Katamari Damacy
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Beautiful Katamari for 360 now on Gamefly
It looks like Beautiful Katamari is now as close to official confirmation as possible. A listing for the game has appeared on Gamefly, ready to be inserted into your queue (ewww) at a moment's notice. The game is slated for an October 30th release, though that could easily be a placeholder date. It's not official confirmation, but we find it hard to believe that Gamefly is in the habit of offering games that don't exist. Hit the "read" link to see the game's entry on Gamefly.[Via Live Gamer]
Didn't Namco already make this game?
If Shanda's Rolling Ball isn't a trademark violation then we don't know what is. Slap a green Martian suit on this kid and the image is indistinguishable from Katamari Damacy. How long before Namco's lawyers make the call to Shanda headquarters?FYI: Shanda is a Shanghai-based publisher that specializes in online games.[Thanks chen]
Katamari Damacy XBLA rumor is "total crap"
It looks like Katamari Damacy is not bound for Xbox Live Arcade, as suggested by the already-suspicious Electronic Gaming Monthly Rumor Mill. In a short-but-sweet forum post on XBLArcade, Worldwide Xbox Live Arcade Games Portfolio Manager Ross Erickson decried the rumor as "total crap - not happening." The authenticity of the post has purportedly been verified by forum admin Tomacco. For those who can't let the dream die, it could still be an Xbox 360 retail title, but we'd have to see a massive drop in the standard price or some heavy-duty features (Katamari MMO? 720p?) to justify a $60 price point.The EGM-fostered rumor also mentioned PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii iterations; the former seems likely, as the Katamari franchise has historically been linked to Sony, but we're not holding our breath for a Wii Love Katamari.[Via bits bytes pixels & sprites]
The Joystiq (Christmas) Weekend, 2006
Happy holidays! Destroy All Humans gets a quirky prologue, Street Fighter gets a quirky epilogue and yours truly goofs in thinking a TurboGrafx 16 game would only cost $6. Enjoy the image above (found via Digg) and check out the highlights for this holiday:JoystiqueryGeometry Wars as artToday's hottest game video: XFPS demoToday's hottest game video: Halo gameplay remixToday's hottest game video: Tomb Raider trailerWeekly Webcomic Wrapup: the Big N editionNewsProtecting adults from children onlineWoW's Night before Wintervale holiday treatWii 'acquaintances' made easy with Google MapsDestroy All Humans started as a joke, launched a "dance" careerXbox 360 video download service succeeding, others failingDVD players finally more common than VCRsLCD makers under price-fixing investigationSofaTube brings YouTube to Wii/PS3 couch potatoesChristmas sees first VC price increaseCraigslisters trading PS3 for Wii + moneyRumors & SpeculationVista DRM to slow down high-end graphics?Console hackeryOne Wii to control the entire house Use a universal remote with PS3 Dreaming of a White PS3?Play ripped PS1 games on PSPCultureStreet Fighter's Blanka: an electrical oompa loompaGeek, nerd, or dork?American Choppers splice consoles for Christmas
Rumor: Katamari Damacy on PS3, Wii, and 360
The latest Electronic Gaming Monthly rumor mill talks up Katamari Damacy's future on the latest generation of consoles: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox Live Arcade. Sure, it makes business sense to take a successful title and exploit it for as much bottom line as possible but one shouldn't confuse logic with reality, and right now there is no confirmation from Namco.Creator Keita Takahashi has long been done with the series every since the original and has announced his plans to move away from the video game industry. Still, the surprise hit has some life left and will probably show up on some console. Don't get your hopes up yet, though.
Happy Katamari Damacy music day
We went to a rock concert the other day. We did not like it very much. Too many people thrashing about and playing noise that did have the joy of the universe flowing through it. We much prefer music that captures the true happiness of the soul.Therefore, we, the King of all Cosmos, have rolled up a collection of Katamari Damacy music performed by a solo guitarist, a klezmer band, and even a one-man a capella quartet into a fun-sized ball of joy. We hope it will bring some elation to your minuscule-sized soul.Previous game music days
Katamari Damacy reviewed -- Nay, critiqued
Ryan Stanci has finished his three-part academic exercise critiquing Katamari Damacy on GameCareerGuide. Will critiquing video games instead of reviewing them get you a job in the industry? Possibly. It sure is a great way to be pretentious! And doing it you might become a professor at M.I.T. or the University of Wisconsin.In part three of the work Stanci continues his critique to "create" Katamari Damacy into a piece of art. Apparently critiques create art, it's all so s-m-r-t. This installment reviews, er, critiques Katamari from the feminist, psychoanalytical and post-colonial schools of criticism. Plebeians will most certainly enjoy the feminist critique for its pedantic nature.Katamari Damacy is expressed as a "male-centric" game and an offshoot of the "mono myth." It speaks to the oppression of women and of the King of All Cosmos spreading his seed (the stars), while the "phallic" looking Prince continually attempts to impress his father by presenting bigger balls. Is this a feminist critique or repressed homosexuality critique -- or are they one in the same? So kidding, calm down!Seriously, Stanci gets some fascinating thoughts out on the table and it is certainly an interesting read for an intellectual exercise.
Travelers ad imitating Katamari: just coincidence
We got in touch with Todd Riddle, Group Creative Director at Fallon about the current Travelers commercial that bears a striking resemblance to Katamari Damacy. The spot (high-quality version) in question shows a mass enveloping people, trees, and cars, as it bounces through San Francisco. Riddle said that there's no Katamari relation, but the spot is connected to Peter Jackson's special effects house.Riddle has been in advertising for 20 years and has won of dozens of accolades including Cannes, Clio, and One Show awards. We asked him a few questions about games and the spot, titled "Snowball," via email.
Real-life Katamari in Travelers Insurance ad
A current Travelers Insurance TV commercial liberally borrows from Katamari Damacy, showing a ball of, well, stuff bouncing down San Francisco's hills. You could say Fallon, the ad agency behind the spot, ripped off Katamari, but we like the commercial enough to let that slide. We'll call it an homage, imitation being flattery and all.The commercial opens with a guy -- let's call him Everyman -- walking down the sidewalk. He's on a hill in the overcast outskirts of the city, maybe in the Avenues or closer to Twin Peaks. For no apparent reason, other than eventually trying to sell insurance, he trips, and begins rolling down the street. Like Katamari, he runs into some people and boxes, picking up size until the ball eventually gets big enough to gather cars and trees. The ball bounces through the city -- always downhill except once on even ground -- through Pacific Heights and the Fillmore, gathering motorcycles in Nob Hill, picking up a heterosexual marriage -- we have those sometimes -- in Delores Park or a similar green space, flying down California Street or an equally car-chase-laden road, and eventually crashing into a columned downtown building with a name we can't quite remember. We wish we could ride a katamari across the city; it's a record commute time.Is it a rip-off of Katamari, and do you care if your hobby becomes a commercial? Or did Fallon just have Katamari-of-the-mind? Immersive games have changed our way of looking at the world, like if we notice a drainpipe on the outside of a building and think of climbing it, Splinter Cell-style. Carmageddon also rewired our minds for a few weeks, urging us to crash the family truckster into a van. (We restrained). And Katamari has changed the way we think about space; we often imagine rolling up our surroundings. What, you don't?The full commercial is embedded after the break.See also: Roddick takes on Pong in ad[Thanks, Daniel Premo]
Call for fewer game reviews, more game critiques
What's the difference between a review of a book, movie or game and a critique of one? Ryan Stancl explains and advocates more of the latter because he believes that games deserve more serious criticism in order to move forward as a respected form of art. To demonstrate the difference between reviews and critiques, Stancl will critique Katamari Damacy from the perspective of eight different schools of critical theory: Biographical, New Critical, Marxist, Structural, Jungian, Psychoanalytical, Feminist, and Post-Colonial. He's posted the first two critiques already. They're a touch dry, but we're hoping the Feminist and Marxist interpretations spice things up.
Frogs don't love Lego Katamari
Joystiq reader Aaron Broesky put together this Katamari-inspired Lego stop animation. Well done, Aaron! But what's with the senseless spaceman-on-frog violence? Rampant ranidaphobia means it's not easy to be green.
GDC: A game worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize
What kind of game concept would be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize? That's the question GameLab CEO Eric Zimmerman posed to the group of developers competing at the third-annual Game Design Challenge.The winning concept (as judged by audience response), Peace Bomb, developed by Deus Ex lead designer Harvey Smith, would be a multiplayer game for the DS. Players would join together and trade resources, eventually leading to real world flash mobs — a crowd that assembles suddenly in a public space, performs a notable act, and then quickly disperses. It's Smith's hope that the Peace Bomb flash mobs would erupt around socially constructive movements, encouraging players to transform an entertaining game into an effective social project.
Isn't that precious? Catamari Damacy!
Stuff on my cat.com delights with this little homage to quirky game Katamari Damacy. By the way, the cat's name is "Catty" and her expression has been interpreted by our expert, in-house feline psychologists to mean, "I will be pooping in daddy's shoes later today."
Katamari minigame rolls into town
If you've either: a) not played Katamari Damacy because you don't have a PS2 or b) not played Katamari Damacy because you're a grump and the whimsical nature of the game makes you want to hurt something--preferably a kitten--then now's your chance to get a little taste without plunking down for the whole experience. The Japanese Katamari Damacy website has a cute flash-based minigame where, you guessed it, you have to roll stuff up into a ball. Sure, it doesn't capture the toy-like feel of the 3D game, the weight and momentum of your katamari isn't as realistic, but for a free webgame, she ain't bad.[Thanks, White Rose Duelist]
Stick it to me: Katamari lyrics translated
The Katamari Damacy soundtrack is the catchiest, pop-iest video game music to implant itself into gamers' brains since the Super Mario Bros. theme song. There was only one problem: they were mostly in Japanese. Until Kitsune, a Quarter to Three forum member, translated them all into English! From "Katamari Mambo": Nobue: I hate wide places I like the narrow ones So come on, baby, Ahhh, that sweet, painful katamari Ooooh! Swallow it up! Aaaah! Sticky STICK IT TO ME! Ah ya ya, we'll spend the night in That kind of behavior where two stars lay bound up together It gets better though! Kitsune has also transcribed some of the songs into romaji, romanized Japanese, to make it easier to figure out what we've been singing along to this whole time. (Image is from the CD cover of the Katamari Damacy soundtrack, Katamari Fortissimo Damacy.)[Via BoingBoing]
Katamari checkboook wants to roll up purchases into your life
These Katamari Damacy-themed checks are much cooler than the Garfield checks plain blue checks I have! They feature the Prince, his Katamari, and the note: "HELLO I AM A CHECK PLZ CASH ME LOL / KATAMARI DO YOUR BEST ^_^."I want a Katamari-themed debit card; seriously, who uses checks anymore? That's rhetorical, you don't have to answer it.[Thanks, Jory; via BoingBoing]
Namco aims for simplicity
With the wacky and inherently likable Katamari Damacy series selling over 500,000 copies worldwide, it seems that Namco aren't the only ones to be surprised that a unique concept and accessible gameplay can go a very long way. It's unusual that strong sales are now spurring them on to produce more innovative titles--usually it's the money that causes us to be inundated with tired sequels and recycled concepts.Speaking about the rolling exploits of the Prince of All Cosmos, Namco explained that they "Set out to make a game that surpasses international boundaries, age, and gender; a game that anyone can pick up and quickly have fun," a line of thought that perfectly matches what we've been hearing from the good folks at Nintendo. Namco followed that up with a desire to create more games in the same spirit of Katamari, though we certainly hope that doesn't just mean more and more ball-rolling sequels. Instead, we're hoping that a commitment to simplicity and fresh ideas implies a commitment to developing for the Revolution, Nintendo's poster child for exactly that sort of thing (along with the DS, mind you). If there's anything that the Revolution could use more of, it's games involving massive, all-encompassing balls of junk.
Judging a game by its cover: regional box art
Hardcore Gaming 101 is running a great feature juxtaposing the Japanese box art of Western games. Games include Halo, Ratchet & Clank, Metroid Prime (developed in Texas), Deus Ex Invisible War, and more. There's some interesting observations to be made, like how Ratchet and Clank look like anime characters, and that Japanese box art is usually much better. So what's We (heart) Katamari, a Japanese game, doing up there?Right after I read the Hardcore Gaming bit, I saw Alice rejoice that the Katamari sequel was finally going to reach European shores. I guess good things come to those who wait: their box art kicks the US release's ass! We had just gotten comfortable with Japan's being better, and now Europe has to come along and remind us how sophisticated they are!What other great box art never survived the move? I'm thinking of Out of this World for Genesis absolutely perverting the beautiful box art for the European Another World. Hey Europe! I'm gonna go play Shadow of the Colossus... again![UPDATE: Added in some extra links for your reading pleasure.][Via Opposable Thumbs]
