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.

Fans of the classic video game series Castlevania should not miss this once-in-lifetime opportunity to meet and greet Castlevania's producer, Koji Igarashi (fondly referred to as IGA by fans), courtesy of GameStop and EB Games.

This event is part of the media blitz to promote the newest addition to the list of quality Castlevania games, Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles.

IGA will grace EB Games Universal City Walk with his presence on September 12, Wednesday at 6:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m. Not much is known about the program of events for the occasion, but it's confirmed that fans can (hound) ask IGA to take a picture with them or have him sign his autograph.

Hey, with that snazzy hairdo of his, we think it's actually pretty cool to have a picture taken with him. And his snazzy locks.

Do click on the flyer above for more details!

Taking a surprising head start for the Leipzig Convention, Konami recently released an official press release stating the company has listed Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PSP, DS, PS2) as one of its featured games at the upcoming Leipzig Convention, more formally known as the Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC).

They have announced that the game will be rendered playable during the exhibition leg of the event on the multiple platforms that the game will be released on by Fall 2007. The demonstration may already tout Konami's Teamvision, a gameplay feature new to the soccer title series Also to be featured at the event is Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, led by Konami's Koji "IGA" Igarashi.

William Oertel, overseeing the development of Silent Hill Origins, will also be at the event to reveal the series' future. But this news comes at the forefront of the company's full announcement, after noting that the few games mentioned here were only part of the dozens of big games they've lined up for the Leipzig games event. Other highly anticipated titles may be announced in the near future. Sales and marketing director for event organizers GmbH, Martin Schneider, emphasized that notion, stating:

We can promise visitors and gamers in Leipzig that Konami will play a major role in this year´s gaming year – delivering new games and additions to popular franchises, while producing exciting games for new systems and established formats.

So fans of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots may expect a second showing at GCDC 2007. Konami will be at booth B11, Hall 4 of the Leipzig Business Center from August 23-26th.

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."

Now that word of Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP is spreading like wildfire, we'll take a few minutes (fifteen actually) to hear some words from Koji "Iga" Igarashi - producer of this famed series. In this three-part interview via Game Informer, Iga discusses various points on his upcoming title, particularly about Rondo of Blood.

Part One: Iga discusses the company's reasons for the decision to port Dracula X Chronicles, most notably on their decision to revamp the original RoB into a "3D game with a 2D feel."

Part Two: Iga will be talking about some of the new features made available in Rondo of Blood's PSP port,  such as the PSP-exclusive stage being introduced. And for the guys who were beginning to miss the old art style, Ayami Kojima  has also been called in for the RoB remake - Bishies galore!

Part Three: In the last segment of the interview, Iga shares his thoughts on the Wii and the Virtual Console. For the guy hoping for a VC release of the other Castlevania classics,  Iga notes Nintendo may have to wait a while. And of the Wii? Iga does say while he sees great potential for Nintendo's game machine, the Wiimote does pose a very big challenge for gameplay.

Download:[Iga Interview 1]
Download:[Iga Interview 2]
Download:[Iga Interview 3]

It looks like UK-based gaming magazine Play knows something all of us don't. In the mag's page dedicated to the most anticipated games of 2007, publisher Dave Halverson listed Dracula X: Rondo of Blood as his number 3 choice. Wait, what Rondo of Blood? As in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood?

Well, it looks very much like it. Back in mid-December, we shared with you a video interview with the producer of the Castlevania series, Koji Igarashi. In that interview, IGA, as he is popularly known, talked about the possibilities of classics being ported to the PSP. He specifically mentioned that there is now in fact a test Castlevaniadeveloped for the handheld.

If this pushes through, we guess we need to remind you how big Rondo of Blood was during its domination of 16-bit gaming. In this part of the series, sometime around 1788, Dracula was once more resurrected by cultists. The Count then seeks revenge on Ritchter Belmont, a descendant of the family that so often brings him back six-feet below, so to speak.

All in all, the game has seven levels, but there are five or six hidden levels. Also, there are some characters that can be unlocked and will then provide players the best ending of the game. There's really much to talk about Rondo of Blood, but we don't want to be counting chicks even before the eggs hatch, or something like that. We'll just keep you posted if something comes up.