General Industry news is taking a back seat for this week, but that doesn't mean the gaming world was any less exciting. We've got a lot of hardware issues this week, actually, from missing PSP Go nubs to limited disc space, to the alarming drop in the numbers of said hardwares, we've got a busy hardware week in our hands.

Koji "IGA" Igarashi has been involved with Konami's Castlevania franchise since for a dozen years now. I was personally surprised that the man considered to be a Castlevania icon wasn't anywhere near the E3 stage when Konami announced Lords of Shadow (PS3, Xbox 360), but it appears that we may be hearing more from him in a few months' time.

Hideo Kojima, Koji Igarashi, and a handful of playable demos and new game announcements have all been announced as part of the Konami experience at Leipzig. More in the full article.

Here's something that may get all Castlevania fans excited: A new Castlevania title has been spotted as a newly-filed trademark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Titled as Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, there's still no word if the game is the new Nintendo DS Castlevania that Koji Igarashi has been hinting about, or if it will be released for other platforms. More details in the full article.

Japanese fans now have their own version of the long-awaited Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. Koji "Iga" Igarashi along with Castlevania artist Ayami Kojima kept fans busy during the recent Dracula X Chronicles Japan launch.

Mr. Kojima apparently had a lot of things to say to fans during the event regarding the game and a possible new entry in the series. Find out what Igarashi-san talked about during the launch after the jump!

Koji "Iga" Igarashi, creator of the Castlevania franchise, is serious when he says 2D gaming is still kicking. While we are yet to find out which platform the next-gen Castlevania title will be on and if it's going to be in 3D like its previous console iterations, we can be certain that Iga will still be looking at what he's best known for.

In an interview, Igarashi gave the PS2 side-scrolling title Odin Sphere credit for being a great game. He said players loved it for the characters, but didn't consider it as a true 2D action game. Making such game on next-gen hardware, according to Iga, is difficult. Fortunately, there's the scene of downloadable content like Xbox Live which he believes to be a new avenue for developers who still want to go 2D.

For Igarashi, it seems Castlevania being 2D or 3D isn't even the issue. "The bottom line is that the Castlevania series is an action-based game," he said. Also, it's all about developing games based on what he loves while still considering fan feedback. "I don't develop games based on the markets; I develop games based on what I find exciting. I just develop based on what I love."

Speaking of love, Iga expressed his support for indie developers or individuals who make their own 2D games. He advised them to develop what they love, since contrary to popular belief, working on 2D is not just the easy way out. Igarashi went on to say that:

A lot of people think of 2D development as something that's simple, and very easily done, but think of all the assets, all of the small details, all of the little things that make it a really good game.

  

Koji "Iga" Igarashi, the man behind the successful Castlevania franchise, revealed more juicy tidbits about his experiences with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and the future of the Castlevania series in another interview held during the recent E for All 2007 event. While Igarashi didn't quite reveal everything players were dying to know, he did offer some insights into both himself and the Castlevania franchise.

For example, Koji Igarashi said that he was thinking of producing titles for next-gen consoles, only that he hadn't actually decided on one yet. Nintendo fans, at least, have something to look forward to: Mr. Igarashi mentioned that he was working on a version of Castlevania for the Nintendo DS.

Oddly enough, Koji Igarashi admitted to having an Xbox 360,  but not a PS3 at home, saying that he liked the lineup of games that the Xbox 360 had to offer. Mr. Igarashi said he would rather wait for Metal Gear Solid 4 come out (and for the PS3's price to drop) before purchasing a PS3. As one observant reader noted: could this be any indication of the specific console that the next Castlevania game will come out for?

In an interview with Wired, the series producer of Konami's Castlevania series, Koji Igarashi, confirmed that they are currently working on a new Castlevania game for the Nintendo DS. He also gave out details on the pre-order promotions for the U.S. release of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles and shared some of his thoughts on Dracula's meat.

Regarding a new DS iteration of the Castlvania series, Igarashi said that they want people to enjoy Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP before they make the official announcement about the game. While he didn't give any details about this game yet, we can probably expect it to be pretty sweet if it turns out to be like Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin or Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

PSP owners who plan on pre-ordering Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles will be happy to know that Igarashi said that those who decide to get the game from GameStop will be getting a special Simon's Quest figure which will come in black, white, and red. Be advised though that the number of figures made are very limited, so you may want to go see if your local GameStop will have any of them during the launch.

While Igarashi did give out lots of information about the direction of the Castlevania series, there are some things that even he cannot explain. So before we go, here is his answer regarding the presence of meat in Dracula's castle:

You should ask, why do they eat it! I've thought about this stuff. I've actually thought about the candles. The candles are people's souls that were taken by Death or by the vampires. In Japan there are candles that represent life. So, when you release the souls from the candles by whipping them, they give you a "thank you" present. Thank-you hearts, or thank-you holy water. The meat, I have no idea.

With Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and a still-unnamed DS version in the works, the looming question hangs above Koji Igarashi (or IGA) and the rest of the Castlevania team: what console will get the next Castlevania game?

For this decision, it seems that console popularity is a major impact when it comes to IGA. Between the Xbox 360 and PS3, IGA chose Microsoft's console, saying:

The U.S. market is the biggest market for the Castlevania series, so I will give the first priority to the U.S. market. The platform will be the Xbox 360, since the PS3 isn't doing well everywhere in the world. As you know, Konami will release Metal Gear for the PS3, so Metal Gear might expand the PS3 market. In that case, we may release Castlevania for the PS3.

However, what about the highest-selling console to date, the Wii? While IGA acknowledges the popularity of Nintendo's console, he still has some misgivings, saying that third-party titles do not sell as well for the Wii and that there are some issues with the Wiimote controls. To illustrate the point, he even performed an overhead whipping gesture to show how tiring it will be to always use the Wiimote's motion sensors as controls.

For DS gamers anticipating the still-unknown Castlevania title, there's some good news: it will not be a remake of any Castlevania game (not even the PSP's Dracula X: Chronicles), but it will be an all-new game.

Well, we certainly can't wait for that one. Do check this space for more updates!

Read the entire interview in the Read link!

Ah, Castlevania. That's one gaming franchise that never ceases to shine. It's always good getting more news about the epic game series, and when it's coming from Castlevania's Koji Igarashi himself, it's all the more better. 1up managed to sneak in an interview with Igarashi, or IGA, and they talked about their current Castlevania project Dracula X Chronicles, as well as possible futures for Castlevania in other consoles.

PSP's Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles - based on a much earlier Rondo of Blood - is just about finished, with the US version already approved while they're still waiting to get approval for the Europe and Japanese versions.

As for the Symphony of the Night added into Dracula X Chronicles, IGA said that some content was changed in the PSP version compared to the downloadable SotN from PlayStation Network and Xbox Live: voice acting was improved (yes!), and they made drastic improvements to Maria's sprite compared to the Sega Saturn version. Michiru Yamane, music composer for the Castlevania series, composed a new song for the SotN credit track.

As for future Castlevanias, one of the things that is definite is that we'll have another title for the DS, and they're also thinking about the possibility of some whip-cracking action on the Wii, but there's a small problem. According to IGA,

As for a Wii version, I still think people would be exhausted if they had to swing it as a whip the entire time, but I am coming around to the idea -- I like the concept in theory, but I'd just have to make sure it could be done without players getting all tired.

Cracking whips around all day does sound a tad tiring and painful in the long run.

The Castlevania team, in the meantime, are thinking whether to go "traditional" and release games for the Xbox 360 and PS3. As to what "traditional" means to them, it doesn't necessarily mean the old-school 2D gaming. Said IGA,

Those are two steps for us, actually. Step 1 is figuring out the gameplay and step 2 is the graphics. We are still discussing step 1, so until we have the gameplay figured out I won't be able to say whether or not it will be 2D or 3D.

Those who want new downloadable Castlevania games won't have much hope to hold on to, however. IGA said that prices of downloadable games are quite too low to support the things that they want to do in the game, and will also result in low-fidelity games.

That's definitely so much info to chew on! But you can bet we'll have more as updates come our way. Stay tuned!