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[Beth Cyra]

For one, it'll be fun the first couple times. After that, done. I'm sure the demo will be all that is needed to play.

Second, where are these 10k figures coming from?

And that is a problem why? Can you tell me you play through every game you own mutliple times? Not just your favs but all of them? If so I can see it being a problem but I can't say the same.

Getting a couple of play throughs with maybe the chance of DLC is perfect espeically for a game that should be no more then 15 bucks, how much do you think we should get for that price.

As for the 10k I borrowed that from a poster earlier in this thread. It might be wrong but it isn't hard to guess that the game has little to know it has hardly any money. Certainly nothing like Lords of Shadows, and I doubt any single game Iga ever got had even half of that push and he codirected the most beloved game in the franchise.

 

[ixix]

You know, if that's the case, then god bless him for carrying the torch, but it's time to step aside and let someone else take a crack at running the franchise. Someone who can actually get Konami to put money into it.

This already happened.

 

[LowParry]

And that is a problem why? Can you tell me you play through every game you own mutliple times? Not just your favs but all of them? If so I can see it being a problem but I can't say the same.

Getting a couple of play throughs with maybe the chance of DLC is perfect espeically for a game that should be no more then 15 bucks, how much do you think we should get for that price.

As for the 10k I borrowed that from a poster earlier in this thread. It might be wrong but it isn't hard to guess that the game has little to know it has hardly any money. Certainly nothing like Lords of Shadows, and I doubt any single game Iga ever got had even half of that push and he codirected the most beloved game in the franchise.

To tell you the truth, once I finish and beat a game, I'm done with it. However there is the exception of multiplayer components to further play. And there are some cases where I buy a game just for the multiplayer and don't touch the single player. A mixed bag.

The way I see of this game is boss rush mode. Run around area's that look small, get to the boss. Kill. Done. Etc. The idea is good but for the way it's set up, I do not like it. I'd of love to see a more 2 player co-op Castlevania. Full fledged of a single player campaign that we're used to. But this? I want to buy into it but the more I watch the gameplay and look at how long I'll play it, it's just not worth my time and effort.

So whoever is bringing up this 10k budget, where's a source on that? Cause if figures are being pulled out of someone's ass because they "think" that's it, piss off.

 

[Beth Cyra]

To tell you the truth, once I finish and beat a game, I'm done with it. However there is the exception of multiplayer components to further play. And there are some cases where I buy a game just for the multiplayer and don't touch the single player. A mixed bag.

The way I see of this game is boss rush mode. Run around area's that look small, get to the boss. Kill. Done. Etc. The idea is good but for the way it's set up, I do not like it. I'd of love to see a more 2 player co-op Castlevania. Full fledged of a single player campaign that we're used to. But this? I want to buy into it but the more I watch the gameplay and look at how long I'll play it, it's just not worth my time and effort.

So whoever is bringing up this 10k budget, where's a source on that? Cause if figures are being pulled out of someone's ass because they "think" that's it, piss off.

Well this is not my ideal Castlevania, I don't even like Boss Rush mode, but I do like the Metroidvania style, that and I hope to one day play a game kinda like you are talking about with Alucard and Julius.

But if this is cheap, no more then 15 dollars a good 5 six hours trying it with each character and the stages they got is cheap enough.

Hmm as for the 10k maybe I shouldn't have qouted that but I tend to take Gaf posting a bit more at face value then I should sometimes.

 

[bluemax]

Random question but is Iga a tallish dude who always wears cowboy hats? If so I saw him at E3 today.

Also the game looks pretty nice but Im not sold on the whole zoom out thing, its so busy that it seems distracting.

 

[Beth Cyra]

Random question but is Iga a tallish dude who always wears cowboy hats? If so I saw him at E3 today.

Also the game looks pretty nice but Im not sold on the whole zoom out thing, its so busy that it seems distracting.

He use to carry a whip as well, though that could have been simply a joke. But this is not the first time I have seen him having a hat.

 

[Y2Kev]

It looks like he genuinely tried to make due with the hand he was dealt.

He implied in one of the interviews after the conference (that took place during a damn concert) that he hasn't been taking a salary during the game.

Okay, I saw the same thing and thought the same thing. It was so sad I had to shut it off. I don't like what he's done with the series but my heart is broken.

 

[bluemax]

He use to carry a whip as well, though that could have been simply a joke. But this is not the first time I have seen him having a hat.

Okay I knew he looked familiar and couldn't remember who he was sadly. I would've shook his hand if I had remembered.

 

[SAB CA]

It's kinda funny people are referring to this as a boss rush. It's more of a time attack, I'd say.

With 6 potential players, the bosses seem like they might serve more as distractions and annoyances, rather than focal points of gameplay. With the reveal that there are items to power yourself up and the like, it's more like a times scavanger hunt, that happens to have a quarry in the end.

I kinda like the idea that way, personally. Explore as far as you can, fight the best stuff possible, converge in the single room before the boss, scale the final platforming gimmick, and then obliterate the boss in a show of power the likes of which has never been see in a Castlevania before.

I think it'd be nice if you could play same-system co-op as well. I... can't really tell from the menu options. Looks like there's space for multiple people to sign in on the left, but all the features mention going online...

 

[The Hermit]

At first I was unimpressed but after watching the videos this is awesome!

I love me some Metroidvania!

 

[MechaX]

Okay, I saw the same thing and thought the same thing. It was so sad I had to shut it off. I don't like what he's done with the series but my heart is broken.

I am actually surprised that Konami didn't take the Yu Suzuki route and just shove IGA behind a desk for the rest of his days as a "consultant" every now and then. But I think their E3 Conference speaks volumes on Konami's... "leadership" structure.

 

[Edgeward]

Reading this thread is depressing. Poor IGA. =(

 

[MightyHedgehog]

I don't know what everyone's so depressed about...besides the continuing lack of Actionvania, anyway. Unless it's absolutely unplayable trash, which not one 2D Igavania is, this will sell very well. It is part of the next Summer of Arcade promotion and all of the past participating titles in it have been big sellers for XBLA. I'm hoping that the eventual success of HoD will mean more 2D Castlevania on DD channels even though I guess Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth on WiiWare hasn't exactly done so hot.

 

[Cheerilee]

So whoever is bringing up this 10k budget, where's a source on that? Cause if figures are being pulled out of someone's ass because they "think" that's it, piss off.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21885866&postcount=13

What the fuck do you want the guy to do when he has a budget of 10k, no real staff to speak of and isn't even getting fucking paid? It is amazing he was able to pull off as much as he did.

Iga has to have a staff, because he can't actually make games, he's just a writer and a leader who tells other people what to make. He used to be in charge of the combined Rondo/SotN and N64 teams. They can't just sit there and not work because he can't pay them, can they? Unless Konami made them move to another division. Iga's wife is probably still loyal to him. She was part of the original Rondo and SotN teams, and was supposedly the model for Shanoa. She's probably feeding him from her paycheck, lucky bastard.

I don't know what everyone's so depressed about...

Did you get to see any of the Konami conference? It might still be going. They just made him keep going up there again and again, begging not to get gunned down by the firing squad. I kinda love/hate the guy and have to resist the urge to punch my monitor when I try to type something nice about him, but I saw him go up there twice and it was hard not to feel sorry for him. I support the usurpers, but Cox just seemed like a dick onstage. I'm officially a bad person now.

 

[TreIII]

Not to you but I have been asking and looking for a while now, does anyone have sales for anything before SoTN? I haven't seen anything other then a few very specific people saying that it use to be a mainsteam franchise.

Honestly I don't buy this, and until I see numbers I really think this is people making themselves believe what they want and the they would be as much a success today as something like other medium to low franchises from the 90's.

Can't give you exact data (hell, you trying finding data for these types of things from clearly before the era of the internet alleviated these things! :lol), but here's what I could find for you.

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/project-51-to-explore-castlevania-storyline/69268/?biz=1

This link that Wiki likes to cite for its "multimillion selling game series" article goes on to state that Konami claims that the series has sold 20 million units to that date (2006), from the series introduction in 1986.

Now, where do you suppose all those "millions" came from, assuming the claim is true? Likely not from the games were IGA was the producer at that point in time. If we go by the combined total sales of his GBA/DS stuff alone to that point, with no re-releases, we'd be lucky to even get a half-million from all that. And that number would have to account games like the Saturn version of SOTN and Rondo of Blood, the latter of which, for the longest, was a JP-exclusive on a console that was really only relevant in Japan.

Is it that hard to believe that the series USED to be one with some serious clout to its name? I know, it's been a long time, and CV has since been a very "niche-y" franchise that's catered to a small, dwindling yet devoted fanbase for the better portion of a decade. But there WAS a period in history when CV used to be a major player in the Konami arena. And if that "20 million" figure is anything to go by, it represents a time when Castlevania used to have worldwide appeal that it basically doesn't possess any more.

Edit: Also Bayonetta's world wide numbers are pointless in this discussion, I was talking strictly Japan and it didn't do to hot

In Japan, the PS3 version of Bayo debuted at the top of the charts its first week, and even the 360 version debuted at number 7 (no small feat, considering the 360's lot in Japan)....that's not "too hot"...? Especially for a new IP, at that?

 

[Beth Cyra]

Can't give you exact data (hell, you trying finding data for these types of things from clearly before the era of the internet alleviated these things! :lol), but here's what I could find for you.

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/project-51-to-explore-castlevania-storyline/69268/?biz=1

This link that Wiki likes to cite for its "multimillion selling game series" article goes on to state that Konami claims that the series has sold 20 million units to that date (2006), from the series introduction in 1986.

Now, where do you suppose all those "millions" came from, assuming the claim is true? Likely not from the games were IGA was the producer at that point in time. If we go by the combined total sales of his GBA/DS stuff alone, with no re-releases, we'd be lucky to even get a half-million from all that. And that number would have to account games like the Saturn version of SOTN and Rondo of Blood, the latter of which, for the longest, was a JP-exclusive, on a console that furthermore, was really only relevant in Japan.

Is it that hard to believe that the series USED to be one with some serious clout to its name? I know, it's been a long time, and CV has since been a very "niche-y" franchise that's catered to a small, dwindling yet devoted fanbase for the better portion of a decade. But there WAS a period in history when CV used to be a major player in the Konami arena. And if that "20 million" figure is anything to go by, it represents a time when Castlevania used to have worldwide appeal that it basically doesn't possess any more.



In Japan, the PS3 version of Bayo debuted at the top of the charts its first week, and even the 360 version debuted at number 7 (no small feat, considering the 360's lot in Japan)....that's not "too hot"...? Especially for a new IP, at that?

Hmm I find those numbers dubious at best but as I am not apart of Konami and have no data to denounce them sp I will conced that I am wrong.

Though from what we have heard the less then half a million from all Iga's Vania's seems also unlikely, as they did say on a couple occasions that the GBA and at least first DS game (Dawn) preformed well (WW).

Lastly you seem like a smart fellow, even if we disagree on alot so I think that you know full well toping the charts for it's opening week doesn't mean a whole lot for Japan. There have been weeks where the highest selling game was around 30,000 units according to Media Create and Famitsu so yes I stand by the fact that Bayonetta didn't do to hot in Japan overall even if it did chart in first it's first week.

But as I said I will back off on the series not selling well. Just wish we had more indepth numbers.

 

[Beth Cyra]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21885866&postcount=13


Iga has to have a staff, because he can't actually make games, he's just a writer and a leader who tells other people what to make. He used to be in charge of the combined Rondo/SotN and N64 teams. They can't just sit there and not work because he can't pay them, can they? Unless Konami made them move to another division. Iga's wife is probably still loyal to him. She was part of the original Rondo and SotN teams, and was supposedly the model for Shanoa. She's probably feeding him from her paycheck, lucky bastard.


Did you get to see any of the Konami conference? It might still be going. They just made him keep going up there again and again, begging not to get gunned down by the firing squad. I kinda love/hate the guy and have to resist the urge to punch my monitor when I try to type something nice about him, but I saw him go up there twice and it was hard not to feel sorry for him. I support the usurpers, but Cox just seemed like a dick onstage. I'm officially a bad person now.

Fair enough, but to be fair I did say no real staff to speak of, I know he isn't doing every single thing himself.

But you do bring up a good point, who is working on it with him? I can't begin to believe that this is even a 1/3 of those combined team, and if they aren't doing this then what the hell are the PS2/Handheld teams up to?

They have to be working on something right? If they where fire most of the Castle team we would have probably heard about it and I can't remember anything to that degree. I just hope that they haven't been religated to Kinect shit during this whole mess.

 

[CO_Andy]

Iga needs to man up and either start creating sprites in his free time, or ask the fan community for help.

Kenji Inafune would not be where he his today had he not went the extra mile and developed Mega Man 2 in his spare time.

 

[Beth Cyra]

Iga needs to man up and either start creating sprites in his free time, or ask the fan community for help.

Kenji Inafune would not be where he his today had he not went the extra mile and developed Mega Man 2 in his spare time.

For a non artist I would imagine it is quite a bit different to create a sprite of high quality by todays standards then it was Mega Man 2 on Famicom, let alone a whole new game.

Besides I don't think Graphics are the problem, they created new character designs for all the PS2 games and Judgement (can't believe they paid someone for these ugly ass things). Even if they had created all new sprites I don't think that would have changed things drastically, the games would still be the same, just better looking.

 

[Foffy]

Fair enough, but to be fair I did say no real staff to speak of, I know he isn't doing every single thing himself.

But you do bring up a good point, who is working on it with him? I can't begin to believe that this is even a 1/3 of those combined team, and if they aren't doing this then what the hell are the PS2/Handheld teams up to?

They have to be working on something right? If they where fire most of the Castle team we would have probably heard about it and I can't remember anything to that degree. I just hope that they haven't been religated to Kinect shit during this whole mess.

1Up mentioned that IGA had more Castlevania projects planned, so maybe this will be a game released under the radar and fun for a weekend for two, like Adventure Rebirth was. I assume at the very least he will continue to have some hand in the future of the series, maybe even working with Cox to create handheld titles similar to the style found in Lords of Shadow. Unless Konami just wants to ignore the last 13 years and immediately drop it to follow Lords of Shadow. Cox revealed in an interview that regardless of the success of the game, Konami is willing to let him make a follow up to get Castlevania to a more massive market. What gets me is that it doesn't help that outside of that project, they seem to have given no money to Adventure Rebirth (that game also reuses sprites and backgrounds) or Harmony of Despair. I doubt they'll be marketed as much as Lords of Shadow, too.

Then again, after seeing Konami's E3 event, it makes perfect sense they're willing to abandon their products and let them die at retail.

 

[Beth Cyra]

1Up mentioned that IGA had more Castlevania projects planned, so maybe this will be a game released under the radar and fun for a weekend for two, like Adventure Rebirth was. I assume at the very least he will continue to have some hand in the future of the series, maybe even working with Cox to create handheld titles similar to the style found in Lords of Shadow. Unless Konami just wants to ignore the last 13 years and immediately drop it to follow Lords of Shadow. Cox revealed in an interview that regardless of the success of the game, Konami is willing to let him make a follow up to get Castlevania to a more massive market. What gets me is that it doesn't help that outside of that project, they seem to have given no money to Adventure Rebirth (that game also reuses sprites and backgrounds) or Harmony of Despair. I doubt they'll be marketed as much as Lords of Shadow, too.

Then again, after seeing Konami's E3 event, it makes perfect sense they're willing to abandon their products and let them die at retail.

Yeah I know I have been skeptical about alot of things in this thread but unless HoD sells like Gang busters I don't think there is a chance of this at all.

No offense to anyone but watching that press confrence gave me zero faith in the idea. Does Iga have idea's and desire? Without out doubt, but the way they put him through the ringer so publicly there is no way Iga is going to get another serious chance at Castle even less so if Lords does well.

 

[Cheerilee]

Just wish we had more indepth numbers.

An old NPD leak from 2004 put the life-to-date in America on Castlevania 64 at about 365,000, and SotN at 475,000. Castlevania Chronicles was 75,000. Metal Gear Solid 1 supposedly sold over six million worldwide.

IIRC from the last time the subject came up, Circle of the Moon was the best selling handheld CV by a pretty wide margin, and none of Iga's games (handheld or console) came close to it.

Castlevania on the NES practically MADE Konami, along with the likes of Gradius, after it became obvious that Frogger and Q-Bert didn't have lasting appeal. Then Castlevania took a hit on the jump to 16-bit, but it was still an epic system seller. Then it took another hit on the jump to 32/64 bit, but was still huge. Then it took another hit when it became Igavania, and was still profitable, but left people asking "When is Castlevania going to go back to the way it was?"

 

[Beth Cyra]

An old NPD leak from 2004 put the life-to-date in America on Castlevania 64 at about 365,000, and SotN at 475,000. Castlevania Chronicles was 75,000. Metal Gear Solid 1 supposedly sold over six million worldwide.

IIRC from the last time the subject came up, Circle of the Moon was the best selling handheld CV by a pretty wide margin, and none of Iga's games (handheld or console) came close to it.

Castlevania on the NES practically MADE Konami, along with the likes of Gradius, after it became obvious that Frogger and Q-Bert didn't have lasting appeal. Then Castlevania took a hit on the jump to 16-bit, but it was still an epic system seller. Then it took another hit on the jump to 32/64 bit, but was still huge. Then it took another hit when it became Igavania, and was still profitable, but left people asking "When is Castlevania going to go back to the way it was?"

Well then I will eat my crow right now, and yes it is fucking terrible.

But as much as I hate eating crow, your explination says shows that Castlevania was on the decline well before Iga took over as it took a hit with each passing generation.

Not only that but the fact that CV 64 sold pretty well shows that Qualtiy isn't exactly the barrier here, not to mention if Circle of the Moon was the highest selling GBA game.

I will no longer say that Igavania wasn't the case but it certainly seems like it is not the only one, franchise fatigue as the gens pass as well as other things seems like it certainly played a part.

Can someone clarify something for me? I had thought that the greatest hit line on PS1 was made up of games that hit 1 million, was it actually 100K?

 

[Cheerilee]

Well then I will eat my crow right now, and yes it is fucking terrible.

But as much as I hate eating crow, your explination says shows that Castlevania was on the decline well before Iga took over as it took a hit with each passing generation.

Not only that but the fact that CV 64 sold pretty well shows that Qualtiy isn't exactly the barrier here, not to mention if Circle of the Moon was the highest selling GBA game.

I will no longer say that Igavania wasn't the case but it certainly seems like it is not the only one, franchise fatigue as the gens pass as well as other things seems like it certainly played a part.

Yeah, Iga's #1 job since he took over was to bring the franchise back to glory, and he obviously failed at that, but we can't really measure if he killed Castlevania or if it died despite his efforts to save it.

Can someone clarify something for me? I had thought that the greatest hit line on PS1 was made up of games that hit 1 million, was it actually 100K?

According to Wikipedia...

When Sony introduced the program for PlayStation in 1997, games could become Greatest Hits titles after selling at least 150,000 copies and being on the market for at least a year.[1] Minimum sales required eventually rose to 250,000.[2] When the program came to PlayStation 2 in 2002, games could become Greatest Hits titles after selling at least 400,000 copies and being on the market for at least 9 months.

In 2006, Sony extended the Greatest Hits program to the PlayStation Portable.[4] To qualify, a title must be on the market for at least 9 months and have sold 250,000 copies or more.

On July 28th, 2008, the program was introduced on the PlayStation 3. A PlayStation 3 game must be on the market for 10 months and sell at least 500,000 copies to meet the Greatest Hits criteria.

Nintendo had a "Players Choice: Million Seller" line for the N64 because Nintendo didn't like the idea of letting people have a break on the royalties for a reprint. With GameCube, they dropped the limit to 250,000.

 

[jaxword]

IIRC from the last time the subject came up, Circle of the Moon was the best selling handheld CV by a pretty wide margin, and none of Iga's games (handheld or console) came close to it.

So is that what killed IGA's career?

I'd actually like to know what happened, as lots of people are making claims but no coherent sequence of events.

Did he take over with SOTN, then make clones that slowly sold less and less?

 

[Beth Cyra]

Yeah, Iga's #1 job since he took over was to bring the franchise back to glory, and he obviously failed at that, but we can't really measure if he killed Castlevania or if it died despite his efforts to save it.


According to Wikipedia...

Thanks for the update, it is much lower then I had thought.

 

[Cheerilee]

So is that what killed IGA's career?

I'd actually like to know what happened, as lots of people are making claims but no coherent sequence of events.

Did he take over with SOTN, then make clones that slowly sold less and less?

- Iga made Tokimeki Memorial. He transferred to Castlevania because he loved CV3 and his wife worked with Toru Hagihara on Rondo of Blood.
- Iga was just an assistant director on SotN. His contributions to the game are likely immeasurable, but he didn't "make" SotN.
- The N64 team made Circle of the Moon, and it sold mostly because of good release timing as an early GBA game.
- Toru Hagihara retired/was promoted to the board of Konami (he probably signs Hideo Kojima's checks).
- Iga got promoted to the head of the SotN/Rondo team.
- Konami decided that they wanted one creative vision for the series instead of whatever anyone at Konami wanted to make that day, so they made Iga the master of Castlevania and gave him the N64/Circle of the Moon team to go with his SotN team.

- Several failed PS2 games and several solid Metroidvanias later, Hideo Kojima questioned Iga's results.
- Konami took away his title as master of Castlevania.
- Iga might soon be fired and/or beaten severely.

 

[MickeyKnox]

LOTS OF DOTS!

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

It's not a matter of public record, but one could safely assume a range of 150k-300k for the GBA/DS IGA Metroidvanias in North America, with the peak occurring with Dawn of Sorrow. None of them did as well as Circle of the Moon, which sailed past the 400k mark. The series was already in a bit of slump before IGA got near it. Generally Castlevania, outside of the NES, has reaped massive rewards from releasing near a console's launch, with subsequent efforts struggling to reach anywhere near the numbers of those titles.

 

[Jb]

- Iga made Tokimeki Memorial. He transferred to Castlevania because he loved CV3 and his wife worked with Toru Hagihara on Rondo of Blood.
- Iga was just an assistant director on SotN. His contributions to the game are likely immeasurable, but he didn't "make" SotN.
- The N64 team made Circle of the Moon, and it sold mostly because of good release timing as an early GBA game.
- Toru Hagihara retired/was promoted to the board of Konami (he probably signs Hideo Kojima's checks).
- Iga got promoted to the head of the SotN/Rondo team.
- Konami decided that they wanted one creative vision for the series instead of whatever anyone at Konami wanted to make that day, so they made Iga the master of Castlevania and gave him the N64/Circle of the Moon team to go with his SotN team.

- Several failed PS2 games and several solid Metroidvanias later, Hideo Kojima questioned Iga's results.
- Konami took away his title as master of Castlevania.
- Iga might soon be fired and/or beaten severely.

Wow, this is so depressing . Guess I'll have to buy HoD then.

 

[jaxword]

- Several failed PS2 games and several solid Metroidvanias later, Hideo Kojima questioned Iga's results.

Thanks for the summary. So basically it was the lousy 3d games that killed his career? You'd think after the first 2 sold badly he'd have learned a lesson...

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Lament underperformed expectations but still sold fairly well. Curse sold fairly badly but not disastrously. Judgement, on the other hand...

 

[Cheerilee]

Thanks for the summary. So basically it was the lousy 3d games that killed his career? You'd think after the first 2 sold badly he'd have learned a lesson...

I don't think he should've made them, but in his defense, Konami tasked him with making Castlevania big again. You can't do that with handheld fanservice. Plus he says Konami wouldn't give him the money needed to make great 3D games, although I think (without knowing all the facts) that he could've fought harder for what Castlevania needed if he actually had a clear plan for bringing Castlevania into the future. I myself would say "Castlevania needs HD sprites. Give me money for HD sprites or go to hell!" And then I would simply be fired and not be stressed out worrying about my job.

 

[Wizpig]

- Several failed PS2 games and several solid Metroidvanias later, Hideo Kojima questioned Iga's results.
- Konami took away his title as master of Castlevania.
- Iga might soon be fired and/or beaten severely.

For? a God of War clone?
I want IGA.

Damn if that last point you made is true I'm going to be an angry fan.

 

[Plywood]

Iga should go to Square Enix and make FFT2. /crazyideathat'llneverwork/happen

The thought of Castlevania HD sprites D:

Only if they were BlazBlue quality. /insane

 

[Beth Cyra]

I don't think he should've made them, but in his defense, Konami tasked him with making Castlevania big again. You can't do that with handheld fanservice. Plus he says Konami wouldn't give him the money needed to make great 3D games, although I think (without knowing all the facts) that he could've fought harder for what Castlevania needed if he actually had a clear plan for bringing Castlevania into the future. I myself would say "Castlevania needs HD sprites. Give me money for HD sprites or go to hell!" And then I would simply be fired and not be stressed out worrying about my job.

True, but Iga seems to love Castlevania, it isn't exactly surprising things ended up the way they did. In fact that may be the root of the whole thing, his love for Castle was to strong and it ended up hurting more then helping.

He has been very outspoken in the past about Konami and there budgets or lack there of but he has always held Castlevania in very high regard, especially three always calling it out as the bar for all his titles.

I wonder if he hadn't been so focused on his love if he would have been able to step back and make it so things where done to make sure it got wider appeal instead of creating games for that really hardcore base that bought everything even if that number grew smaller and wouldn't meet what Konami wanted.

 

[Amalthea]

- Iga made Tokimeki Memorial. He transferred to Castlevania because he loved CV3 and his wife worked with Toru Hagihara on Rondo of Blood.
- Iga was just an assistant director on SotN. His contributions to the game are likely immeasurable, but he didn't "make" SotN.
- The N64 team made Circle of the Moon, and it sold mostly because of good release timing as an early GBA game.
- Toru Hagihara retired/was promoted to the board of Konami (he probably signs Hideo Kojima's checks).
- Iga got promoted to the head of the SotN/Rondo team.
- Konami decided that they wanted one creative vision for the series instead of whatever anyone at Konami wanted to make that day, so they made Iga the master of Castlevania and gave him the N64/Circle of the Moon team to go with his SotN team.

- Several failed PS2 games and several solid Metroidvanias later, Hideo Kojima questioned Iga's results.
- Konami took away his title as master of Castlevania.
- Iga might soon be fired and/or beaten severely.

To bad there's no one at Konami to question Kojima.

Well but after all the series needs really a new direction but is it just me or is HoD more discussed than LoS at the moment? :lol

 

[kiryogi]

At first, with the leaked stuff I was pretty turned off. Now I feel pretty damn bad for Iga. I've gotten every single one of his games minus Judgement. I'll leap on this if he can at least provide jp battle voice. Those dub voices ain't cutting it for me.

 

[Beth Cyra]

To bad there's no one at Konami to question Kojima.

Well but after all the series needs really a new direction but is it just me or is HoD more discussed than LoS at the moment? :lol

There is nothing really new to talk about when it comes to LoS, we knew the style it's using, sure there where a couple of character reveals but we don't know nothing about them and with them saying they aren't using the cannon of Castle we really can't even speculate about them much.

Other then that unless I missed something there is nothing in the E3 Trailer that was worth talking about.

The powerful item that brings back the dead is an overused plot point and Patrick Stuart has been known about forever.

Edit: Oh wait I did forget something, IT'S A TRAAAP!, I know Iga's games have there fair share of Nonsense, but LoS better play fucking great because the story seems to be utter cliched shit so far.

 

[NeoUltima]

Well but after all the series needs really a new direction but is it just me or is HoD more discussed than LoS at the moment? :lol

Not much game discussion going on in here. More of a IGA pity thread.
And yeah, as above poster said, not much new in terms of LoS at e3 besides that trailer.

I support the usurpers, but Cox just seemed like a dick onstage. I'm officially a bad person now.

I can understand the IGA pity...but come on. Cox was just reading a teleprompter up there. That's how he sounds, he wasn't being a dick...unless you were making a silly joke about his name.

 

[Amalthea]

Not much game discussion going on in here. More of a IGA pity thread.
And yeah, as above poster said, not much new in terms of LoS at e3 besides that trailer.

Even bad publicity is a form of publicity. :lol

 

[Cheerilee]

Damn if that last point you made is true I'm going to be an angry fan.

I know that when I work for free (it happens) I'm untouchable. I can deliberately bring down the productivity of people around me, and when the boss yells "Get back to work!" I yell "Pay me!" and he turns around and walks away, while I continue being an ass for a few minutes. I don't do it often, but it's nice to know that you can.

Iga is supposedly working for free, yet he's afraid. He's either on thin ice, or they want him to think he's on thin ice. If they fired him, it would be epic if he joined Capcom.

I can understand the IGA pity...but come on. Cox was just reading a teleprompter up there. That's how he sounds, he wasn't being a dick...unless you were making a silly joke about his name.

Pun not intended. I guess maybe I was affected by his blandness among the madness or something, but I just didn't want to listen to him. Also, I saw the new trailer before I saw the conference, so that didn't do anything for me either. I'm willing to accept that I both misjudged him and was out of line in the harshness of my statement. As I recall, my fingers were just rambling without much direction when I typed that.

 

[Amalthea]

I can understand the IGA pity...but come on. Cox was just reading a teleprompter up there. That's how he sounds, he wasn't being a dick...unless you were making a silly joke about his name.

Oh yeah, his name. Perfect for silly jokes.

Like; "Cox will stay hard about his vision of Castlevania", for example.

Hurr-hurr

 

[jaxword]

they aren't using the cannon of Castle

New Dracula weapon or a demonstration of the danger of improper spelling?

 

[Beth Cyra]

I know that when I work for free (it happens) I'm untouchable. I can deliberately bring down the productivity of people around me, and when the boss yells "Get back to work!" I yell "Pay me!" and he turns around and walks away, while I continue being an ass for a few minutes. I don't do it often, but it's nice to know that you can.

Iga is supposedly working for free, yet he's afraid. He's either on thin ice, or they want him to think he's on thin ice. If they fired him, it would be epic if he joined Capcom.

This brings up another thing, like I asked about earlier with the Castle teams.

We will know Iga's fate before LoS's ships, there is no way we can't, HoD is coming as part of the summer arcade and we still don't even have a release date for LoS outside of a vague Fall.

Say Iga's new game sales only decent, well we know that isn't enough or he would be sitting pretty in the handheld space making a game for the 3DS, so if does only decent or fails he is probably gone or given a desk job until he quits.

Now the question is what if LoS's tanks? I know alot of people on Gaf are into but that doesn't mean shit for the general public, and the thousands that bought Iga's handheld games are not in any way sure things as proven with Judgement.

Who will take the blame? I doubt Kojima considering it really seem like he is more the president of the company then the actual one. Mercury Stream? Sure they could blame it on them but it was Kojima that is backing it so would they really do that? Seems like it could make Kojima look bad by association.

More so if LoS's tanks and they have already shelved Iga who do they turn to? They will have a bombed HD game which will be far worse then Iga's slightly declining but still profitable handheld sells. And easily worse then his PS2 mistakes, hell even if LoS's sales level out or even are little bit higher the Lament will be a far worse dent in Konami then Lamnet and Curse ever was.

Edit: Extremely bad spelling, been up far longer then I should have been and it is making my typing skills way worse then they usually are, which is actually shit to begin with.

 

[leroy hacker]

Iga has to have a staff, because he can't actually make games, he's just a writer and a leader who tells other people what to make. He used to be in charge of the combined Rondo/SotN and N64 teams.

I'm not sure what you're talking about here. The N64 games, like Circle of the Moon, were made by KCE Kobe and IGA had nothing to do with them, nor did he gain control over that team later, at least going by staff lists in mobygames. What happened, unfortunately, is that KCE Kobe had the series taken away from them, not that IGA took over them.

 

[Cheerilee]

Now the question is what if LoS's tanks?
Who will take the blame?

Mercurystream will take 100% of it. Even if they do a spectacular job. Their relationship with Konami will end, but with good leadership they might survive with little more damage than their pride and reputation, and it will probably be a little harder for them to find work elsewhere.

Kojima will be slightly tainted in that people will question his opinions of others, but that will fade.

More so if LoS's tanks and they have already shelved Iga who do they turn to?

Nobody. Franchise death. Until someone with positive nostalgia earns enough influence within Konami to set his own projects, and decides to toy around with an abandoned IP.

Edit: If Iga isn't fired and has a desk job, I expect he will make it his business to get back in the series driver seat, and he'll have to fight Konami for a dime, but once he makes a game, so long as it doesn't lose money, Konami will think he's a hero for bringing the IP back.

I'm not sure what you're talking about here. The N64 games, like Circle of the Moon, were made by KCE Kobe and IGA had nothing to do with them, nor did he gain control over that team later, at least going by staff lists in mobygames. What happened, unfortunately, is that KCE Kobe had the series taken away from them, not that IGA took over them.

I heard it told by someone on GAF with more connections than me (probably jarrod or someone) that when Iga took control over the series, Konami disbanded KCE Kobe and transferred the bulk of them into Iga's KCE Tokyo (team 1), along with what was left of KCE Tokyo (team 2) after Tomikazu Kirita (producer on Bloodlines for the Genesis) left for America to oversee the development of Dreamcastlevania. And when Iga was promoted over him and canned his game, he quit Konami and joined Sony and helped form Team Ico.

 

[Beth Cyra]

Mercurystream will take 100% of it. Even if they do a spectacular job. Their relationship with Konami will end, but with good leadership they might survive with little more damage than their pride and reputation, and it will probably be a little harder for them to find work elsewhere.

Kojima will be slightly tainted in that people will question his opinions of others, but that will fade.


Nobody. Franchise death. Until someone with positive nostalgia earns enough influence within Konami to set his own projects, and decides to toy around with an abandoned IP.

Edit: If Iga isn't fired and has a desk job, I expect he will make it his business to get back in the series driver seat, and he'll have to fight Konami for a dime, but once he makes a game, so long as it doesn't lose money, Konami will think he's a hero for bringing the IP back.


I heard it told by someone on GAF with more connections than me (probably jarrod or someone) that when Iga took control over the series, Konami disbanded KCE Kobe and transferred the bulk of them into Iga's KCE Tokyo (team 1), along with what was left of KCE Tokyo (team 2) after Tomikazu Kirita (producer on Bloodlines for the Genesis) left for America to oversee the development of Dreamcastlevania. And when Iga was promoted over him and canned his game, he quit Konami and joined Sony and helped form Team Ico.

That would really fucking suck.

Call me a cynic but I don't see Iga making it past HoD no matter how well it sells, and LoS's has a good chance to bomb, well I guess I hope it does well because I rather see games being made that I hate then no games.

I just don't see them pulling it off at least not to major sales success. To many games have bombed and they are walking head first in a genre that has unbelievable quality games, probably the highest out of any genre in the past few years.

I know they say it isn't exactly God of War but when people see those trailers that is exactly what they are going to think, hell we have people on Gaf who fell that is what it is and they have Cox's interviews.

So from a non informed opinion you have a goth game with incredibly cheesy/dumb story that is going to be percieved as a game like Devil May Cry/God Of War/Ninja Gaiden and Bayonetta.

That and no offense to the team but I don't believe they will hit the quality of any of those games, especially not the cinematic feel of God of War or the true Balls to the wall action of Bayonetta and it will leave people that go into it for action severly disappointed.

Well hopefully the whole vampire love fest that Twilight spawned will spill over and help this game sell.

 

[leroy hacker]

I heard it told by someone on GAF with more connections than me (probably jarrod or someone) that when Iga took control over the series, Konami disbanded KCE Kobe and transferred the bulk of them into Iga's KCE Tokyo (team 1)

According to Mobygames only two people on the staff of Castlevania 64 and three from the staff of CotM ever worked on an IGA game. What you were told is fiction.

Tomikazu Kirita ... quit Konami and joined Sony and helped form Team Ico.

This also seems to be untrue. He has produced or supervised a very large number of games at Sony and Ico wasn't one of them. He did supervise SotC but I'd think that if he had formed the team he would also get credit on Ico.

 

[7Th]

No salary, no new art, no team, I guess he had to save his $10k for flying to E3 and buying off Summer of Arcade space?

Edit: Wait, how much does ESRB cert cost? Could that be the sole expense of this game?

What? There is new Ayami Kojima art in this game; I mean, this is the first time she ever draws Shanoa, Johnathan and Charlotte.