I can agree with you about that. I think the state of the fanbase is indicative of the state of the series. No one feels like really seriously running their Castlevania sites because they don't give a damn about what's being done with the series. No young bucks are raising up to fill the void - likely because no one cares, or at least not enough. What Konami is doing is not captivating, motivating or inspiring. It's upsetting, true, but that problem needs to be fixed at the source, which is Konami. Once they start making some really freaking good games, that most people can agree are really freaking good, I'm positive the fanbase will be much more lively, active, larger and morale will be way higher. There's really nothing we, as fans, can do about the situation.
I wasn't involved in this topic before...but this post caught my eye, and I can say to this is...right on! What Konami is focused upon right now is attracting players and not necessarily devotees.
For instance, compare and contrast Bloodlines and Portrait of Ruin, both wartime Morris-centric games and very closely related to each other in story. Yes, Bloodlines was short and PoR is larger with a lot of extra stuff to find. But play one and then the other, and the difference is apparent. PoR uses the same environments over and over (e.g.: the 4 portraits before Brauner's studio, carbon copies of previous stages) whereas Bloodlines, though only having 6 stages, has great attention to detail, and each stage is unique and actually feels like its own location, like it was intended to, rather than repeating the same stuff over again. There is such a strong sense of atmosphere that it sucks you right in. Gameplay feels satisfying, as if you're actually accomplishing a great triumph. As John, the Vampire Killer is your strongest asset, truest to series lore, whereas for Jonathan, there are items with much higher attack power (though it may go with the Morris life-sucking theory or John's death...who knows?)
But those games are 12 years apart, and the series has most definitely gone downhill. Gone is the attention to detail and crafting a visceral experience, now there is not as much immersion and "connectedness" to the game that got people hooked on the first Castlevania in '86. That's what Konami needs to do now, ramp up the gameplay and create a truly unique experience that links player and game, so that new and old fans can feel that their fanbase is still alive, connected, and well.
Phew! That was a mouthful...