Topic: Confirmed: IGA not involved with Castlevania anymore. Europe helms the series.

[shelverton.]

A console/handheld is only as good as the games on it. Vita is an impressive piece of hardware but compared to the 3DS there's still nothing to play on it. Well, it's getting better and better but the 3DS is lightyears ahead. Graphics only goes so far.

I'm sure a Vita CV would look spectacular but right now I'd prefer it on 3DS so that I don't have to buy a Vita to play one game (Well, there's that Ys game too..). Maybe Konami should go the Arkham Origins Blackgate route and release their next handheld game on both.

[Flame]

Voicing the chupacabra? I can't tell if that's a joke or not...

he voiced the japanese Chupacabra. No joke. His name is in the Japanese trailer as the Chupacabra. XD

[The Puritan]

Me: and the next, Is it 2D? For what formats?

He: All I know is technical, was in the working document that we received. I can tell you that will be released for portable platforms, whether it will be in 2D or 2.5D was not yet decided, will depend on the team that take the project, but I can tell you that they really liked the graphics of MoF. said nothing about it to be a Japanese team, particularly I think so, because after a game for the West now seek other to the east.

Me: Also released in Vita?

He: In the worksheet put 3DS, Vita, iOS, Android, want to seize all platforms. They do it in the Vita for the Japanese market, the next castlevania is intended primarily Japanese market, and vita is enough important in Japan (not in America / Europe).

Please PLEASE don't turn out to be a handheld Pachislot game.

[beingthehero]

With no words on however good or bad his games may have been, under IGA, the series went from a console staple to an incredibly niche series, and that's saying nothing about Judgement and HoDespair.

It was a niche series by '93.

[Ratty]

It was a niche series by '93.

Truth. While the original trilogy was a big deal in the US, Konami's plan to put a different game in the series on each 16bit platform, rather than just making ports of the same game or producing them all for one platform like most series, ran out fan enthusiasm. You have to remember back in the day if you wanted to play Bloodlines and all you had was an SNES that would have been an investment of hundreds of dollars, not even counting inflation. This is a policy Konami stayed with for the series through the 32bit era, all before IGA became head. In fact I'd say his work to put so many games on the Nintendo handhelds specifically helped raise the profile of the series from what it had been, at least for a time.

[Neobelmont]

I'm really getting tired of this Nintendo handheld exclusive crap. Vita is light years ahead of the 3ds. Sony deserves CV on handhelds. At least the. We could gt a game that doesn't look a decade old.

The idea of another 3ds Vania angers me.

The 3ds blows.

..... Nah man remember it's the software that sells the hardware (as well as the price tag) and the vita seems to lack that 3DS well...... I could go on forever but everyone understand where I'm going with this.

It's like when the game boy came out there was the lynx,Turboexpress and gamegear but the three lost due to that price tag(and for some the lack of good software from what I hear wonderswan did good compared to the neo-geo and GBC) and it is kind of repeating it's self with this handheld gen and even with this price drop I hear about the vita how is the software line up going to be? The vita is powerful yes but it's not doing much to the point that publishers seem to not want to do anything with it. If there are good games and I mean alot coming up to compete with the 3ds tell me. For me persona is really the only game I would consider for the vita nothing else excites me.

I do not want to hate the vita but having raw power is one thing, but history has shown in the handheld department that affordability and strong support(this goes without saying) for a system is what makes it thrive and for that reason vita is just not preforming as well as it could be.

Also when I go to school I see only one person have a vita why is that?

[DragonSlayr81]

Because the new style of LOS appeals more to adults and the vita is a more adult friendly handheld. Not to mention they could make a superior game on the vita.

Well, LoS is coming to an end, so that really doesn't matter at all now, does it?

Besides, all this adult talk. Adult taste is overated, to the point that adults act like they deserve more than they do regarding games. It's like they want games to grow up with them and them in particular, screw every other generation out there, the adults of the NOW are the most important. Kids take the back seat, games are supposed to be for the GROWN UPS! Yeah, BS. Imagine if adults felt that way back when I started to get into games, life as a kid would've SUCKED! It's one of my beliefs that some selfish adults have to pull their heads out of their asses and REALLY grow up(as in not be fixed on gamer selfishness and let others have their way sometimes). What do they say, it's the Age of Entitlement?

[Maedhros]

The only game I want on 3DS is Pokemon. Maybe Mario Kart, it's always a safe bet.

[Ratty]

I just wanted to post and say that the way that people jumped on Odile Kuronoma, who's been my friend many years, a while back was unfair and mean since she was just expressing her opinion and trying to have a sense of humor about the situation. I don't think I was clear enough before. Let's not get so caught up in these debates that we become nasty.

[GuyStarwind]

The only game I want on 3DS is Pokemon. Maybe Mario Kart, it's always a safe bet.

Not to go off subject but I found Mario Kart 7 boring

[e105beta]

Truth. While the original trilogy was a big deal in the US, Konami's plan to put a different game in the series on each 16bit platform, rather than just making ports of the same game or producing them all for one platform like most series, ran out fan enthusiasm. You have to remember back in the day if you wanted to play Bloodlines and all you had was an SNES that would have been an investment of hundreds of dollars, not even counting inflation. This is a policy Konami stayed with for the series through the 32bit era, all before IGA became head. In fact I'd say his work to put so many games on the Nintendo handhelds specifically helped raise the profile of the series from what it had been, at least for a time.

I'd argue the point that the GBA/DS releases raised the profile of the series. Castlevania was definitely a bigger name (both in recognition and sales) during the SCIV era than it was at any point during the Metroidvania string.

Bloodlines may have been a lesser known title, much like Rondo was, but that's because they were the deviations from the Nintendo consoles. SCIV was still a big game. People actually knew about it, and Symphony, being as good as it was, managed to move a lot of fans, but by the time OoE rolled around, the only people who had any idea what was going on with Castlevania were Castlevania fans.

[beingthehero]

DoS was everywhere when it was released. Nintendo Power had a boner for it, definitely. There was also a pretty big advertisement for a while for Lament at my nearby Electronic Boutique  (before it became another casualty of gamestoppu).

Saying that sciv was the high point of recognition for the series while IGA killed it leaves a huge 10 year gap between that title's release and when IGA took over as producer of the series. You're exonerating quite a few producers in the meantime, as well as the KCEN/KCEK titles.

IGA said his motivation for making SotN as good as possible was seeing castlevania titles at a local store's bargain bin. The series was definitely dying off after SCIV. You can argue whether he returned the series to 'greatness' or whatever, but he definitely kept the series alive and consistently released games. And that's far more than what can be said for several of Konami's other now-neglected series (Sparkster, Goemon, etc.)

[Intersection]

The video game industry has been constantly shifting over the years. SCIV was at the peak of the series' recognition simply because the games Konami proposed fit fully in the mold of the current video game market.

But with the evolution of available technologies, and with the progressive changes in the tastes of consumers, the style and shape of VG titles was to gradually but fundamentally change. Yet, like so many other aging franchises out there, Castlevania holds its spirit within its 2D, platforming origins, a style that is all but antiquated today. Hence, the difficulties the series has faced while adapting to the modern market.

I'm not the first to mention this -- it's something that all of us know. The point being, as it goes, that we can't directly compare the 1991 popularity of the series to IGA's showings in the mid 2000's. We're talking about very different tastes, very different expectations as to what a good title should be, and an altogether different market. SCIV would be a catastrophic failure were it to be presented as an original game today.
If anything, Castlevania did pretty well compared to the franchises it rivaled with in its beginnings. Many of those are entirely out of the picture nowadays; Castlevania managed, for an impressive amount of time, to stay in the limelight without compromising its core identity.

[e105beta]

I'm actually not trying to say IGA killed the series, so I apologize if I'm coming across that way. I do appreciate what IGA has done for the series, whether it be Symphony of the Night, producing the string of games that he did, or just keeping it alive long enough for it to actually be handed off to another developer. I mean, I did play every game from HoD to, well, HoD. I wouldn't have kept playing if I hated his games.

What I was trying to say is why he's not coming back, at least any time soon, from a business standpoint.

Konami is obviously trying to turn Castlevania into a blockbuster, perhaps with the goal of reviving the IP into something that can rival MGS, and for one reason or another, Castlevania's fanbase has dwindled from IGA's high point at the beginning of his tenure as Mr. Castlevania to its low point at Judgement/HoD. That's going to matter in Konami's eyes, regardless of any sense of holding the series's "spirit" or being consistent. With their obviously lofty goals, why would Konami invest more money into IGA to create another game when he has succeeded only to keep the series alive, rather than turn it into something more profitable?

Saying that sciv was the high point of recognition for the series while IGA killed it leaves a huge 10 year gap between that title's release and when IGA took over as producer of the series. You're exonerating quite a few producers in the meantime, as well as the KCEN/KCEK titles.

I use SCIV as my example because it was the last big release Castlevania game before Symphony of the Night. Belmont's Revenge was a portable title, Rondo and Bloodlines were attempts to spread the audience outside of its core base, and the X68000 title was on the X68000. With Symphony of the Night, IGA created a game that eventually reached megahit status and was never able to recover that popularity after Circle of the Moon.

Again, I didn't mean to imply that the series had never seen issues before IGA came to the forefront, only that IGA's success was ultimately in a steady decline after his breakout game, and that's why he will probably never see himself at the head of a high budget Castlevania title again (which is if he even wants to).

[Belmontoya]

I think part of the problem right now with the vita is that people think there are no good games on it, while that is absolutely false.

Uncharted Golden Abyss is awesome. Assassins Creed Liberation is a very solid game. Unit 13 is a great 3rd person shooter. Obviously the Y's games, though that's not my thing. Dead or Alive 5+ blows any fighter on the 3ds out of the water. I love playing DO5+ on vita against players on the PS3. And Killzone Mercenary pretty much shames any shooting games on the 3ds. Guacamele is a great metriodvania style game as well.

I would take Modracer's nation over Mario Kart. Little Big Planet is great too.

The Vita has quality over quantity in my opinion.

The games on the 3ds didn't appeal to me at all. The majority of them seem like they are made for kids. The Nintendo e-shop was pretty weak compared to the PS store on the Vita as well.

With all of the PSP games and Mini's available to the vita for download, coupled with it's upcoming ps4 remote play capability, I think it has way better games to offer than the 3ds.

And the main selling point of the 3ds was a joke. I've never in my life been so uncomfortable trying to play a hand held game. You literally have to hold the screen perfectly straight in front of your face to enjoy the 3d at all, and it still has a slight double vision look to it. The one gimmick nintendo tried to win people over with the 3ds was a complete failure.

Take it from someone who owned both. The Vita blows it out of the water on all fronts. A Castlevania game exclusively made for the vita would be incredible. 

The vita is expensive, but all you have to do is pick one up off of craigslist for $130 dollars and there ya go. It's well worth the money for a gamer on the go.

Once you actually own a vita, you realize how sweet it is. CV would be amazing on it. I play my Rondo Chronicles and SOTN on it all the time.