Konami boxes DS Castlevania

Publisher's preorder incentive for Portrait of Ruin includes 20th-anniversary series soundtrack, art book, poster, game case, and extendable stylus.

Like an undead bloodsucker with an unquenchable thirst for blood, so, too, do some hardcore gamers have an unquenchable thirst for preorder knickknacks. To help bolster preorders of its upcoming DS game Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Konami announced an array of giveaways for those who put money down in advance for the game at GameStop, EB Games, and GameCrazy stores around the country.

Box o' Schwag.

When those who preorder the game go to pick it up, they will receive a limited edition, wax-sealed box that contains a 48-page art book and a soundtrack CD, both of which pull their content from numerous games throughout the series' 20-year history. In addition, the box set will include an extendable Castlevania stylus, a game case that comfortably holds Portrait of Ruin and the first DS Castlevania game, Dawn of Sorrow, and a timeline poster to settle debates over key events in the series' chronology.

Portrait of Ruin puts players in control of vampire hunter Jonathan Morris and the magically adept Charlotte Orlean, with the ability to switch freely between the two to match the needs of their current situations. Both characters will have powerful summon attacks and a variety of weapons and equipment at their disposal, but they will also have their own unique strengths and abilities. Konami is promising more than 100 different enemies and bosses on which to try out all those weapons and abilities.

Portrait of Ruin is rated T for Teen and will retail for $34.99 when it is released this December.

143 Comments

  • ShadowTheHHFan

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 1:06 am PT

    post.

  • undox

    Posted Oct 29, 2006 12:06 pm PT

    I only reserve a game when they give me some sort of incentive without any extra cost. With this much incentive, I am headed to GameStop as soon as possible.

  • whipcracker

    Posted Oct 28, 2006 10:26 pm PT

    well i guess i should make sure im getting that since i pre ordered it from eb.......

  • _Sam_

    Posted Oct 28, 2006 7:18 pm PT

    looks pretty good

  • CheddarLimbo

    Posted Oct 28, 2006 9:02 am PT

    Scrumptrulescent!

    I loathe pre-ordering anything, but lately, the developers seem to really be making it worth my while.

    I hope this trend extends through the market and we come to see all major releases offering these kind of incentives.

  • Rayterd

    Posted Oct 26, 2006 1:32 pm PT

    Definitely a worthwhile pre-order. Hope they have the Lost Village song from Dawn of Sorrow on the soundtrack CD!

  • PixyMisao

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 10:20 am PT

    "CarlosVR2
    Is there a way to preorder this game online and have all that great items? The news note just mentions brick-and-mortar s"

    You could go thru Gamestop or EB's website, I might try that myself.

  • chicken008

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 10:09 am PT

    Whooo! I pre-ordered back in Sept.

  • MavZero

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 6:51 am PT

    Today I read on the german GamePro site that Konami plans to release a Limited Edition in Europe too. Contents are most probably the same as this preorder package (soundtrack, poster and special box were mentioned).

    Most probably more expensive than the normal version, but earlier (24th November) and still cheaper than importing with 20$ shipping + taxes... go Konami

  • mr_squibble

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 6:20 am PT

    Looks like a great pre-order package. I need to go put my $5 down.

  • Prince0fAngels

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 6:05 am PT

    I want to pre-order this, but EBgames NEVER has the special items that come along with my pre-orders. [boycotts that stupid store]

  • Reno35xbl

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 2:23 am PT

    Well done Konami for doing this the Castlevania Series are always Appreciated in my book and this is a early Christmas Gift for the fans from Konami.

  • Sonicgod

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 11:43 pm PT

    Only the good games get the boxes.

    The PSP has not had any games that ae worthy of boxes like this.

    Daxter should have got.. a special fly swater.. Boxes like this are the only thing that gets me to buy games they day they are out anymore.

  • King_Dodongo

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 2:26 pm PT

    Only on the DS, king of handhelds

  • promano3

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 12:46 pm PT

    I'ma go preorder this!

  • CarlosVR2

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 12:09 pm PT

    Is there a way to preorder this game online and have all that great items? The news note just mentions brick-and-mortar stores.

  • PringerOtaku

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 10:39 am PT

    Gonna hook myself up with 2 pre-order bonuses, one to keep, one to collect. This is a very nice pre-order bonus. Props to Konami.

  • japanesegoth

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 10:07 am PT

    eek...that stuff is probably worth about $20 by itself...that's a good deal even if they charge $5 more than other stores.

  • CessPool

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 10:03 am PT

    Sold!

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 9:22 am PT

    Wow. I have do pre-order this.

  • skullkrusher9

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 8:33 am PT

    Holy damn...

  • The_Weekend

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 7:56 am PT

    nice! when will they have a super castlevania mega duper one box under the sun collectors edition?

  • Mkeegs79

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 7:56 am PT

    Awesome. Konami is cool for not adding extra for the sake of more money. Maybe other greedy companies can show gamers some "real" love.

  • sigma8

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 7:49 am PT

    Extendable stylus, too? WTF konami? Will the next game include a car as a preorder incentive?

  • necrophilissimo

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 7:43 am PT

    Whoa! I'm so used to next-gen prices already I nearly had a stroke when I saw this collector's edition beauty priced only $35.

  • Dualmask

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 7:37 am PT

    This is the first preorder package I've seen in ages that I actually really, truly want. I haven't preordered a game since Zelda OoT on N64, but this one might be next on the list. I'd love to see that artbook...and that extendable stylus.

  • U1

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 7:15 am PT

    Thank you very much blacktorn, I didn't know that either, now I can get my hands on this preorder! They'll never bother doing the same thing in the UK so it's worth snapping up!

    My only concern is what the box will look like when it gets here, if they don't use a bubblewrapped box, it's going to arrive with dents and rips in it.

  • hemakm3

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 7:03 am PT

    Very nice.

  • ThePhilatron

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 6:55 am PT

    Aside from Ocarina of Time Master Quest, that's the best preorder deal I've ever seen

  • LAZZOR

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 6:54 am PT

    That's an awesome deal.

  • blacktorn

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 6:29 am PT

    Yaye i never new gamestop delevered to england.I just made an gamestop account to pre-order this.If your from the uk the shipping price is $15.99.The game is $40.So it's $56 which converts to £29.9503.Which is the normal rrp price here,although i get my games from play.com which are £25.Also remember your bank will charge you for converting the $ into £.It will be around £1-3 or so.

  • BloodMist

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 6:06 am PT

    Holy frick, that is one sweet preorder deal.

  • Buffulor

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 6:06 am PT

    why cant we get stuff like this in europe, i may have to import this badboy

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 5:59 am PT

    man, now THAT is how to do a preorder. kudos to konami. too bad i'll be missing out

    (cause i hate paying full price for a game )

  • venus577

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 5:32 am PT

    All this for a DS game?!?! I'm glad I have one then. Totally pre-ordered.

  • rolvsbakken

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 5:24 am PT

    Castlerific!

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 4:24 am PT

    Sweet!

  • vyilm

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 3:58 am PT

    *sigh* I'm afraid I can already tell the answer, but any chance we'll see this in Europe? At all? Pretty please?

  • Dante200X

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 3:23 am PT

    Nice! I love the soundtrack and the timeline thingy looks interesting. That being said, i won't be buying this game for i do not have a ds and am not planing on getting one anytime soon (even if these two Castlevania games look great).

  • gwarlito

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 2:59 am PT

    Was going to get it the first day it came out anyways, now I'm going to EB tomorrow to get this sweet packaged handout!!

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 12:55 am PT

    You lucky Yanks. Curse me for being in the UK.

  • I_Stole_the_Tv

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 12:26 am PT

    No problem, I just wanted to clarify where I was coming from. I just haven't really enjoyed many other DS games I've played, which is why I made the statement. Some are quite good like Trauma Center, Phoenix Wright, and Lost In Blue but they are quite short and don't have very long lasting appeal for me after I played through them once. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrows and Advance Wars: Dual Strike, to a much lesser degree, are the only games on the system I keep coming back to. The system so far just disappoints me compared to the GBA.

    And congrats to you on your Altered Beast icon, that game is awesome.

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 12:05 am PT

    Sweet.

  • Lobezno_D

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 11:38 pm PT

    Like everyone here, I'm sure we'd love to get our hands on this game the all the goodies from the preorder box. Major kudos to Konami for releasing bonus box here in the U.S. at all. I'm hopeful that eventually we will get a true update to C: SotN, since all current next gen developers seem to have a bias against 2-D. Thank Jeebus for the DS and the rest of the portables for pocket sized Castlevania fun. And now for another matter.... to reply to I_Stole_the_TV; dude everyone is entitled to an opinion and we are all free to express them. However, let me retort to your response to my comments, you wrote.... "I guess me saying that Castlevania is a reason to own the DS, means I'm insulting the series? I fail to follow that logic, but I'll try harder next time." I apologize if you got your feathers ruffled bub, but when I see, "Castlevania, the only real reason to own a DS." It kind of strikes me as a fanboyish statement; but now that you claim to "own every system" it paints a different picture. It seemed like you were saying that Castlevania is the only "real reason to own a DS". Your words sound like your excluding the other titles in the library...which is down right foolish. But now that you have enlightened me with your reponse I can feel better about what I stated and how it was received. Congrats on the preorder, and your new found "Castlvania fanboy" status. Happy gaming

  • danski83

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 11:16 pm PT

    yeah

  • usagi704

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 11:10 pm PT

    Sold! This is a freakin' awesome pre-order bonus! I would have been excited by just the soundtrack, but man, this is way above and beyond most pre-order bonuses!

  • itisiJR

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 11:01 pm PT

    me want.

  • btnheazy03

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 10:37 pm PT

    FREAKING HELL

    *GOES OUT TO CAMP OUTSIDE EB GAMES*

  • LoserMike

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 10:34 pm PT

    YAY!!!! I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!!!!

  • NinjaFoot

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 10:21 pm PT

    Very nice. I wish more US publishers would take notice and add more extras like this. Japan has long gotten some excellent Special Edition extras in games. It sure beats the heck out of the standard metal case and 'making of' videos that normally accompany games in the U.S.

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