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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: theplottwist on December 09, 2016, 05:09:14 PM

Title: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: theplottwist on December 09, 2016, 05:09:14 PM

EDIT: Timeline: http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula/product/data.html (http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula/product/data.html) Main site: http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula/index.html (http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula/index.html)

(click to show/hide)

https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_ooe/ (https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_ooe/)
https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_gol/ (https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_gol/)
https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_dos/ (https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_dos/)
https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_judgement/ (https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_judgement/)

I was doing research on the game and needed Castlevania pages. Just one week ago it was all up and had all complete information, character bios, ages, official art, all of it. Now this info is gone and just (very) few bits remain. We can't even use them as references on the wiki anymore.

Just a few days ago I used Dawn of Sorrow's japanese Library. Gone. Forever. (<<<<< not really I was losing my shit here and tried searching with a wrong link that returned no cached results further driving me the shit-losing path, read the edits)

Is there anything we can do to retrieve the originals? Wayback Machine doesn't have it all archived... Is there anything we can do?

EDIT: Oh yeah, I just noticed neither Wayback Machine nor Google Cache have these pages anymore. JUST GREAT. I consulted Aria's just some days ago to salvage the character bios -- now gone. I'm trying everything I can, but it seems they weren't cached ANYWHERE on the goddamn internet.

EDIT2: Most recent official japanese timeline (http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula/product/data.html (http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula/product/data.html)) gone.

BOY. I AM REALLY FUCKING MAD OUT OF MY SOCKS. YOU'RE MAKING IT REALLY, REALLY HARD TO HAVE A SINGLE SHRED OF LOVE FOR YOU, KONAMI.

They can't let us have a freaking WEBPAGE to source our wikis with, no. They want to take everything from us.

EDIT3: OK, what truly happened here:

Konami, on their main Castlevania site, changed all links to ones that send you to an oversimplified page that has none of the features of the previous pages. To illustrate, this is what Dawn of Sorrow looks like now:

https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_dos/ (https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dracula_dos/)

This is what it looked like one week ago:

http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula_ds/index.html (http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/dracula_ds/index.html)

This was discovered by a friend of mine while we spelunked after a way to retrieve the original page. Konami is hiding the original link, replacing it with one to a lousy page. Someone unfamiliar with this will never locate the originals by the buttons on the page -- the original way of accessing them.

I lost my shit up there with the cache because I copied the new, lousy link, and pasted on Wayback Machine thinking it would locate the original. It didn't, obviously, because the link changed and I didn't pay the slightest mind to it. And I have a good reason to believe why they would also delete content. (http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php/topic,8366.msg185722.html#msg185722)

However, I'm still saving it all because, if they're not gone now, I'm almost 100% sure they'll be gone soon. No reason for Konami to hide the links like this if they're not intending to get rid of the pages. This, or they're migrating the links and the lousy page is placeholder, we can't know what Konami is thinking after Erotic Violence. The timeline was gone from the original link, too, but I found the new link, and it has been updated on the Castlevania Wiki (Konami changed a SINGLE LETTER on the link. Almost feels like they did this for the lulz)

Excuse me for the burst. You all know I love this series yadda yadda. I was not trying to put a show, I was really angry. Whenever Konami does something that feels even slightly shady to this series, it's a part of me that dies. These pages not only have info about the game, but have IGA and Yamane's logs, too, chronicling the development process of each game. Making this stuff inaccessible (as they are now, check for yourself and you'll see) by hiding the link is bullshit, man. This riles me up to no end.

I don't know what is going on, they could be simply doing maintenance. But last time this happened, Aria of Sorrow and Harmony of Dissonance got lost forever, along with dev logs. Let's just hope this is a maintenance thing and I'm being a total dick for no reason.

EDIT: I wasn't being a total dick for no reason, after all. Konami did indeed vanish all these pages.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: suomynona on December 09, 2016, 05:43:44 PM

Sorry to hear that.

Well it IS Fuckonami, so I wouldn't expect anything better then website for that goddam Pachinko :/

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: zangetsu468 on December 09, 2016, 06:11:41 PM

Hey Plottwist, have you thought about saving screenshots of those pages into PDF documents?
That might be the most bulletproof way.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: theplottwist on December 09, 2016, 06:16:28 PM

Quote from: zangetsu468 on December 09, 2016, 06:11:41 PM

Hey Plottwist, have you thought about saving screenshots of those pages into PDF documents?
That might be the most bulletproof way.

I'm doing that just now, just not as PDF, but as pictures so they can be uploadable on the wiki.

I lost my shit so hard I almost went in fetal position right now.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: zangetsu468 on December 09, 2016, 06:27:24 PM

Quote from: theplottwist on December 09, 2016, 06:16:28 PM

I'm doing that just now, just not as PDF, but as pictures so they can be uploadable on the wiki.

I lost my shit so hard I almost went in fetal position right now.

I remember some pages disappearing a decade ago. For some random reason I had saved those webpages to my hd, which is not really the done thing these days - we take for granted information will still be there tomorrow.

Seriously though, it would suck so bad if all of that just vanished.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: theplottwist on December 09, 2016, 06:44:58 PM

Quote from: zangetsu468 on December 09, 2016, 06:27:24 PM

I remember some pages disappearing a decade ago. For some random reason I had saved those webpages to my hd, which is not really the done thing these days - we take for granted information will still be there tomorrow.

Seriously though, it would suck so bad if all of that just vanished.

A friend of mine discovered that the links were changed by Konami, and the original pages are still reachable. STILL I'm saving it all because if they're redirecting the buttons, then this is a bad omen on itself.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on December 09, 2016, 08:03:57 PM

Hmmm... I see an update on the page for December 1, 2016 --> for the PS4 JP arcade archives (https://www.konami.com/games/jp/ja/products/dl_dracula_arcade_c/)

But yeah, saving the webpages to your HD or virtual drives will be the best future proofing that you can do for now.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Nagumo on December 10, 2016, 01:12:22 AM

Konami deletes their old websites from time to time. I'm guessing they do it because otherwise they gave to pay in order to keep these pages online. However, what sucks is that they don't care at all about preserving the information that's on these sites. So it's up to Wayback Machine or fans taking screenshots themselves to prevent all of it to be lost forever. Also a word of warning: most if not all post-2009 website are designed in such a way that the page won't load if you try to access them from the Wayback Machine. I first noticed this when the site for the first Pachinko game got removed. So I ended up making screenshots of the sites for the other two Pachinkos and the Japanese LoS website. I'm not sure if I already uploaded them to the wiki, though.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: TatteredSeraph on December 10, 2016, 06:34:23 AM

Words... fail me right now.  Time to go curl up and cry.  Konami, please sell this IP to Iga if you clearly have no interest in the series any more.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: theANdROId on December 10, 2016, 01:23:42 PM

Y'know, at one time I looked at the name Konami with awe and respect.  I rented/bought/played stuff just because their name was on it and I knew they did good stuff.
...
...
...
I don't think that way anymore.  I don't think like that at all.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Aceearly1993 on December 10, 2016, 05:22:54 PM

It strongly suggests that konami is corrupted and is not that konami what we know from the great golden times anymore. Screw it.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: zangetsu468 on December 10, 2016, 10:39:17 PM

Quote from: Aceearly1993 on December 10, 2016, 05:22:54 PM

It strongly suggests that konami is corrupted and is not that konami what we know from the great golden times anymore. Screw it.

I think in a very general sense people used to care about people and having good morals. Now people care about money and this is magnified via corporations.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Aceearly1993 on December 11, 2016, 12:26:00 AM

Quote from: zangetsu468 on December 10, 2016, 10:39:17 PM

I think in a very general sense people used to care about people and having good morals. Now people care about money and this is magnified via corporations.

This is exactly what I thought. 
Not here to "anti" money/income related business stuff, but left such a long running series like Castlevania in a dark underground graveyard and without gaving it a proper place to rest...  I just can't get it. I often thought they would be somewhat mad/they couldn't access to their mind properly

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: DraculaCronqvist on December 12, 2016, 10:59:45 PM

At this point, Konami is *very* determined to just put all their old franchises into a mass grave, never to be touched again by them or others. Today, more than ever before, Konami just wants to make cheap cash-grabs with mobile games, Pachinko and Slot Machines. To call them a porper gaming company anymore would be an insult.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Flame on December 14, 2016, 09:39:30 PM

to be fair here, its not uncommon for devs to eventually discontinue their product websites. they are mostly for marketing but after the game's been out for a while, they dont serve a purpose and it costs money to keep them up. It's been 8 years already since Judgement alone.

I mean I was sad when Capcom removed their Megaman ZX and ZXA pages last year, (along with other old webpage cleanups) but it's been almost a decade since ZX. I'm honestly more surprised they lasted as longas they did

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on December 15, 2016, 01:38:45 AM

Quote from: Flame on December 14, 2016, 09:39:30 PM

to be fair here, its not uncommon for devs to eventually discontinue their product websites. they are mostly for marketing but after the game's been out for a while, they dont serve a purpose and it costs money to keep them up. It's been 8 years already since Judgement alone.

I mean I was sad when Capcom removed their Megaman ZX and ZXA pages last year, (along with other old webpage cleanups) but it's been almost a decade since ZX. I'm honestly more surprised they lasted as longas they did

If the original Space Jam website is still up (http://www.warnerbros.com/archive/spacejam/movie/jam.htm) then it's not like Konami has an excuse to pull that crap.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Flame on December 15, 2016, 06:52:48 PM

Quote from: The Bloody Aperture on December 15, 2016, 01:38:45 AM

If the original Space Jam website is still up (http://www.warnerbros.com/archive/spacejam/movie/jam.htm) then it's not like Konami has an excuse to pull that crap.

Warner bros. =/= Konami

The Space Jam website is an oddity. Much like the Megaman ZX webpage lasted 10 years before it was deleted while Capcom did spring cleaning, the space jam website is just a similar case of neglect.

The difference here is that Space Jam itself was a pop culture hit that everyone remembers. One day someone discovered the website for it was still up and running, and the website became famous because it's literally a time capsule into 90's web design.

you'll also notice that it is not the original web address. it is an "archived" webpage. WB has filed it away like a museum piece for everyone to see, just because of how much press that website got when people discovered it was still up.

Again, Warner bros is not Konami. All because WB has the money to waste on archiving old websites, doesnt mean that most other media entities are willing to spend that same kind of money on that.

seriously. Konami is shitty, but deleting old webpages is not something to get angry at them over. All developers do this eventually.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Claimh Solais on December 22, 2016, 02:51:42 PM

I agree with Flame.

Another case in point: Nearly all Resident Evil websites are gone, having been replaced by residentevil.net. Very few of them still exist. Resident Evil 4, Darkside Chronicles, RE7, and Umbrella Corps are the only ones I can see still exist.

Other companies like Koei Tecmo even took down most of their old game pages. The Dynasty Warriors games, for example. None of the websites for the games pre-DW6 exist anymore.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: shelverton. on December 23, 2016, 02:23:48 PM

I think it's way more shocking to learn that these pages were still alive after all these years! I don't know why Konami would keep a DoS page after all this time. The game is over ten years old.

It's really up to fans/wikipedia/whatever to remember these games, not Konami. They're just a company. Why on earth would they even bother with old products like this? Most of their current staff probably didn't even work on these games.

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: KaZudra on December 23, 2016, 03:58:27 PM

Quote from: The Bloody Aperture on December 15, 2016, 01:38:45 AM

If the original Space Jam website is still up (http://www.warnerbros.com/archive/spacejam/movie/jam.htm) then it's not like Konami has an excuse to pull that crap.

Thanks, now that's gonna be another day it's stuck in my head, but I like sharing my dread, so...
https://youtu.be/eNbNqnjfPx4?list=PLiVGbZaO-21qqYguCqyhi26tFdxDrloFi (https://youtu.be/eNbNqnjfPx4?list=PLiVGbZaO-21qqYguCqyhi26tFdxDrloFi)

Title: Re: Whole Castlevania pages gone
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on December 23, 2016, 10:18:40 PM

So honestly, I guess I'm coming back to say that I'm mostly cool with these pages vanishing, but just as WB keeps the Space Jam website around for franchise and historical reasons, I think Konami ought to keep the websites for the big stuff around -- stuff like Lament of Innocence, Symphony, and Lords of Shadow that shifted the course of the series forever should be immortalized, and sure, aggregate the rest, but some stuff is distinguished enough that it ought to be left standing.

And the website for Lords 2 should be preserved as a warning to future generations.