smaller (and younger) audience was a hell of a lot more challenging --especially after the fad that was the Atari crashed and burned.  Back in the NES era, it was "quality or die".  It wasn't until we grew up and new generations came, that companies like Konami became fat and complacent.

And that's what I called "attempt of antique fanboys to turn time backwards".

We could only dream of games like this back in the early 90s...

Sonic Generations Sky Sanctuary playthrough

How would you categorize this game?  Antique?  Perhaps?
 

[e105beta]

"Restore Castlevania" refers to how Konami mismanaged and allowed Akumajo Dracula to become a faint shadow of its former glory.  Since I first designed this particular banner, I found a more appropriate image for the "Restore Castlevania" part of the message.  And that will find its way onto the dungeon sometime soon...  As for "Think outside the Box" this was a deliberate comparison to Metal Gear Solid and how Konami gives Kojima Productions preferential treatment at the expense of all of their other IPs, including Castlevania.  The new message attached to "think outside the box" is simply "Celebrate Castlevania" referring to how MGS got an HD collection about the time Castlevania had a very sad and uneventful 25th birthday....

"Preferential treatment"? Really?

These are video game franchises, we're talking about, not people.

[Ghetto-blasteR]

it'd be sick to play CV in a level with architecture similar to that video. there's a perfect example of the looks-3d-but-is-really-2d topic we were discussing a few pages back.

Sonic Generations Sky Sanctuary playthrough

[Sumac]

Back in the NES era, it was "quality or die".  It wasn't until we grew up and new generations came, that companies like Konami became fat and complacent.

You say it like there never was anything between nowadays and NES.

How would you categorize this game?  Antique?  Perhaps?

Old-fashioned.
It's nothing new. Just a 2,5 sidescroller.

"Preferential treatment"? Really?

Those arguments about "Konami make MGS games by limiting resources of other projects" sounds more like green-eyed jealousy of CV-fans.

[e105beta]

Those arguments about "Konami make MGS games by limiting resources of other projects" sounds more like green-eyed jealousy of CV-fans.

Those kinds of comments and arguments are the reasons why I don't see success in Operation: Akumajo's future.

It's full of bitching, moaning, and self-entitled demands like those from a bratty kid who didn't get exactly what they wanted for Christmas.

Let's be straight about it: Metal Gear Solid sells multi-millions and Castlevania struggles to break the 500k barrier. Thus, Konami, as a business whose ultimate goal is to make money, is going to take the obvious step and make more Metal Gear Solid instead of investing in a series that has proven to be largely unprofitable. Considering that, I'm bewildered as to why anyone thinks that Konami is going to listen to the group that is being stubbornly indignant and demanding its high budget, HD, but ultimately niche game, when those same people have only proven to move roughly 300k copies per game.

As much as it might pain some to hear, Lords of Shadow has sold more than any Castlevania save for maybe Symphony of the Night or the original three, and did so with little effort on Konami's part to actually sell the game, so ultimately, unless you can assure Konami that the theoretical 2D, HD, high budget game would be a sounder investment, no amount of petty demands from a niche fan group is going to change their mind.

[Flame]

I still dont know what OA's goals are, and no matter how many times they get stated, they must be forgettable bland goals if I can never remember them.

[Ookalf]

I still dont know what OA's goals are, and no matter how many times they get stated, they must be forgettable bland goals if I can never remember them.

As I recall, it basically amounts to telling Konami to need to make the "1999 Game," which has to be in glorious two dimensional HD!, and then "reboot" the series by remaking Castlevania III in glorious two dimensional HD! instead of, y'know, actually trying to do anything new, or else they'll hate Konami forevers!!1... It's all really vague and kinda whiny, if you ask me.

[cecil-kain]

It's full of bitching, moaning, and self-entitled demands like those from a bratty kid who didn't get exactly what they wanted for Christmas.

This isn’t about Castlevania, but humor me a moment and watch the entire video.
**not safe for work**

Capcom Says Fans Are to Blame for Mega Man Legends 3 Being Cancelled

This man is bitching, moaning, self-entitled, demanding, vulgar, and unprofessional --he IS the bratty kid that didn't get the game he wanted for Christmas....  But you know what?  He has a legitimate complaint and a rational argument, and I support his message and his cause 110% --because he's right.

Operation: Akumajo is a protest against Konami's treatment of Castlevania.  Our cause is the preservation of Akumajo Dracula and the 2-D artform.  Our specific goals are the development of both the Demon Castle War and the remastering of Dracula's Curse.  And contrary to all the sanctimonious comments in this topic, OA doesn't produce or circulate anything close to this kind of vulgar, vitriolic material.  We intend to make our points forcefully, because that's the nature of activism --but we intend to do so as reasonably and as responsibly as possible.

Let's be straight about it: Metal Gear Solid sells multi-millions and Castlevania struggles to break the 500k barrier. Thus, Konami, as a business whose ultimate goal is to make money, is going to take the obvious step and make more Metal Gear Solid instead of investing in a series that has proven to be largely unprofitable. Considering that, I'm bewildered as to why anyone thinks that Konami is going to listen to the group that is being stubbornly indignant and demanding its high budget, HD, but ultimately niche game, when those same people have only proven to move roughly 300k copies per game.

When you see a game selling multi-millions like Metal Gear Solid, you can look at a variety of reasons why --genre, story, gameplay, marketing, etc... But I’ll stand by what I’ve said over and over throughout this topic about quality.

MGS games are high quality products designed by some of the most experienced and talented professionals in the industry.  With that said, MGS also enjoys the rare luxury of a producer who is the sitting Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment.  Wielding that kind of power immediately eliminates many of the financial obstacles that most other game producers are forced to deal with.  Looking at this situation objectively, you can’t possibly deny that these are the ideal conditions for any game to be developed --MGS or otherwise.

While Castlevania’s 25th Anniversary passed without any fanfare, Konami made it a higher priority to repackage HD versions of their PS2 MGS games that are already widely owned and abundantly available to those that don’t at cheap prices.  Let’s consider the example of Snake Eater.  Metal Gear Solid 3 had its original release way back in 2004, Subsistence in 2006, the Essential Collection in 2008, the HD Collection in 2011, and now the 3DS version is due in the next couple months.  This kind of saturation almost harkens back to how greedily Capcom exploited Street Fighter II back in the 90’s --and we all know how that eventually ended...

As much as it might pain some to hear, Lords of Shadow has sold more than any Castlevania save for maybe Symphony of the Night or the original three, and did so with little effort on Konami's part to actually sell the game, so ultimately, unless you can assure Konami that the theoretical 2D, HD, high budget game would be a sounder investment, no amount of petty demands from a niche fan group is going to change their mind.



You’d think Konami might have some people studying the console market, people who take notice when a 2-D game like Super Mario Bros Wii sells 24 million copies...  Sonic Generations has only been out for a couple months, and it’s already started running circles around Lords of Shadow’s Global sales...  Of course, you could easily chalk that up to the genre or brand recognition, but the fact is if Konami really wanted to dip their toe in the water (at a bare minimum of expense) they could easily do so by giving the Dracula X Chronicles the Peace Walker treatment.  As for OA, give it time...

[Green Stranger]

I'm curious to see if Cecil has made a video like this or is planning to. Nevertheless that's a nice little video of a guy who's probably never had sex.

[Flame]

Our specific goals are the development of both the Demon Castle War and the remastering of Dracula's Curse.

You are basically just demanding games with no justifiable reason.

That is why your goals are forgettable and nobody takes OA seriously.

They are not serious goals, but you take them as seriously as a plate of beans.

Those goals are the kind of goals you just make petitions for and hope Konami pays attention and cares. For OA to even be a MOVEMENT, you need to have real goals.

Operation Rainfall is about getting Nintendo of America to Localize 3 particular high profile games (Xenoblade, The Last Story, Pandora's Tower) that American gamers have been highly expecting since their announcement, and have been snubbed, with Xenoblade being the only of the 3 with a planned American Release, the other 2 so far only having European Loalizations planned.

100,000 strong is about getting Capcom to resume development of Mega Man Legends 3, a game that many Mega Man fans have waited for 10 years to happen, finally got their wish, and then had Capcom pull the plug, breaking their own promises that the prototype would be the test run to gauge interest, and instead basing their estimated unit sales on the Devroom member numbers, when they themselves stated that fans were not required to join the Devroom to follow the game's development, and citing unspecified "criteria" that was not met as the reason for cancellation. And later had Capcom of Europe blame the cancellation on Fans not caring enough.

Those are real, legitimate Goals. The American Localization by NoA of 3 High profile games that have already been stated to have PAL releases, and the revived Development of a cancelled Game that Capcom broke their word on.

None of them are just DEMANDING new games. Operation Rainfall's games are very real and existent, and 100,000 strong's Legends 3 Prototype was practically already finished and awaiting release before it was cancelled. All Capcom needs to do is honor their original promise of gouging interest via the Prototype's sales. AKA Release the prototype that was already finished.

Ge'choo some real goals, and maybe a better name,(OA just cant stay, sorry. Many people outside the fanbase wouldnt get what it means. Try for "Operation Castlevania" even.) then we can all talk.