Konami Gamer's Day

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Annual event held by Konami with the latest games they offer.

for the complete listing of games for 2007, www.konami.com/Konami/ctl3810/cp18756/cl0/GamersDay2007?attrib_search=Y&attrib_cnt=1&attrib_id_0=7880&attrib_value_0=Gamers%20Day%202007&nocache=Y

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PSP Castlevania Headlines Konami Event

Next-Gen was on hand yesterday at Konami's Gamers' Day in San Francisco, where an old Dracula slayer and a brand-new mascot in the making punctuated the event.



All told, Konami showed off some 15 game titles, none of which were the company’s most highly anticipated offering, Metal Gear Solid 4. Instead, Konami heralded the fall 2007 release for Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, a PSP title compiling two Castlevania games; a brand-new Hellboy game for the PSP, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3; and Dewy’s Adventure, a quirky Wii game starring a droplet, from Elebits’ creator Shingo Mukaitoge.

X Chronicles proved to be the event’s big draw, and Castlevania’s producer Koji Igarashi was on hand to introduce the game. “I’ve even come to show you a new hat,” he told the 150-or so people in attendance, referring specifically to the black cowboy hat that topped his head. Chronicles, Igarashi said, includes the Castlevania games Demon Castle Dracula X: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Chronicles will mark the first time Rondo of Blood will be released in the United States. In addition to a special “arranged” version that includes such fanciful upgrades as three-dimensional backgrounds for the two-dimensional action, Igarashi noted Konami will also be including the original game, untouched. Symphony of the Night, which originally saw release on the PlayStation and Saturn (and, later, Xbox Live), will be ported over with some improvements, but Igarashi refused to give out details on what they might be.

The evening’s strangest fare came in the form of Dewy’s Adventure, a game about a water droplet beset by enemies. As with games such as Loco Roco, players in Adventure will control not only their character, but the game world as well. Tilting the Wii remote will likewise tilt environments. Shaking it violently from side-to-side creates an earthquake, and waving the remote back-and-forth summons a gust of wind. Dewy will also be able to alter his state of matter, switching from solid, to liquid, to gas, and each will have its own particular advantages and disadvantages: Dewy as ice will be hard to control, but tough on the game’s enemies.

Konami revealed three other Wii titles in the Marble Madness-esque Marble Mania, the flight action game Wing Island, and a brand-new Dance Dance Revolution title in Hottest Party. Hottest Party incorporates both arm-based Wii remote and nunchuk movements together with timed footwork, its producer Jason Enos said, and allows up to four people to play the game at the same time.

The Xbox 360 was supported with the stylish brawler Hellboy, Pro Soccer Revolution 2007, and Dance Dance Revolution Universe. Rounding out the event were titles such as the DS’ role-playing game Lost in Blue 2, which Konami’s senior VP of sales and marketing Catherine Fowler announced had “even more goat-milking” than its predecessor; the PSP’s quirky dating simulator Brooktown High: Senior Year; and GoPets: Vacation Island for the DS, the first title ever to allow play between the handheld console and PCs.


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