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.

Japanese fans now have their own version of the long-awaited Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. Koji "Iga" Igarashi along with Castlevania artist Ayami Kojima kept fans busy during the recent Dracula X Chronicles Japan launch.

Mr. Kojima apparently had a lot of things to say to fans during the event regarding the game and a possible new entry in the series. Find out what Igarashi-san talked about during the launch after the jump!

  

Koji "Iga" Igarashi, the man behind the successful Castlevania franchise, revealed more juicy tidbits about his experiences with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and the future of the Castlevania series in another interview held during the recent E for All 2007 event. While Igarashi didn't quite reveal everything players were dying to know, he did offer some insights into both himself and the Castlevania franchise.

For example, Koji Igarashi said that he was thinking of producing titles for next-gen consoles, only that he hadn't actually decided on one yet. Nintendo fans, at least, have something to look forward to: Mr. Igarashi mentioned that he was working on a version of Castlevania for the Nintendo DS.

Oddly enough, Koji Igarashi admitted to having an Xbox 360,  but not a PS3 at home, saying that he liked the lineup of games that the Xbox 360 had to offer. Mr. Igarashi said he would rather wait for Metal Gear Solid 4 come out (and for the PS3's price to drop) before purchasing a PS3. As one observant reader noted: could this be any indication of the specific console that the next Castlevania game will come out for?

While North American fans start getting their copies of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles for PSP today, Japanese gamers have to wait for a couple of weeks more until November 8 to try the game. As part of its continued marketing strategy, Konami opened a microsite for the title over at Famitsu's official website.

As you all probably know, Famitsu is one of the most respected video game publication in Japan today. This joint venture is definitely a good way to further hype up the title in the remaining days prior to the Japanese launch.

Not that Dracula X Chronicles needs more hyping up but it's an excellent move from Konami to widen its audience more. Regarding the microsite itself, it is home to the background story of the new game as well as a little comparison with the original title which was released in 1993 on PC Engine.

Some sections of the said microsite were dedicated to features, character profiles, and a little info on Castlevania Producer Koji Igarashi. Click the Read link below to visit Famitsu's page for Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles.

In an interview with Wired, the series producer of Konami's Castlevania series, Koji Igarashi, confirmed that they are currently working on a new Castlevania game for the Nintendo DS. He also gave out details on the pre-order promotions for the U.S. release of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles and shared some of his thoughts on Dracula's meat.

Regarding a new DS iteration of the Castlvania series, Igarashi said that they want people to enjoy Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP before they make the official announcement about the game. While he didn't give any details about this game yet, we can probably expect it to be pretty sweet if it turns out to be like Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin or Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

PSP owners who plan on pre-ordering Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles will be happy to know that Igarashi said that those who decide to get the game from GameStop will be getting a special Simon's Quest figure which will come in black, white, and red. Be advised though that the number of figures made are very limited, so you may want to go see if your local GameStop will have any of them during the launch.

While Igarashi did give out lots of information about the direction of the Castlevania series, there are some things that even he cannot explain. So before we go, here is his answer regarding the presence of meat in Dracula's castle:

You should ask, why do they eat it! I've thought about this stuff. I've actually thought about the candles. The candles are people's souls that were taken by Death or by the vampires. In Japan there are candles that represent life. So, when you release the souls from the candles by whipping them, they give you a "thank you" present. Thank-you hearts, or thank-you holy water. The meat, I have no idea.

Koji "Iga" Igarashi, producer of the Castlevania series, shared his thoughts about the Castlevania franchise during the E for All 2007 event. Mr. Igarashi answered all the questions thrown at him with the assistance of an interpreter while gameplay videos of the upcoming PSP game Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and rousing symphonic music played in the background.

Koji Igarashi appeared enthusiastic as he talked about the improvements he had made to the PSP remake of the original Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo. He expressed interest in making a new Castlevania game, partly because he took some of the responsibility upon himself for the failure of the 3D Castlevania games. He admitted, however, that he had no details to share with the gaming public just yet. He also said that he felt excited about the rumors of a 2D Castlevania game for the XBox 360 (though he never confirmed the rumors were true) and acknowledged the progress in the production of the Castlevania movie.

If you readers prefer to hear it straight from the man himself, however, check out Mr. Koji Igarashi wearing his cowboy hat below. Enjoy!

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!

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!

Konami's Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles is going to be huge for various reasons when it arrives in U.S. this fall. First, this video game title is actually a remake of 1993's Rondo of Blood, one of the better titles that never made it to North America. Another good thing going for Dracula X is that Producer Koji Igarashi and Designer Ayami Kojima are very much part of the project.

Anyway, you've already seen various screenshots, watched gameplay videos, and even heard the developers talked about the game. What we have for you below is the opening cinematic trailer for Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles. Just seeing the video clip makes us think that the wait is well worth it.

Aside from the already mentioned, Dracula X Chronicles will also be receiving graphics enhancements, addition of a PSP-exclusive stage, as well as a couple of minor changes to the storyline.

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."