Katamari Damacy 2 Due In July

A sequel to the ball rolling simulator Katamari Damacy is due out in July of this year, according to a Gamespot news blurb. From the article: "In Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy, gamers once again assume the role of the diminutive hero known as the Prince of All Cosmos. And, once again, the prince must save the universe by rolling around a giant snowballing mass of sticky debris (katamari) to pick up various objects." Update: 04/08 06:02 GMT by Z : If it's okay with everyone, I'm just going to retcon this one and pretend that I know how to read.

Comments

Giant Rolling Ball

[jcuffe]

I want to see how they can make another game where you roll a giant ball around, and manage to make it fresh again... it's like making Tetris 2. How much different can you make it without crippling what makes it fun?

Re:What is the point of this game?

[UWC]

While I admit that I'm amused and annoyed that just about everyone advocates it like it's some unknown underground treasure that no one has ever heard of (though I also recognize that its current success comes at least in part from word-of-mouth... though Penny Arcade's coverage of it certainly couldn't have hurt), you give the game a bit too little credit. Even if you strip away the potentially off-putting style that everyone so loves to claim to love, the game is still fairly unique, I think mostly because of the "rolling stuff up" part that allows for interesting changes of scale and perspective as a level progresses instead of maze-running/solving like Marble Madness or Monkey Ball. As for the control scheme, I'm not sure whether I would prefer a single stick or not. I don't have any problem with the dual stick control, though.

And yeah, I don't think there's any way that the game could have succeeded at $50. It's like a novel toy with some guided play and objectives, and I don't think many would see justification in paying $50 for that.

Cheap at $50

[MilenCent]

I went in halfsies on a PS2 specifically for *this game*, making its effective cost to me $85, and it was worth it. I've ranted a number of times about how Nintendo is practically the sole source of originality in the game industry anymore, but their release schedule has been so *light* lately....

And Katamari Damacy is simply great, it beats anything Nintendo has come up with this generation, even their more original stuff this time around, Pikmin and Animal Crossing. Here's hoping other developers take a hint from its success.

But even with all this... I wouldn't have bought a PS2 by myself for it. $170 is too much for one game.