If you’re a fan of the Castlevania franchise, you’re probably familiar with series producer Koji Igarashi, or IGA. Recently IGA spoke to Gamasutra about the Castlevania games, the series’ future, outsourcing, and settling a grudge.
For starters, you can let go of any hopes made from the rumors that they’re working on a brand new XBLA Castlevania title. When asked about it by Gamasutra, IGA replied, "Yeah, we haven’t announced anything like that, so it’s just a rumor."
IGA also clarified that as far as he’s concerned, Castlevania won’t be outsourced to the US like Konami’s other popular US franchise, Silent Hill. "Right now within Konami, there’s a lot of people who want to be a part of the development of the Castlevania franchise. As long as that enthusiasm is still there, we’ll keep it internal," he said.
When asked about the recent PSP title Dracula X Chronicles (which has one person on the team, with the rest of the work being outsourced) IGA clarified that it was outsourced because it was a remake of old, existing games, so outsourcing it was just a way to save resources for the new Castlevania title(s).
What may cause most Castlevania fans some discomfort is IGA’s proclamation that he wants to attempt more Castlevania games in 3D. After the lackluster reception to the previous attempts at bringing the franchise into a 3D environment, IGA seems to have a chip on his shoulder. When Gamasutra brought up God of War and how it seems close to a 3D Castlevania, IGA responded with, "Yeah, I hate to lose, and it’s very frustrating. One thing I definitely want to do is to see the franchise realized in 3D."
So what are the longterm plans for the franchise? "Again, I’m very frustrated, and I don’t like to lose in 3D! (laughs) I know it [the Castlevania series] wasn’t very successful [in 3D], so I definitely want to do something in the 3D space. And I want to sell more 2D games."
On the bright side, at least attempting to make more 3D Castlevanias will stop the onslaught of SotN remakes.
[via Gamasutra]
