Konami nervous about new Castlevania
"It was quite a radical departure."
The next Castlevania game is so different from previous instalments in the series it almost wasn't called Castlevania at all.
That's according to Konami exec Dave Cox. He was speaking to GameReactor (as reported by VG247) about the announcement of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow at the 2008 Games Convention.
"It was quite a radical departure from what had gone before with Castlevania and there was a little bit of nervousness that perhaps it wouldn’t be accepted as a Castlevania game," said Cox.
"As this was quite a big departure from what people knew about Castlevania, senior management took the decision that we were going to announce it as Lords of Shadow, see what the reaction is, and if it’s a good one then this would become a fully-fledged Castlevania."
At Konami's E3 2009 press conference, Cox described Lords of Shadow as "Castlevania, but not as you know it - a fresh and radical reimagining that will still feel familiar to the fans." Expect a free-roaming world, involvement from Hideo Kojima and voiceovers by Sir Ian McKellen, Robert Carlyle, Natasha McElhone and Jason Isaacs.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is in development for PS3 and Xbox 360 and will be released next year. Visit the gamepage for some screenshots and a video.