MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Bandai Namco isn’t done with the Katamari Damacy brand, it seems.
As spotted by Neogaf, a filing for a new trademark called ‘Amazing Katamari Damacy’ has cropped up on the website of the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
Katamari Damacy debuted way back in 2004 on PS2. It was initially only released in Japan, but having attracted lots of attention and a cult following, it arrived in the US that same year. It wasn’t until the sequel the following year (2005), We Love Katamari, that the series made its debut in Europe, and even then it arrived on these shores some seven months after its Japanese release.
Creator Keita Takahashi was reluctant to return after the first game, but did so once he realised the sequel had been greenlit for fear of what another might do with his creation. He’s not been involved in any subsequent releases in the series, however.
And there have been plenty.
Following Me & My Katamari on PSP (2006) and mobile title Katamari Damacy Mobile (2007), the series next appeared on consoles with Xbox 360 outing Beautiful Katamari (2007). The Xbox game came in for criticism after accusations that its DLC was actually already sitting on the disc, and for the fact that the premium content was needed to unlock all of the Achievements.
Smartphone outing I Love Katamari (which is no longer available) was next (2008) before another console outing on PS3 called Katamari Forever (2009). Since then there has been one more ‘full’ smartphone title (Katamari Amore in 2011) and a Vita-only game (Touch My Katamari in 2012).
The IP then lay dormant for four years before this year’s spin-off Tap My Katamari. Will Amazing Katamari be a long-awaited return to consoles for the series? Or even its PC debut? Will it be a freemium mess or a premium colossus?
