Igarashi favors Xbox 360 for next Castlevania

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 11th 2007 at 1:29PM }

Castlevania guru Koji Igarashi in a Game Informer interview says he's leaning toward Xbox 360 for the next console version of Castlevania. He says that he's focusing on "the best platform for the U.S. market" and that would be in his opinion the Xbox 360. He goes on to the say that the US market is the "biggest market" for the series, so he's giving priority to the Xbox 360. He doesn't rule out dual development but says it "would be very tough" and that if Metal Gear Solid 4 expands the PS3 market they may release the next Castlevania on PS3 as well.

Still in business mode, Igarashi went on to explain Castlevania for the Wii. He says that Nintendo dominates their own console and third party titles are not so great in sales. He says he's researching how to make Castlevania work on the system in the future and it's about getting the whip motion to work properly instead of having players waggle like Zelda. Igarashi finishes by saying that the next DS Castlevania should be announced in the "near future."

Tags: castlevania, igarashi, Koji-Igarashi, xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Ska Oreo @ Sep 11th 2007 1:30PM

Yay, we get an exclusive sub-par castlvania!!! ALLRIGHT!!!!

NaeemTHM @ Sep 11th 2007 1:47PM

HEY! Third times a charm*. And lament of innocence was actually pretty damn good.

Also: WHOOOOOOOO! NEW CASTLEVANIA DS!! Those GBA/DS games have been the most fun I've had on a portable in years. Hopefully they'll think of something besides the "Metrodvania" style.

*N64 games did not happen.

Draco @ Sep 11th 2007 1:32PM

Doesn't Castlevania sell well in Japan and Europe, where the PS3 does better?

Jake @ Sep 11th 2007 1:34PM

Igarashi would be a great person to ask that question to.

The1 @ Sep 11th 2007 1:38PM

PS3 is not doing better in Europe.

Draco @ Sep 11th 2007 1:47PM

Sorry I worded that wrong, I meant better then in the US. its not beating the 360 by any means, but not doing as poorly in Europe.

(ignore my post later on) I thought I hit reply.

kevinski @ Sep 11th 2007 6:24PM

From what I understand Castlevania games do much better in the states. At least, I seem to recall hearing something along those lines, and I believe that Igarashi was the one who said it.

Phranctoast @ Sep 11th 2007 1:32PM

This seems great for 360 fans, but seriously...when was the last decent castlevania game???

Fernando Rocker (NDF - Water Ring) @ Sep 11th 2007 1:40PM

Any Castlevania on the DS or the Advance is good.

BPM @ Sep 11th 2007 1:40PM

Portrait of Ruin (the last released Castlevania) says hi.

Dracula X Chronicles (coming very soon to PSP) is also looking to whip it good.

Now, if you meant CONSOLE Castlevania... The last good one would be Symphony of the Night, which was also the last 2D Castlevania on a console.

OnimushaSoki @ Sep 11th 2007 1:46PM

BPM --- Lament of Innocence wasn't bad... I just think a lot of gamers were still feeling the bitterness of the 3D N64 attempts at Castlevania.

Personally, I'd be happy with ARIA OF SORROW being remade... maybe even that scrapped Castlevania game for Dreamcast being restarted. Or perhaps they could finally (re)incorporate Sonia Belmont back into the storyline.

Either way, it's time for a new way of playing CV. Despite my eagerness to play the new PSP game of Castlevania with Richter... they've milked SotN-style to death. :\

Crono (NDF - Fire Ring) @ Sep 11th 2007 1:53PM

The PS2 castlevania games were passable, but not nearly on the same level as Symphony of the Night, or any of the GBA/DS outings. PSP's getting a good one coming up, with the Rondo of Blood/SotN pack.

Phranctoast @ Sep 11th 2007 3:12PM

I didnt like lament of innocence at all. The N64 game was pretty bad. Symphony of the night is great. I repurchased it on psn and I just need to find the time to start playing it again. Its like I forgot how to play 2d side scrollers!!

jtenma @ Sep 11th 2007 1:33PM

Flame on...go ahead.. you know you want to.

hvnlysoldr (NDF - Wind Ring) @ Sep 11th 2007 2:54PM

Now you're just asking for it. Usually this is when I shout the attack from the obscure series Earthbound whose only character I've played is Ness in SSBM, but you haven't actually said anything flame worthy against the NDF.

Jtenma @ Sep 11th 2007 2:58PM

LOL

Cellien @ Sep 11th 2007 1:34PM

Seems many Japanese developers are favoring the 360. Very stark contrast to what I would have ever believed.

Jake @ Sep 11th 2007 1:35PM

Well, it would appear the next great Castlevania title has a better chance of coming to 360.

samfish @ Sep 11th 2007 1:36PM

Sheesh...how blind can he be? A new 2D Castlevania on the Wii would sell phenomenally better than a 360 version for the same reason the Sonic and Mega Man games sold the best on Nintendo systems.

Draco @ Sep 11th 2007 1:40PM

Agreed, I don't have a Wii but I agree Castlevania would work much better on it then 360, a 2d sidescroller, (without much motion control) would be able to sell, and sell well in all regions, plus cost less to produce.

Duscrom @ Sep 11th 2007 4:09PM

I'll have to disagree. With the limited buttons of the Wii Remote, if it's a 2D game it would seriously hamper the game. Plus on the 360 you have the possibility of High Def sprites. Secondly, Megaman and Sonic are aimed at a much younger audience then Castlevania.

Personally I think that someone needs to Follow Capcom's example and make a good HD 2D side-scroller. Remember, the Wii's "Lower production costs" go all around the industry, and have, so far, resulted in a 95% mediocre game line-up. And as the man said, 3rd parties don't have it very good on Nintendo Consoles.

Crono (NDF - Fire Ring) @ Sep 11th 2007 1:38PM

I'm glad he's taking his time figuring out Wii whip motions.

Add 1 more point for Xbox360

GRANTED @ Sep 11th 2007 1:38PM

i thought people liked castlevania? anyway, funny because alex said "waggle".

its going to be tougher for ps3 to climb back into popularity when more and more developers with limited resources are going to prefer the 360. can't really blame the guy for wanting to make more cash.

The1 @ Sep 11th 2007 1:39PM

This will be a multi-platform just as MGS will be one day.

Draco @ Sep 11th 2007 1:41PM

Sorry I worded that wrong, I meant better then in the US. its not beating the 360 by any means, but not doing as poorly in Europe.

megaStryke @ Sep 11th 2007 1:46PM

Captain N's Simon Belmont! GAH!!!! Avert thine eyes!

samfish @ Sep 11th 2007 1:54PM

Damn, that's where that's from. I can't believe I didn't recognize that sooner!

A [+] for MegaStryke.

megaStryke @ Sep 11th 2007 2:29PM

Remember Green Mega Man? *shudder*

lawrence @ Sep 11th 2007 1:56PM

i dont think konami would ever do that

0ldb0y @ Sep 11th 2007 1:57PM

A petition for a 2D sidescrolling Castlevania for the 360 needs to be started.

jodyanthony.com @ Sep 11th 2007 1:57PM

was about to say that that picture made me laugh out loud, but then it was changed :(

hvnlysoldr (NDF - Wind Ring) @ Sep 11th 2007 4:10PM

I have a copy I could upload to my photobucket.

Cellien @ Sep 11th 2007 2:01PM

I see they changed the picture in the article from a PS3 to a 360.. I was wondering why they had a PS3 up before! :P

megaStryke @ Sep 11th 2007 2:05PM

Wait! I think I know why! The current pic features the 360 dreaming about Castlevania as represented the stylized classic logo. The series could possibly find its way to the PS3 as well, hinted by the PS3 dreaming about the goofy Captain N universe's Simon Belmont representing a bastardization of the original. Very subtle jab at Sony? You be the judge!

Cellien @ Sep 11th 2007 2:09PM

Maybe so! I have no clue :) I originally thought it was a ... mis-print, erm typo...I MEAN.. an internet error.

samfish @ Sep 11th 2007 2:12PM

The internet does not MAKE errors...

J-Guy @ Sep 11th 2007 3:35PM

You're right, the Internet just causes them.

Marasai @ Sep 11th 2007 2:02PM

You wanna know why 3rd party games sell badly on nintendo systems?

BECAUSE THEY SUCK. If you release a bad game next to a good game, most of the time, you are gonna lose. And most 3rd party efforts on nintnedo consoles have been lackluster at best.

Either they lacked features or were ports that were held back by a ps2 version that had to be made.

You want games to sell well on the wii? Make good games and don't release them the same week as mario. This guy is as retarded as the guys releasing an fps for the 360 when Halo 3 comes out.

samfish @ Sep 11th 2007 2:16PM

You get a [+], too!

AstroZombie @ Sep 11th 2007 2:32PM

Amen.

t_m @ Sep 11th 2007 2:41PM

Do third party games sell badly on Gameboy and DS, or is it just nintendo's home consoles where 3rd party games sell badly?

I know its a generally accepted fact, but i don't get why 3rd party devs can't sell more titles on nintend consoles.. heck, people are always complaining there is a drought.. so pop up with some nourishment.

I seem to remember that Soul Calibur 2 sold more on GCN than on any other platform.. plus resident evil games have sold pretty well.

What was Rare when it was on the n64? 3rd party or 2nd party? Cos pretty much EVERY good game on the n64 was by them...
(currently seems like all the best selling ps3 and 360 games are also 1st/2nd party)

Ska Oreo @ Sep 11th 2007 3:21PM

great comment.

Duscrom @ Sep 11th 2007 4:13PM

Actually Resident Evil 4 sold rather poorly on the Gamecube, hence the need for a PS2 version. The gamecube version of Soul Calibur 2 sold well due mainly to Link's presence... Nintendo properties sell well on their consoles.

There are a few exceptions to the rule. Established franchies sell well. Squeenix games sell on DS, but for the most part, The big sellers on the DS are all 1st party games.

holyice7 @ Sep 11th 2007 2:04PM

Oh, people like Castlevania. People like me; I'm a huge fan, have been since IV.

What some of us don't like is IGA.

I can't honestly see why he's attempting to research how the whip would work with the Wii-mote. Shouldn't he learn to make the series work with some competence in the third dimension before leaping into a whole different control scheme?

There's that, and how he keeps backpedaling to change it so past games never happened.

And some better writers wouldn't hurt, either...

megaStryke @ Sep 11th 2007 2:07PM

Currently, the ONLY game in the franchise that is outside of canon is Castlevania Legends for the Game Boy. The N64 'Vanias and Circle of the Moon manage to fit in the whole crazy scheme of things, surprisingly.

Crono (NDF - Fire Ring) @ Sep 11th 2007 2:34PM

The only reason he wrote out Legends is because he wanted to rewrite the belmont origin story with lament of innocense.

Legends had a much better story. It wasn't better told, but it had a better story. The castlevania movie was actually based around Legends' Sonia Belmont.

DarthDavid @ Sep 11th 2007 2:08PM

I hope Koji Igarashi got a good look at Odin Sphere and that other 2-D Ninja (Oboro Muramasa Youtouden)game from Vanillaware.....yes a 2-D Castlevania is possible on a Next Gen console....high res, true widescreen, and a killer soundtrack. I still believe that 2-D (if done right) can look just as good 3-D, besides they tried Castlevania in 3-D, it just doesn't work.

mepaco @ Sep 11th 2007 2:08PM

So how does "Nintendo dominates their own console and third party titles are not so great in sales" translate into more Castlevania games for the DS? If you make good Wii games, Wii owners will buy them.

Mightyelf @ Sep 11th 2007 2:12PM

Well Metal Gear is a great game but I don`t think is enough for raise the ps3 sales in America.
I need numbers, who knows how many games of the last Metal Gear games sell compared to Halo 3 or Bioshock?
May be not so much....
So, Castelvania go to Xbox 360. Nice.