Konami Filed A Trademark For Project Zircon, And Nobody Really Knows What It Is
Konami has a new project in the works, that’s receiving a lot of unmerited speculation.
As reported by Gematsu, Konami has filed for the trademark “Project Zircon” in Japan, dated last March 7, 2023.
Gematsu also speculated that zircon is a jewel in the Castlevania video game series, but other outlets have run with that idea for no real good reason.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the trademark filing covers console games, arcade machines, and prize-winning game machines. That is customary for trademark filings like these, but it also indicates that Project Zircon may not be related to any console games at all.
Just to address the Castlevania rumor firsthand, Zircon is a jewel that can be found in games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. It is the least valuable jewel that you can find, so common that players have no use for it but to sell it, for low prices to boot. In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it is notable only for having a passing resemblance to Diamond, which is the most valuable jewel in the game, in stark contrast.
Zircon does not hold any particular significance in the Castlevania video games, in the context of gameplay or in its greater narrative. There is really no good reason to believe this has anything to do with Castlevania.
Humorously enough, Twitter user GynobyteWolf pointed out in response to Gematsu that there is another zircon related property under Konami’s library: Yu-Gi-Oh. Gem-Knight Zirconia is a monster card in the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG, both a Rock Monster and a Gem-Type Monster. It even appears in the anime Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V, as part of the deck of Julia Krystal.
In any case, these trademarks often do not hint at what the actual product or service
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