Katamari Damacy- system seller?

[RJ]

A buddy of mine said he heard this on G4:

“The real test of a good game is whether the game itself can sell a console. If someone is willing to buy a console just to play a game, then THAT is the true test of a great game.”

I tend to agree; it'd have to be a GREAT game.

He says Katamari Damacy isnt/wasnt good enough to sell a system- that no one bought a PS2 to play this game. (I said many people who bought KD already HAD a PS2). I told him I'd post here to get some feedback on the issue.

So, anyone out there buy a PS2 to play this game?

[Dobie]

No. But if I bought a PS2, it would be one of the first games I'd buy, just because it would be different than any other games in my library.

[Jasoco]

Cross-post alert! Prepare for Copy/Paste reply!

It was for me. Not even Jak and Daxter could convince me to buy the PS2 I have. It was Katamari and the promise of a sequel that got me to actually make the decision.

[Mayhem]

On a related note, people here in the UK have been CHIPPING their PS2s so they could import and play the game LOL

(as it will not be getting a European release)

[RJ]

Ah, you got me! Thought I'd cover "both" my bases... ;)

If you answer this over on AA, you dont have to here.

[Jasoco]

Nah, I already did. Besides, I like to. And it's not like you're a newbie single poster just posting on all the gaming forums for a one time shot answer. I hate that! Carry on. ;)

Seriously though, despite what some people say, KD is a system seller, and I have a few people to prove it.

[ghostangelofcky]

I'll agree with that, to a point. Here comes all the pointing and laughing...

I bought a DC just for Mortal Kombat Gold
and a GCN just for Resident Evil.

Note, these where all new when I bought them.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I'm in the market for a PS2 solely for this game, so they're incorrect in their assertion. I only own one PS2 game for this machine I'm eventually someday gonna get, and it's Katamari Damacy, based on the one time I've gotten to play it thus far.

So...there ya go.

[Charlesaway]

It didn't influence my decision; I'd already had my PS2 (for no particular game) for almost a year beforehand.

However, if was the first game I had played in several months, and it's till the only PS2 game I've played to completion.

[Graham Mitchell]

The system sellers these days don't bear much resemblence to KD, at least that's how it seems to me. (Of course, I bought a DS to play Mr. Driller, so you don't have to listen to me on this).

It seems that games that are moving machines lately are more adult-oriented. By that I mean they're violent. Halo. GTA. 10 or 15 years ago, we all bought a SNES for Super Mario World, or a Genesis for Sonic the Hedgehog (well, some of us did anyway.) But I think the popular taste has shifted away from this type of game a little bit.

[Sanriostar]

A buddy of mine said he heard this on G4:

“The real test of a good game is whether the game itself can sell a console. If someone is willing to buy a console just to play a game, then THAT is the true test of a great game.”

I tend to agree; it'd have to be a GREAT game.

He says Katamari Damacy isnt/wasnt good enough to sell a system- that no one bought a PS2 to play this game. (I said many people who bought KD already HAD a PS2). I told him I'd post here to get some feedback on the issue.

So, anyone out there buy a PS2 to play this game?

Well there's the problem; he's listening to G4... :roll:

I too am wanting a PS2 for KD. Don't belive thier lies!

[Snapple]

That's a rather dumb statement (referring to G4). There are very few times where a person will buy a console just to play ONE game. Occasionally it does, like Halo or Final Fantasy. That doesn't mean that there aren't other fantastic games out there though. It usually takes an overall library to sway someone.

Especially this late in the PS2's lifecycle, everyone either owns a PS2 or has at least chosen their consoles by now and is waiting for the next generation. Nothing released at this point is going to spike console sales that much, even if it's the greatest game ever made.

[GarrettCRW]

and a GCN just for Resident Evil.

Note, these where all new when I bought them.

I ain't laughing at you, as I can understand why the REmake would inspire someone to want a 'Cube. Particularly since REmake Jill>original real-life actress Jill.

[FurinkanianFrood]

G4 is evil, but it's not Satan, that's EA's department.

Anyway, Katamari Damacy is definitely worth buying if you have a PS2.
Nothing could make me buy a PS2 (well, unless I was given something to take it.... or if it was free I suppose, and then I would give it to someone else....) but there's no reason not to buy KD if you have the system.

If you want the system just for KD it would seem rather pricey in that regard.



It seems that games that are moving machines lately are more adult-oriented. By that I mean they're violent. Halo. GTA. 10 or 15 years ago, we all bought a SNES for Super Mario World, or a Genesis for Sonic the Hedgehog (well, some of us did anyway.) But I think the popular taste has shifted away from this type of game a little bit.


Popular taste gravitates toward crap as if the crap were an oversized neutron star. Pop culture has become so insipid I sometimes question if I am even from this planet....

I wouldn't say Halo is more violent then older games though, blasting aliens to bits has been done over and over the whole time, it's just a matter of graphical detail. And unlike GTA it's actually a decent game (though GTA is still far from the bottom.... gaming can be like freakin' Khazad Dum these days).

[cityside75]

I did pretty much buy the PS2 for KD personally. I really wanted to try the game, found a great deal on a used PS2 and KD pushed me over the hump to buy it, then I went right out and got KD. Of course, I've picked up a few other games since...

[Promophile]

I don't think I've ever bought a system just because of a must have game. I've always owned them before must have games are released LOL .

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

My last system acquisition (Gamecube) was also due to a single game (Pac-Man Vs.), though I've since bought other games for the machine. But again, played the game in person, and then went batshit crazy pulling the pieces together so I could play it in the privacy of my own home. Preferably in my underwear.

So, uh, who's coming over to play Pac-Man Vs.?

Hey, why's everyone backing away slowly?

:P

[Berserker]

Around 1997 or so, I bought a PS1 so that I could play Final Fantasy 7. That's the first and thusfar the last time I've bought a system solely out of wanting to play only one game.

When I think of "system sellers", the usual suspects come to mind: Grand Theft Auto, Halo. Katamari Damacy.... eh, don't get me wrong, I'd certainly LIKE that to be a "system seller", and I'm sure at least a few people maybe have bought the system for only that title. But something in me doubts that people are doing it to the same scale that is seen for GTA series, Halo, FF7 etc...

Not that that makes it any less valid, but I think it's all in how you're choosing to apply it. PDF's post above is a good example. He bought the Gamecube so that he could play Pac-Man Vs... should we then, by that rationale, refer to Pac-Man Vs. as a "system seller"? It sold a system, true enough, I don't know... I guess it's subjective depending on what scale you're thinking of, and when I think of "system sellers", I usually think of the games that manage to pull it off on a relatively large scale.

[robotriot]

Heh, I modded my PS2 only for KD, so that counts as system seller in a way too ;)

[Graham Mitchell]

Popular taste gravitates toward crap as if the crap were an oversized neutron star. Pop culture has become so insipid I sometimes question if I am even from this planet....


Oh, I wasn't DEFENDING the popular opinions. I hate Halo. I hate the whole Xbox lineup save for the few Sega titles, to be honest. But most of the "gamers" I've met lately are people that equate "gaming" with "killing or blowing stuff up". And these are the best-selling games ever! My friend works at Microsoft in Xbox testing, and they announced Halo 2 as the BEST SELLING GAME OF ALL TIME based on pre-order sales alone! They had a big party. I seriously considered getting a new hobby at that point.


I wouldn't say Halo is more violent then older games though,

I wouldn't either. The Immortal on the Genesis is probably the worst I've ever seen.

[FurinkanianFrood]

Oh, I wasn't DEFENDING the popular opinions. I hate Halo. I hate the whole Xbox lineup save for the few Sega titles, to be honest. But most of the "gamers" I've met lately are people that equate "gaming" with "killing or blowing stuff up".


I didn't think you were defending them. It was just a comment.
I don't see whats so awful about Halo, or a number of other XBOX games, but I'm not really one to defend Microsoft.

What does bother me is that people act like Halo is the second coming. In that sense I have grown to somewhat resent what is otherwise an inoffensive FPS.

I start to hate things when they get too popular sometimes.
Not many real games get made these days it seems....

[AB Positive]

I wouldn't either. The Immortal on the Genesis is probably the worst I've ever seen.

Sega CD Eternal Champions... might just trump it.

-AG

[Sotenga]

I wouldn't either. The Immortal on the Genesis is probably the worst I've ever seen.

Sega CD Eternal Champions... might just trump it.

-AG

Agreed and concurred. Eternal Champions: Challenge From the Dark Side makes all Mortal Kombat games look like material suitable for Barney. Coincidentally, it was perhaps the biggest reason for me wanting to have a Sega CD. Heh... no, not strictly for the violence, although it is a nice bonus!

[Gurn13]

I bought an Xbox just to play Burnout 2, then got plenty of other games as well.

[djbeatmongrel]

i dont think katamari damacy is at all a system seller. maybe a nicechea[ pick up for a high percentage of current ps2 owners but certainly not a system seller. the only games i've seen with that power in this generation are the resident evil exclusives of the GC and the Metal Gear GC exclusives.

[dreams]

Sisko bought an Xbox just so he could play Steel Battallion. LOL

As for KD, I love the game, but I don't think it's a pure system seller. If someone was on the bubble, it could very easily sway the decision, but the game alone I don't think would do it.