5 Nov, 2007
Ask any seasoned stick-twiddler to name a genuinely original game from the last five years and chances are that the first name that pops into their head is Namco's brilliant Katamari Damacy. Based on the fairly out-there premise of rebuilding the cosmos by rolling around a magical sticky ball, Katamari wooed gamers not just for its innovative core gameplay mechanic, but also its irresistible characters and bonkers style. We fell in love the moment we first saw the intro, which, if
A trio of trademark applications have appeared in Japan rekindling hope that the Katamari series may make a return. For last month developer Namco Bandai registered three new names: Beautiful Katamari Damacy, Katamari Damacy Tres Bien and Katamari Damacy-kun.
And while our hopes have been raised again, the names can't be taken as proof of the existence of new games because applications can also cover potential TV shows, movies, fluffy dolls, sweets and just about anything
Last week, the official website for Namco's ingenious ball-rolling collect-'em-up, Katamari Damacy, closed its virtual doors. And, yes, Namco has followed up the move with an announcement that the team behind the game has been disbanded, and there are no more Katamari games planned for the future.
The Katamari Damacy franchise is just three games strong, but that's been enough for it to worm its way into many more hearts than plenty of other, longer-running brands. The series has had two
