Given the franchise's track record in the third dimension, when "Lords of Shadow" was announced as the next entry in the "Castlevania" series, longtime fans were a little hesitant to welcome the game with open arms. Interestingly enough, it seems that the game's appearance was no coincidence. As far back as four years ago there were forces working high up at Konami (much like there are at all major game publishers) trying to position the next title in the classic franchise to be a mainstream hit, and, after talking to the "Lords of Shadow" producer, David, Cox it seems that keeping the game 3D is expected to be one of the keys to its success.

When I asked Mr. Cox if there was ever a point in the development of "Lords of Shadow" where his team considered making a 2D "Castlevania" game, he had this to say about whether or not the higher ups at Konami would have approved:

"2D Games are more of a niche market nowadays than they used to be, and we need to make 'Castlevania' appeal to a wider audience, and especially to the mainstream. Certainly on the Japan side they wanted to appeal to Western gamers outside of Japan, so that was kind of our brief if you like, when we first pitched the game. So at no point did we consider doing a 2D game. That's not to say that Konami won't continue to release 2D 'Castlevania' games, I think they will for the fan base, but our goal with this game was to make 'Castlevania' more mainstream, like it used to be in the Super NES days."

Cox went on to later note that his team "didn't set out to appeal to the Japanese market, or the American market" but they think that their character Gabriel, one of the biggest elements of the game that Hideo Kojima suggested they change when he came on board, is sympathetic, and should be able to appeal across markets. If he is right, MercurySteam and Kojima Productions could have a certified hit on their hands, and it would be the first time that the "Castlevania" series makes a successful leap into the third dimension.