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Weekly Webcomic Wrapup revisits the classics
Digital Unrest's Chris Simmons originally made this comic in April 2006, and we subsequently crashed his servers. The strip has bee remade this week with new art and, given that it never got a fair shot last time, we're going to throw it in again this week. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Chris. Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomic. Polling after the break; be sure to vote for your favorite!Orderly Debate (Digital Unrest)The World May Never Know (Fanboys Online)Bluetooth Headset (CAD Minis)For Your Consideration (Penny Arcade)Rupees Cannot Buy Hearts (MNC)The Fundamental Theorem of War (2P Start)Anguish (Penny Arcade)Giving Birth (Castle Vidcons)(Not game-related, but make sure you read PVP Online's five-part FoxTrot/Family Circus "tribute")
Born for Wii: Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy rolled onto the gaming scene in 2004, bristling with the unanticipated fury of a budget title with mass-market appeal. Damacy's success and popularity in the United States, where it has quickly achieved a devoted cult following, is remarkable for a game that's so distinctly ... Japanese. However, anyone who's played the game can instantly grasp the appeal -- a delicious layer of charm coats the inner goodness of straightforward, addictive gameplay, and that's why Katamari Damacy is this week's game that is Born for Wii.When the irresistibly alluring, slightly fruity King of All Cosmos accidentally destroys the heavens, his solution is a novel one -- roll up piles of junk and send them skyward to replace the fallen stars. Fortunately for us, he's far too lazy to do the grunt work himself. And that's where we come in as the tiny Prince, charged with the daunting task of restoring the stars to the sky with the aid of a magical ball (a katamari, of course) that sticks to damn near everything.%Gallery-25317%
What's the deal with Beautiful Katamari?
It's been a very long time since we've heard anything about Beautiful Katamari and the Wii. And, seeing as how the game has been out on Xbox 360 for quite some time now, we were done thinking that it would ever grace Nintendo's console. Thanks to select retailers' online shops, however, hope is slowly being restored.Major retail chains Target and Wal-Mart are both listing the game on their respective websites, while Buy.com lists the game with the same price ($29.99), but states it's "temporarily sold out." Even rental service Gamefly has a section up for a Wii and PS3 version of the game.So, what's the deal? Who knows at this point, but the Wal-Mart page points to an August 29th release, so perhaps we'll hear something soon? We're not going to get our hopes up like before, but we'd be lying if we said we didn't want this to happen.[Thanks, Zack!]Read - Wal-Mart listingRead - Target listingRead - Buy.com listingRead - Gamefly listing
Oops: Euro Katamari demo for Xbox Live Silver members only
Microsoft Europe's Xbox community manager Graeme Boyd dropped a "wee" note on his blog this morning to let everyone know that only Xbox Live Silver members can download the Beautiful Katamari demo (released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand just yesterday). Yep, you paying folk will have to wait. Boyd assures us that the situation will soon be resolved (maybe it already is), meaning, Gold members will get the exclusive access they've been promised, and Silver members will be back on the outside looking in. But, for the moment, all you freeloaders should revel in this brief episode of trading places.
Today's Katamariest video: Cartoon Network's 'Chowder'
It seems that Katamari Damacy continues to roll on, inspiring imitators and homages long after the original title's release. This time, it seem everyone's favorite clump of souls has rolled onto cable television, with the Cartoon Network program Chowder presenting an extended Katamari-esque sequence involving a rather large piece of bubblegum.Chowder is the latest in a long line of original Cartoon Network animated shows, created by the mind behind Spongebob Squarepants and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. The show is about an apprentice cook named Chowder. In fact, every character is named after food. There's a girl named Panini. Panini. We think that's just awesome.[Thanks, Mark]
Katamari creator downplays importance of video games
Ever the eccentric, Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi went on stage at a video game conference and tried to tell the audience that video games are NOT the most important thing in the world.We couldn't believe it either.Standing barefoot in front of London Nottingham's GameCity conference, the obviously brain-damaged Takahashi alleged that "it would be impossible for us to be here... if the world was not peaceful." He tried to convince the crowd that real world suffering and problems were occasionally more pressing than games. "If you're suffering from poverty and disease, could you worry about collecting coins? I don't think so," he argued, unconvincingly.Takahashi also implied, rather laughably, that things like recycling and being friendly were just as important as beating Halo 3 on Legendary for the third time. "I'm not trying to be the next Al Gore but I'm not sure if we could afford to have video games in ten or twenty year's time," the fearmongering designer said, adding that white is black and up is actually down.After the confusing opening, Takahashi showed off a demo of Nobi Nobi Boy, thankfully distracting the audience from the problems of the real world once again.
Katamari not named Beautiful coming to PS3
Namco got us all hot and bothered when it listed Beautiful Katamari heading to the PS3 on its website a few weeks ago. However, all hope of playing Beautiful Katamari was dashed when 1up confirmed with the game's director Jun Morikawa that the title will not be coming to Sony's console.Wait! Don't jump off the bridge yet; all hope is not lost! Morikawa said "the series will definitely be making its way to the console soon," which is great news for the junk-collecting faithful.So instead of getting just a port, we can now look forward to an entirely new entry in the series.
Dragon Tamer knows exactly how to tame gamers
We somehow managed to resist Pac-Man World Rally, but we aren't sure how many times we're going to be able to see the Prince in games and keep our wallets holstered. We love Katamari Damacy like nothing else, and it's all we can do to remind ourselves that series creator Keita Takahashi is no longer making Katamari games, and that the Prince has become a Namco franchise character rather than a labor of love.Still, seeing a "Princesaurus" in Dragon Tamer: Sound Spirit weakens our resolve. It doesn't matter what the game actually is (a monster-breeding/fighting game that uses sound inputs to generate monsters), we have a hard time saying no to that little face. It has an attack called "Katamari on the Rock" as well. If anyone had told us back in the day that Katamari Damacy would be a strong enough property that Namco would use it to promote other games, we'd have either laughed or given that person a sincere hug.
Katamari demo rolls up (get it?!) Marketplace
Beautiful Katamari's demo just landed on Marketplace and has been rolling up a storm. At first, it was available on a recent OXM demo disc, but now it is available for the whole world Canada, America, and Mexico (read: North America) to download. It weighs in at just under 435 MB, so it's not going to break the disk space bank, although X3F reader Magic Whiskey tells us that it's also on the short side, but enough to get the premise of the game. Give it a download and tell us what you think.
Beautiful Katamari demo on Xbox Live
Sometimes a checkbook, a life-sized model, a shirt, a Play-Doh model, a Lego version or even Catamari isn't enough. Sometimes you need the real deal, the mainline Katamari. Your Xbox Live dealer has prepared a hit just for you on Xbox Live with a new demo: Just remember, only the first one's free.If you're among the uninitiated (and if you're solely a 360 gamer, there's a good chance you are) prepare for ... well, for insanity that you control with two sticks. If you try to figure it out, your brain's going to sprain it's ankle, so just roll with it. ... Do you get it? Roll. It's funny. Cause it's a ball.
Today's most introductory video: Beautiful Katamari
Still playing is-it-or-isn't-it-an-exclusive, (hey, can you spare $50 million?), Beautiful Katamari's opening sequence has surfaced on GameTrailers. Having finished the other, less beautiful Katamari games, our joy in seeing the introduction video wasn't as great as we imagine a virgin Katamari player's amazement. And with this title landing on the 360, we expect a lot of gamers will be introduced to the delightfully quirky franchise with Beautiful.See the opening video after the break, or rock it in HD directly from GameTrailers.
Katamari creator to keynote UK's GameCity
Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi will give a keynote address at this year's GameCity festival in Nottingham, England. According to GI.biz, Takahashi will also be showing off his upcoming title Nobi Nobi Boy. Takahashi's keynote will take place Saturday, October 27. Festival participants include Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Freestyle Games, Travellers Tales, Free Radical Design, Mode 7 and Frontier; more details are expected shortly. The second annual GameCity festival will be held October 24 through 28 at Nottingham Trent University.
Nobi Nobi Boy: new PS3 game from Katamari creator
Should PS3 fans be sad about the loss of Katamari Damacy on their system? Not necessarily. Keita Takahashi – creator of the famed rolling series, ostensibly on a break from playground design – has just debuted a new game for the PS3: Nobi Nobi Boy. Considering "nobi" means "stretch" in Japanese, we can probably expect a game that does for stretching what Katamari did for rolling.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Beautiful Katamari to be 360 exclusive
Again, the rumors turned out to be true! Beautiful Katamari is headed to the Xbox 360 exclusively with no PS3 version in sight. In the latest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu, they state that production on the PS3 version of Beautiful Katamari has been halted and that the Xbox 360 version is set to roll out this Fall. Famitsu also uncovered a few new multiplayer details including split screen co-op and online battle modes. Heavenly.And so another game completes its journey to becoming an Xbox 360 exclusive title. Maybe Namco would be kind enough to tell us exactly why they decided against developing Beautiful Katamari on the PS3. Because god knows we'd love to gush over all the juicy details.
Rumor: Beautiful Katamari drops PS3, picks up Wii
Rumors surfaced over the last couple of weeks about Beautiful Katamari rolling itself away from PlayStation 3 and towards Nintendo Wii. An Xbox 360 version, already weighted its own speculation, is the only confirmed version to be shown at next week's E3. Now comes word that Famitsu (via PS3 Center) has validated the rumors and that Namco Bandai has indeed quietly canceled a PS3 iteration in favor of rolling the Prince of All Cosmos onto the Wii. As we have yet to see the purported issue of Famitsu, we're still labeling this as rumor fodder. We've contacted Namco Bandai for a statement. In the meantime, take a stroll down memory lane with our recent b[ack]log on We Love Katamari.[Via Evil Avatar]
Namco E3 lineup confirms Katamari exclusivity?
If you needed any more confirmation that Beautiful Katamari will only roll on the Xbox 360, you need look no further than Namco Bandai's recently released E3 lineup. Eurogamer has the list and was quick to notice that the Xbox 360 was the only platform designated for the title. Is it ironclad proof that Beautiful Katamari is 360 exclusive? No, but it's pretty damned close. Other Namco Bandai 360 games to be shown at E3 include Dynasty Warriors Gundam, Ace Combat 6, Eternal Sonata, and Culdcept SAGA.
The universe really is full of Katamari rumors
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_universe_really_is_full_of_Katamari_rumors'; Remember the rumor that Beautiful Katamari was going to roll onto the Wii? It won't die. It's come back again, this time with psychotic reasoning behind it.IGN's Matt Casamassina has "100 percent reliable" word from mysterious, anonymous sources that Bandai Namco is planning a version of the game on Wii. As the story goes, they encountered difficulty porting Beautiful Katamari to the PS3, so Namco decided to scrap it and create a new Wii version instead.This is really the part that arouses our suspicion. A port is too hard, so they switch over to an all-new game? It just sounds like an excuse to troll the PS3 and make the Wii look better at the same time. It may be true, but we're not taking that reasoning as an explanation for anything.We still aren't sure we should even care, with no Keita Takahashi involvement, but we can't help but become wistful when we think about a new Katamari. We wish we could hear some final word about this. We're tired of the emotional rollercoaster![Via GayGamer]
Katamari-inspired indie game De Blob coming to Wii
German magazine Maniac! is reporting the student demo project De Blob will be making its way to the Wii sometime next year. The Katamari-inspired game (which PC users can download for free) puts you in control of a squidgy blob rolling around the city painting the buildings different colors. It's a simple 3D game that unfortunately has some hefty system requirements, but it's free, and it's quite a bit of fun. Blue Tongue Entertainment is working on the Wii port and THQ will publish the title in 2008. [Via Go Nintendo]
The B[ack]log: Katamari Do Your Best
Well, the title seemed sort of clever at the time. "The B[ack]log" represents one gamer's fight against that seemingly insurmountable and entirely self-inflicted obstacle, the ever-sprawling backlog of games that are either unfinished, unplayed or unloved. That's the "Backlog" part. After surgically inserting some brackets, it becomes "B[ack]log," a reference to both the blog format and the unique sound emitted whenever I view the stack of games I keep adding to every month. And every week, I hope to subtract at least one and ramble about it for a few paragraphs... if you don't mind. A review this is not. It seems simultaneously appropriate and depressing then, that the first game to be ejected and examined (and then ejected again) is one primarily concerned with hoarding as much stuff as you possibly can -- We Love Katamari for the PlayStation 2.
The Joystiq Weekend: June 23 - 24, 2007
The Prince of All Cosmos sporting his Katamari music player, found by Flickr user nuzz -- "not my doing, but hilarious," he writes. We didn't fare too much better in our admittedly brief search, but we did stumble upon an iRoll button with a similar image. It's green like Xbox, but that's probably just a coincidence. Check out the highlights for the weekend:JoystiqueryPodcast Rodeo for June 24: E.A.R.Today's chowiest video: John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat in StrangleholdToday's shootingest video: Quake WarsWeekly Webcomic Wrapup: winning formula editionNewsDale Earnhardt Jr. signs endorsement contract with SonyNew Time Crisis 4 screenshots, Guncon 3 picsSonic the Hedgehog turns 16Devil May Cry anime hits the webJaffe's warehouse pics possible studio space in UtahAustin Powers available free on Xbox LiveChun Li cries the pain of loss awayBoston Globe: Wii puts violence in motionBlue Dragon ad campaign wins Cannes awardDS games at Toys R Us are buy 2 get 1 free this week The Darkness delayed for Euro PS3 until July 20Metroid Prime 3 details emerge from Play magazineAddiction experts: Video games aren't an addictionRumors & SpeculationManhunt 2 controversy may boost salesCulture & CommunityPostal designer speaks out on Manhunt 2 bansThe anomaly of Nancy Drew gamesGamespot changes review system, adds 'medals'DIY pixel art T-shirts
