Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow – The Epic Konami Interview – Part 2 of 2
In the concluding part of our mammoth interview with Konami’s Dave Cox we get down to the real details of Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow, including concessions to the modern gamer, references to the classic games, the inspiration behind the boss battles, RPG elements, co-op gameplay, PlayStation Move, vehicle sections and why the Xbox 360 version will come on two DVDs.
We’re coming to the end of the interview now. What else should we have asked you?
You should have asked me how we fit the whole game onto Xbox 360.
Ok. How did you fit the whole game onto Xbox 360?
We’ve put it on to two discs. And I’m surprised no one has asked me that. Everyone knows we’ve led on PS3 but no one asks what the challenges of that are. One of the challenges is… Well, the reason we decided to lead on PS3, to answer your question, was because we felt it was one of the most challenging platforms for us to develop on. The issue with Xbox 360 was the space issue because of blu ray, so the game will have to ship on two DVDs.
So you get more for your money on 360.
Yeah! Well, I think it’s an issue that Microsoft are going to have more and more. With the complexity and visual quality that people expect from modern games, size is going to become a big issue. They had it with Lost Planet 2 for example.
Speaking of multiformat, broadly, was there any reason you didn’t go with PC or even Wii?
Yeah, there are two things there. PC is not out of the question and we’re still undecided but I do think that this is really a game best suited to consoles and I’m not sure if it would translate well to PC. The reason we didn’t do Wii or DS, or anything else like that, is because we wanted to bring it into the mainstream. And in many ways mainstream gaming is Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. We didn’t want to do a family friendly version. This is a pretty dark game and just wouldn’t work on the Nintendo systems.
Do you think there will be a high age rating then?
Yes, it will and I imagine it will be a 15 here and a Mature in the States. There is nudity and violence but it’s not gratuitous like some other games I might mention. It’s in keeping with the style, not to shock but because it fits the story and the characters.
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where the hell is IGA?!
serving coffee
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“The reason we didn’t do Wii or DS, or anything else like that, is because we wanted to bring it into the mainstream. And in many ways mainstream gaming is Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. We didn’t want to do a family friendly version. This is a pretty dark game and just wouldn’t work on the Nintendo systems.”
doesn't mainstream mean casual?! so how is the 360/ps3 considered casual?
No, mainstream does not mean casual. Mainstream is Call Of Duty, FIFA, Need For Speed etc… The sort of games that ordinary people, not necessarily hardcore gamers, would buy.
the wii/ds have those games. the sort of games that ordinary people, not necessarily hardcore gamers, would buy. so you have a lot of explaining.
mainstream is to broaden. the only console that is to broaden is the wii/ds. the explaination as to why it isn't made for a nintendo console shows that the company is performing hardcore fanboyism.
castlevania rebirth, castlevania judgement, castlevania portrait of ruin, castlevania dawn of sorrow and castlevania order of ecclesia surely shows the mainstream of the castlevania game for the nintendo platform. why did konami suddenly not make it for the nintendo console?! simple answer is hardcore fanboyism. remember, the wii is labeled as casual and the ps3/360 is labeled as hardcore. so the use of mainstream here isn't what it is referenced to. it is referenced that konami is performing hardcore fanboyism.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/02/29/the...
Well, I can't speak for Cox or Konami but I would argue that the last decade of Castlevania games has been solely for the hardcore and that there hasn't been a mainstream entry in the series since Super Castlevania IV on the SNES.
Wii might have some mainstream titles, Call Of Duty is there for example, but it's definitely not a system that's loved by mainstream gamers. It's for the casual and the hardcore.
Or perhaps they didn't want to be restricted by an overclocked Gamecube? Just a thought.
What's your opinion?
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