Topic: Hopes and dreams for 2013?

[Weiss Belmont]

Lament and Curse both came out before god of war

Yeah no. Lament of Innocence did come out before GoW. True. Curse of Darkness did not.

Lament of Innocence - October 21st, 2003
God of War - March 22nd, 2005
Curse of Darkness - November 5th, 2005

[Sumac]

However, I believe that CV has become a franchise that is too long-running for Konami to ignore while also being slightly antiquated from the mainstream perspective, perhaps due to its adherence to classic formulas.

In case of being non-profitable series, I am afraid, Konami will not have problems with shutting down Castlevania for good or relagating it for the japanese-only Pachislots and the like. That's why I am arguing that LOS, while maybe not for everyones taste, is a good thing - it allow frachise to exist as something rather than arcade machines and could positively influence the next games. Especially if the LOS2 / MOF will be profitable.

Don't do it, last time i had a pm conversation with Sumac we compared man-boob sizes. He won.

What is this, I don't even...

The N64 games were really awful, just the worst games in the entire series and yet you still find a number of marks who think those games were awesome when they were textbook shit.

To each its own. I never have problems with controls or camera in those games. OST and atmosphere are awesome, though its rather deattached from any other Castlevania in style. It's more closer to horror game, that most of the series ever was.

Legions of fans have supported companies like Konami, Capcom, Square-Enix, Sega, and EA for years and yeah they do owe us a hell of a lot because we made them what they are today.

It was true in the past. Gamers were a somewhat separated group on their own and there were a lot of different hardware with their own library of games. Nowadays, when gaming become "just another entertainment available to everyone" and choices in gaming hardware are rather limited (and more often then not same games are available on different platforms in the same quality) there is a new group emerged - general gaming audience who just want to play games for fun and they don't care about how true another entry to its roots. Catering to that audience - is the way to survive for the biggest players. Since Konami is the big player (or at least considers itself like this) it is obvious which course of action it will take. In the end MGS is not enough to sustain them and Silent Hill...went down the drain according to many people. They need some other BIG series to be profitable (preferably that is already famous) and, I guess, Castlevania is their only choice at the moment.

[Weiss Belmont]

In case of being non-profitable series, I am afraid, Konami will not have problems with shutting down Castlevania for good or relagating it for the japanese-only Pachislots and the like. That's why I am arguing that LOS, while maybe not for everyones taste, is a good thing - it allow frachise to exist as something rather than arcade machines and could positively influence the next games. Especially if the LOS2 / MOF will be profitable.

I agree with that. The current console generation is without the doubt the worst one. Two reasons: 1) Mainstream gamers who are afraid of innovation and 2) Publishers that devalue innovation. Case in point, last year the president of Square-Enix told his employees that they would no longer be developing any non-mainstream games. So while that's OK for Final Fantasy fans (even though the series has gone woefully downhill) that's bad news for anyone interested in SE's ridiculously huge, see HUGE library of titles which will never see sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, etcetera. Companies have no issue axing properties the moment they are no longer finanicaly viable.

To each its own. I never have problems with controls or camera in those games. OST and atmosphere are awesome, though its rather deattached from any other Castlevania in style. It's more closer to horror game, that most of the series ever was.

Well that's the same hole Lords of Shadow falls into isn't it. On it's own it's a good game. It just isn't a model Castlevania game.

It was true in the past. Gamers were a somewhat separated group on their own and there were a lot of different hardware with their own library of games. Nowadays, when gaming become "just another entertainment available to everyone" and choices in gaming hardware are rather limited (and more often then not same games are available on different platforms in the same quality) there is a new group emerged - general gaming audience who just want to play games for fun and they don't care about how true another entry to its roots. Catering to that audience - is the way to survive for the biggest players.

That's working great for Square-Enix.

Since Konami is the big player (or at least considers itself like this) it is obvious which course of action it will take. In the end MGS is not enough to sustain them and Silent Hill...went down the drain according to many people. They need some other BIG series to be profitable (preferably that is already famous) and, I guess, Castlevania is their only choice at the moment.

I wonder if it would help them if they started acquiring properties that developers have (had) but aren't doing anything with. I know Legacy of Kain has a sizable fanbase and I would love to see that series in the hands of Konami.

[Sumac]

I agree with that. The current console generation is without the doubt the worst one

My personal take on that situation is that VG business is such a clumsy colossus nowadays, that it will inevitably collapse under its own weight, in one form or the other. Then, industry will be revitalized, much like it happen back in 1983.

Well that's the same hole Lords of Shadow falls into isn't it. On it's own it's a good game. It just isn't a model Castlevania game.

I am tottaly OK with the idea of multiple good Castlevanias, that don't have one single style. If modern part of the series consisted only from the games like CV64, LOI and LOS it would have been a very nice situation for me. Games would provided different experience, but carrying the same basic genes of their predeccesors. Basically doing the same as classicvanias, but on a larger scale.
For me it's much more preferable option then the clone-hoard.

That's working great for Square-Enix.

And Sonic, I dare say. 

[Flame]

I dont see how Sonic caters to the mainstream audience. Seems like ever since Sonic 06, (ever since Shadow The Hedgehog if you really want to get into semantics about the downhill turn) theyve been trying hard to regain the fans trust and faith and cater to them.

[DarkPrinceAlucard]

I dont see how Sonic caters to the mainstream audience. Seems like ever since Sonic 06, (ever since Shadow The Hedgehog if you really want to get into semantics about the downhill turn) theyve been trying hard to regain the fans trust and faith and cater to them.

Yea, Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations is pretty much proof of this if you ask me.

[DragonSlayr81]

My personal take on that situation is that VG business is such a clumsy colossus nowadays, that it will inevitably collapse under its own weight, in one form or the other. Then, industry will be revitalized, much like it happen back in 1983.

I don't agree with you much Sumac, but I also believe this to be true. I do blame HD gaming. Costs to make games are more expensive now than ever, so developers are trying to earn back their costs(and then some) by catering to the popular trend. It's like a gamer's Tower of Babel, each tier gets smaller and smaller as you go up, until it's become so small, just a slight gust of wind will cause it to topple over. It IS the perfect situation to pair with the classic saying, "The bigger you are, the harder you fall!". Maybe we need it to fall, though. Usually, when the large fall, for that second of humility also comes perspective.

[Phoenix7786]

Well if history has shown us anything, it was that the fall of a video-gaming giant (Atari) has happened before. Contributing to it was a bloated market of generic crap and an over-abundance of consoles. We don't have an over-abundance of consoles, but we do have loads of generic crap (just look at the typical EA title or how our generation spawned a shit-ton of MMO's and those quasi-realistic FPS games). The result was the rise of Nintendo from the ashes and a relatively golden age of gaming. Now, if that does happen again who knows what company will rise from the ashes and take the helm? Atari never ever regained the dominance it had with the market, but perhaps Nintendo or Sony will still survive just like Atari did, even if it is as a shadow of what they used to be.

[Sumac]

I personally think that Sony and MicroSoft will surivive "the fall" - there are not limited to VG business only. As for Nintendo...

Sorry, about Sonic remark, I musunderstood about it. Squenix and Sega can have profit creating any kind of games under FF and Sonic brands respectively.

[beingthehero]

AA!

Yeah no. Lament of Innocence did come out before GoW. True. Curse of Darkness did not.

Lament of Innocence - October 21st, 2003
God of War - March 22nd, 2005
Curse of Darkness - November 5th, 2005

Whoops, i thought GoW came out in 2006.

I'll take solace in being half right, hohoho

[crisis]

Nintendo will be bought out by Disney soon. calling it now.

@beingthehero
what's the deal with your signature??

[Flame]

Just you watch. when the industry crashes- a lone figure will will be seen rising from the rubble.
SEEEEEGAAAA

I still think it would be awesome if sega came back to the console game

[crisis]

That's very possible, Flame-chan. Look at SNK's situation; didn't they go bankrupt but pulled themselves from the ashes? And NeoGeo, they just released a new console/handheld! Yeah it's basically ports of old games but still

SEGA should release a new handheld (not like those third-party "30 Sega games in 1 system!" handhelds that are available). A brand-new handheld with brand-new games. But unfortunately it would most likely turn out like the Vita o.o

[beingthehero]

My signature will forever be a mystery, passed down through internet lore for ages.

Anyways, Sega hasn't really properly marketed anything since the Genesis days. Kind of like if Konami made a console.

[Kingshango]

My signature will forever be a mystery, passed down through internet lore for ages.

Heh, not in a million years.

I still think it would be awesome if sega came back to the console game.

I think it's in Sega's best interest to avoid another catastrophe, especially with the way things have gone on over there recently.