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.

Would it appease you guys if Igarashi brings out a traditional Castlevania? We're not saying he will, but he's said some statement that makes us think there's a possibility he might. Find out about it after the jump.

Koji Igarashi, the current producer of the Castlevania series, recently spoke about the mixed reactions Castlevania Judgment has been getting. He feels that the strong negative reactions towards the game was "unjustified." Check out the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

Konami recently sent out a press release detailing more info regarding their upcoming fighting game Castlevania Judgment. Furthermore, they finally have a release date for the game! Find out more after the jump!

Seems that a Castlevania game for the Wii is getting more and more likely. According to a listing for Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, a comic book based on the PS2 game, a new Castlevania game is scheduled for release on the Wii and DS sometime this year. Details 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.

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.

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!

Transmetropolitan creator Warren Ellis has recently let out a few interesting details on the upcoming direct-to-DVD Castlevania animated movie through the official Castlevania: Dracula's Curse production blog. Ellis has signed on as the animated film's screenwriter.

First of all, Ellis says that it's going to be a trilogy, as in there will be three Castlevania animated films. The film will be set in Wallachia in 1476, and long-time fans will be pleased to note that the movie team has "worked with Koji Igarashi to get the film solidly inside the Castlevania timeline." Also, it won't be your generic kids' movie, so we can probably expect some mature themes here and there.

According to Ellis, Igarashi has "approved everything I came up with, including some new embroidering to the timeline. To make it work as a film, I had to introduce new backstory, and I went through five drafts of the premise and three of the full outline to get the material where IGA wanted it."

As for character appearances, Sypha Belnades is in, Grant DaNasty is out. The reason? Ellis gives out three, but let's just take two. Reason one: "Grant DaNasty is a stupid name that I cannot take seriously. (When he does turn up, I’ll probably use the alternate spelling of Grant DiNesti.)" Reason two: "Seriously, what use is a pirate on dry land? 'Avast, ye swabs, and push me fecking cart! Arrr!' No. Just no."