It’s pretty handy that the ESRB updates their website as often as possible, since that means we an unexpected surprise every so often. Recently, the organization apparently approved a “T” rating for a DS game titled “Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.” Konami has’t mentioned any details on the game yet, but considering it has a rating already, we should hopefully get some details soon. Until then, DS owners should probably prepare for more whipping, vampire slaying, and most likely turning into bat at some point.

This is a confirmation of the news Stephany posted a week or so ago, where she mentioned that Konami had filed for a trademark on the name of the upcoming DS title.

Via ESRB

Gamers have been well aware that Konami has been developing a new Castlevania DS game for quite some time. Koji Igarashi has mentioned the game in numerous interviews, but refused to divulge more than a “yes we are working on one” because he wanted people to enjoy the PSP’s Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the time being. Good luck with that Konami.

Today though, we have at least found out what the title to the game is thanks to the wonderful US Patent and Trademark Office. The new game will have the illustrious title of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Still nothing on the storyline, what sorts of adventures await the Belmont clan, graphics, gameplay, release date or anything else that you would want to know, so just be happy with the title for now until we can gather more information.

Here is what I pulled from the USPT site- though boring it may be, it is proof:

Word Mark CASTLEVANIA ORDER OF ECCLESIA
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Video game software, video game programs, computer game software, computer game programs, electronic game programsC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line video games
Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM
Serial Number 77434565
Filing Date March 28, 2008
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. CORPORATION JAPAN 9-7-2, Akasaka, Minato-ku Tokyo JAPAN
Attorney of Record Jeffrey H. Kaufman
Description of Mark Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

The first Xbox Live Arcade Awards that Jonathan posted about last month have come to a close and the winners have been announced – Pac-Man: Championship Edition and Bomberman Live were the big winners, taking home five of the ten awards. Bomberman was named Best Overall Arcade Game as well as Best Competitive Multiplayer Game. There really isn’t a whole lot of diversity in the winners (five games took home all ten awards) with no Puzzle Quest to be seen, which is disappointing to me.

Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards – 2007 Winners

• Best Overall Arcade Game: “Bomberman Live” (Hudson Entertainment)
• Best Classic Game: “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
• Best Original Game: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
• Best Family-Friendly Game: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
• Best Competitive Multiplayer Game: “Bomberman Live” (Hudson Entertainment)
• Best Cooperative Multiplayer Game: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Ubisoft Entertainment)
• Best-Selling Game: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Ubisoft Entertainment)
• Most-Played Game: “Worms” (Team17 Software Limited)
• Highest-Rated Game: “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
• Xbox LIVE Arcade Staff Choice: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

What were your choices for the awards?

Sometimes, I find some really interesting lots for sale on eBay. Doing a little searching today, I came across a lot of 400 video games for $3,199.99 + Shipping (US $250, Canada $400). That works out to about $8.62 per game if you have it shipped to the United States. Keep in mind that a majority of the games are for the PS2 and original Xbox. I’m not sure what a collection like this would cost you at a store like GameStop for example, but I think the price would actually be pretty close. I wouldn’t classify this as a great deal, but it would be sweet to have all these games in your collection. If the price were closer to say $2,000 for all 400, I’d consider buying it myself.

Auction Link

The exact games included follow the break:
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Sadly, the production of the feature film adaptation of Castlevania was put on hold in December due to the continuing writers strike. But that doesn’t stop new information from surfacing. Seems Kotaku managed to get their hands on 32 pages of the movie’s script. It doesn’t have any dates though, so who knows at what stage of production this was written? I haven’t read it myself, because, well, I have a deathly fear of movie adaptations of video games. Still, if you want to indulge yourself, feel free to click the link below. Apparently, it contains two Belmonts and a succubus. And of course the shot of teh whole thing involves a whip.

Via Kotaku

Major Nelson has posted up a few lists of interest on his blog detailing the most played Xbox 360 and Xbox 1 games on Xbox Live, as well as the most purchased Xbox Live Arcade games from 2007. Unsurprisingly, Halo 3 and Halo 2 dominate the first two lists, while TMNT 1989 Arcade was the most purchased Arcade game of the year. I thought I was alone in loving that game prior to its release on XBLA.

Top Xbox 360 Games (Unique Users)

1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Call of Duty 4
4. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
5. Call Of Duty 3
6. Crackdown
7. Oblivion
8. Guitar Hero II
9. Forza Motorsport 2
10. Lost Planet

Call of Duty 3? Really? I found that one to be pretty shocking considering how terrible I’d argue the game is. Apparently, people don’t seem to care, and so long as you’ve got a popular name attached to the game, people will play it. (Why do I get the feeling that saying that is just begging someone to bring Madden up in the comments?)

The other two lists can be seen after the jump.

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The continuing writers strike has claimed another victim. The upcoming movie based on the Castlevania franchise has now been stalled by Rogue Pictures until some kinks can be worked out with the script, written by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil). The production was slated to begin filming this April in South Africa with Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) directing. With a budget of around $40 million and plans for a franchise, this is one of the most ambitious projects Rogue has ever undertaken; so they decided to wait for a resolution to the strike to make sure they get it right.

I’m actually a little relieved they decided to shelve the film for now. Sure it may take longer for the film to see the light of day, but at least then we can be assured they did everything in their power to make it as good as possible. Well, except get a new director and screenwriter.

Via Variety

There’s a load of content on the new PlayStation Store, so if you don’t feel like browsing through the site to find every last piece of content, we’ve got you covered. After the break you’ll find a full listing of content currently available on the Store, including UMD Legacy Titles, downloadable games, demos PS one Classics, videos, themes, and wallpapers.

Some noteworthy titles include Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Wipeout and Twisted Metal 2 for PS one Classics, a demo of SOCOM Tactical Strike, and the full Syphon Filter Combat Ops game.

PlayStation Store via PlayStation.Blog

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Nayan Ramachandran of GameSetWatch’s ‘HDR Knowledge’ column discusses the the evolution of successful videogame series; what makes them fresh without straying too far from the core features.

Series like Final Fantasy, Castlevania, Mario and Metroid to name just a few have spawned many sequels that have manged to keep the appeal of the original, yet are innovative enough to keep players coming back for more. The root of the problem is one has to define what makes a group of games a series.

For developers, it can be hard to understand what it means for a specific iteration to be part of a series. Many times developers want to take a series in a new direction for the sake of their own sanity, and for the sake of growing the series to be something more. The danger, of course, is in angering fans.

Ramachandran explores how series such as Final Fantasy and Mario have built such committed fan bases, they’ve managed to survive even sub par sequels and dramatic changes in elements that were once thought of as series cannon.

By constantly changing what people expect out of a series, it becomes difficult for gamers to complain that some stale and stagnant gameplay mechanic defines the series, and thus allows developers to continue being creative, and reinventing the series their fans love and desire.

via Gamasutra

Halloween is here, and what better way to celebrate than by paying homage to some of the most notorious ghouls and monsters to grace our PCs and consoles? Without such cannon fodder as spiders, vampires and zombies we would be condemned to just shooting our fellow man, which although fun, would get old after a while. In compiling this list, I came across some notables worthy of an honorable mention, but who have yet to become mainstream enough to cross over into different genres, and instead continue to be pigeon holed within their niche. While this list is in no way a complete list of video game baddies, it is instead a list of some of the most common miscreants to get within our pistol sites or in the vicinity of our broadsword.

These distractions on our way to victory in our gaming universe are also not listed in order of importance or occurrence rate – because face it – one is just as annoying and evil as the other. Unfortunately, these monsters never get the glory that their bosses do, because they are nothing more than expendable minions set upon our paths to deplete our life force so that the main antagonist may continue with more important matters – World Domination. In truth, they become nothing more than something for you to enjoy chopping to bits or a vessel for extra health, magic, or cash, the poor, misguided fools. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the stars of this post.

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