Topic: How about a name change? Is it possible?

[Shiroi Koumori]

An unjustified name change would not just let fans pick up torches. They're gonna ba throwing everything!

[TheouAegis]

The whole argument "if they change the name the current fan base would be upset" is moot. You don't change a product name to please the fan base, you change it to improve marketing and acquire new fans. And they already had a Vampire Killer, so calling it Vampire Killer would be the same as keeping it Castlevania. Calling it Demon Castle would be the same as keeping it Castlevania. But calling it some other name would be the same as calling Twinkies Spongebob Creamies and marketing them to kids -- it's still a fucking Twinkie and the people that love Twinkies will still buy and eat it along with the thousands of screaming kids that want to gobble Spongebob Creamies.

[Ratty]

When talking about Konami's marketing while that Lament trailer is great I'm surprised no one has mentioned the north american commercial for the first N64 game, it was spot on 90s cool.
Castlevania (Nintendo 64 / N64) - Retro Video Game Commercial / Ad
Everything you need to know about the game in 16 seconds. Plus a sexy vampire hunter.

The SOTN trailer was even better since it had Don "movie trailer guy" LaFontaine voicing it to add gravity. Other touches added greatly to the cinematic mystique like the melting film strip. The falling sword references the opening shot of Francis Ford Coppola's then-recent Dracula film, just replacing a cross with the less controversial blade.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night (Playstation 1) - Retro Video Game Commercial / Ad
Under 20 seconds and you knew you were in for an epic, gothic adventure.

Whoever Konami contracted with for advertising then, they should call them back. Their advertising track record of late has been abysmal, and Konami seems to be aware of fans concern over this but not enough to do anything. In fact gaming journalist Jim Sterling has effectively been blackballed from reviewing their games for pointing this out on multiple occasions, or so he claims.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Castle of Moonlight, or some variation thereupon, would be my choice.

[TheouAegis]

Belmont Creamies

Will attract more girls to the series wanting some Belmont Creamies.

[knightmere]

Oh god what a terrible idea. As if the LoS tag wasn't bad enough.

[Zetheraxza]

There's nothing else that's appropriate besides Castlevania. Game takes place in a Castle, and the Castle is a plot-device as well. -Vania as in Transylvania, which alludes to Vlad III Tepés who is romanticized as a Master Vampire in fiction and is the Antagonist of the series.

Name change in some series are tied to the game itself and therefore are much harder to change. It's not like 'Half-Life' has anything to do with Radioactive decay, so name change there can be plausible if you can cast aside fans, marketing, etc.

[TheouAegis]

But then the series was actually called "Demon Castle" in its country of origin. And some of the games were never called Castlevania OR Demon Castle: Haunted Castle and Vampire Killer. And some of the games don't have anything to do with Dracula or Transylvania. And sylania just means forest or some shit. Castle Forest. That's not a catchy title... And in some of the games the fighting takes place outside forests or the castle, such as in towns or ruins or wide-open countryside or abandoned mines, or even on a boat. And if you're gender-confused, you think Sypha was pretending to be a guy (even though her profile icon in CV3 is obviously feminine -- yes, that icon in the top-right corner that tells you she's Trevor's partner... IT'S A GIRL'S FACE!) because the same people that led you to believe the series is called Castlevania led you to believe Trevor was a homo. But whatever.

[Zuljaras]

The idea is baaaaddd!!! Castlevania is like THE PERFECT title ... just turn on your DS put Castlevania Order of Ecclesia and if you have finished the game go to the SOUND mode and swap between the english and japanese language. When you hear Shanoa say "Castlevania" you will know that the name is IMPOSSIBLE to be changed

[TheouAegis]

Actually now that I think about it, the original series never even took place in Transylvania, so the title is purely a misnomer and thus the argument that you could change Half-Life's name because it has nothing to do with radioactive decay (actually it did originally -- the title is based on the intro sequence), then the same can be said for Castlevania.

1. Castlevania didn't always take place inside a castle and in some cases in the original series only half or less than that even took place inside a castle.

2. Castlevania rarely took place inside a forest, so -vania shouldn't even be included in the title.

3. Castlevania never took place in Transylvania, Pennsylvania, or any other -vania for that matter, so it's purely a misnomer. The closest game to the title is Lament Of Innocence because the castle was inside a mystical forest.

[Kamirine]

I suppose in the end, it just depends on how well the brand name is known.  I mean, even calling it by another country's known name won't be good if people don't know what it's suppose to be.  Though I suppose having a known face associated with the brand would help.  Say like with Spongebob or Mario: they're faces are so well known, that even if you call the brand 'Milky Puffs', they'd know it had something to do with either Mario or SBSP.  But with a series with ever changing protagonist, it might not be as simple.  (And more so, when the series is known to have/change art styles that can dictate how even well known characters look.)

I think Castlevania, while not as mainstream anymore, does at least have a well known brand name and even gameplay style, that most people know about. (Kinda like Reebok shoes.). I think most people would see the game, a different title, and (if they didn't know better) just think it were a ripoff of, erm, Castlevania.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Actually now that I think about it, the original series never even took place in Transylvania, so the title is purely a misnomer and thus the argument that you could change Half-Life's name because it has nothing to do with radioactive decay (actually it did originally -- the title is based on the intro sequence), then the same can be said for Castlevania.

1. Castlevania didn't always take place inside a castle and in some cases in the original series only half or less than that even took place inside a castle.

2. Castlevania rarely took place inside a forest, so -vania shouldn't even be included in the title.

3. Castlevania never took place in Transylvania, Pennsylvania, or any other -vania for that matter, so it's purely a misnomer. The closest game to the title is Lament Of Innocence because the castle was inside a mystical forest.

The suffix "Vania" means "woods, Where, "Transylvania" means "Other side of the woods".
As you can see in the Castlevania intro, and in many of its games, Dracula's Castle is always on a cliff sounded by a deep forest (whether there's a lake around the cliff varies).  So "Castlevania" just means "Castle - woods".  It's still not far off.

[Ahasverus]

I suppose in the end, it just depends on how well the brand name is known.  I mean, even calling it by another country's known name won't be good if people don't know what it's suppose to be.  Though I suppose having a known face associated with the brand would help.  Say like with Spongebob or Mario: they're faces are so well known, that even if you call the brand 'Milky Puffs', they'd know it had something to do with either Mario or SBSP.  But with a series with ever changing protagonist, it might not be as simple.  (And more so, when the series is known to have/change art styles that can dictate how even well known characters look.)

I think Castlevania, while not as mainstream anymore, does at least have a well known brand name and even gameplay style, that most people know about. (Kinda like Reebok shoes.). I think most people would see the game, a different title, and (if they didn't know better) just think it were a ripoff of, erm, Castlevania.

Right in the head

[TheouAegis]

Well it's a variant of sylvan which is forest. Trans+sylvan-ia.

[Shiroi Koumori]

This thread has turned into an etymology class.

Back to my stand, don't change. People know what to expect when they hear Castlevania.