Katamari Damacy 2 confirmed for US release

[davidbrit2]

http://opm.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3139848

YAAAAAY

[Jibbajaba]

There was never really any question in my mind that this game would be coming over here. The first KD was a surprising success, so why wouldnt they?

Still, nice to see that it's official!

Chris

[Promophile]

yep i woulda been suprised is it DIDN'T make it over after the first one was such a big sleeper hit.

[kainemaxwell]

Excellent news!!

[AFGiant]

most excellent. I'll be awaiting this one 8-)

[Crush Crawfish]

So, I assume "We Love Katamari" is the US title? Not bad, I thought "Everyone Loves Katamari Damacy" was a bit better though. Still, great to hear that a stateside release is confirmed! :)

[PDorr3]

great news, but Im still awaitng for wanda and the collossus to be confirmed for the us :(

[briguy578]

Good news. It seems like the major video game companies have finally realized there is a market in the US for those really wierd Japanese games.

Here's hoping they don't get greedy and try to charge full price [the $20 price tag is why I picked the first one up]

[devilman]

We're still waiting for the first game to be released in the UK. :(

[zmweasel]

Good news. It seems like the major video game companies have finally realized there is a market in the US for those really wierd Japanese games.

Nope. Katamari Damacy is a weird Japanese game, but it's also a fantastic game that benefitted from a $20 MSRP and rave reviews from critics and (perhaps more importantly) other publishers and developers. Namco merely realized that bringing the sequel here, considering the success of the original, was a no-brainer.

The $20 price point for weird Japanese games was a trend before the original Katamari Damacy, and has become damn near set in stone at this point (which is why I worry about Atlus launching Samurai Western at $40 instead of $20).

-- Z.

[videogameking26]

Nice will be buying on it's release day for sure :)

[Nature Boy]

Where are all the "why do they release so many sequels instead of new games" cries? From that quick look it doesn't look to be much different than the original.

[PapaStu]

In some cases more of the same is good... This is one of those cases.

However should they go Katamari 3 and not change anything and have everything feel just like 1/2 then it will get stale (to a degree). However as long as some new innovation comes in (ala Dynasty Warriors) they will continue to sell and keep the series fresh. Thats fine by me as I can play Katamari over and over and over...

[Griking]

Good news. It seems like the major video game companies have finally realized there is a market in the US for those really wierd Japanese games.

Nope. Katamari Damacy is a weird Japanese game, but it's also a fantastic game that benefitted from a $20 MSRP and rave reviews from critics and (perhaps more importantly) other publishers and developers. Namco merely realized that bringing the sequel here, considering the success of the original, was a no-brainer.

The $20 price point for weird Japanese games was a trend before the original Katamari Damacy, and has become damn near set in stone at this point (which is why I worry about Atlus launching Samurai Western at $40 instead of $20).

-- Z.


Now that the game has been out for almost a year do you think it still would have been such a huge success if it was a $40 game instead of a $20 game?

Would you be willing to pay full price ($40-$50) for Katamari 2 when it's released?

[Nature Boy]

Would you be willing to pay full price ($40-$50) for Katamari 2 when it's released?

Absolutely not. But I'm not buying it regardless of what it's price is.

[fishsandwich]

We're still waiting for the first game to be released in the UK. :(

Damn! That SUCKS! The UK gets the shaft a lot, doesn't it?

:(

PS At least it's easier to play NTSC on a PAL system than the other way around, no?

[boatofcar]

Would you be willing to pay full price ($40-$50) for Katamari 2 when it's released?

Absolutely not. But I'm not buying it regardless of what it's price is.

Did you play the first one?

[Nature Boy]

Did you play the first one?

Does it matter? If people want sequel-itis to stop it's got to stop *everywhere* - not just on the games you deem acceptable...

(I own and have played the first one)

[goatdan]

If people want sequel-itis to stop it's got to stop *everywhere* - not just on the games you deem acceptable...

If that happened, the game industry would crumble. My current-gen collection is probably less than 10% games that are original, one-time-only games.

I'm okay with that though. I'm more concerned with quality than if it is a sequel or not. Some of the games I consider to be the best games ever -- Tempest 2000, Super Mario Bros. 3, Robotron X -- are sequels.

[Sylentwulf]

Hopefully this one is much more challenging and much LONGER than the first one. Bit of solo extra's, etc... would be ok too...

[mieu_c]

I'm soooo excited!! Yeah for us!

I loved the first one.. still have the music stuck in my head.

Da da... da da da... chum chum chum chummm

ok.. I'm a real big looser :embarrassed:

[Gzilla23]

I wish I had picked up this game....All I ever here is people talking about how good it is. Does anyone know if EB still has copies..is it an easy game to find?

[Cmosfm]

Would you be willing to pay full price ($40-$50) for Katamari 2 when it's released?

Nope, I loved the original very very much, but I will not pay 40-50 for a sequal. 29.99 is my tops!

[zmweasel]

Now that the game has been out for almost a year do you think it still would have been such a huge success if it was a $40 game instead of a $20 game?

Nope. The $20 price point was a bigger factor than the glowing reviews.

And I don't know that KD was a *huge* success in America. It sold quite well, but I don't think it got anywhere near the top of the NPD/TRST sales charts.


Would you be willing to pay full price ($40-$50) for Katamari 2 when it's released?

Absolutely, but I'm a freakish hardcore gamer who just paid $70 for an import copy of Remote Control Dandy SF, so I'm not a good example. Cosplaying fan-freaks would pay $40-50 for KD2 after stealing the cash from their parents' sock drawers, but most everyone else would pass.

-- Z.

[Big Shady]

Hurrah, great news! Well, I'd still import it if didn't get stateside release.

[slip81]

great news, but Im still awaitng for wanda and the collossus to be confirmed for the us :(

Well it's been getting big coverage in all the big US mags like GI, EGM and PSM, GP, so it's probably safe to assume that we'll get it.

I hope the next Katamari is also a budget title, but considering the huge success of the first I'm sure Namco will try and get all the money they can out it.

[zmweasel]

Here are two pieces of We Love Katamari artwork from Namco's E3 asset CD for your much-enjoy time:

http://www.vgcollector.com/images/prince.jpg

http://www.vgcollector.com/images/king.jpg

-- Z.

[KJN]

Here is the japanese boxart:

http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/edigi-game/img10071435552.jpeg

[Crush Crawfish]

@_@ Good god, does that box art ever rock. Let's hope they keep it for the US version. They kept the original's box art the same, so I'm hoping they'll do it again.

[Promophile]

Holy crap that box art is bigger than Jesus. And I thought the first one had awesome box art.

[StevenH]

When I went to E3 in may I talked to the nice people at NAMCO and they said that the game will be out by the end of the year and it will be priced at $20 like the first one. The best part of the NAMCO booth was a giant Katamari ball with a bunch of stuff gluied on to it. The other great thing was a Katamari mouse pad that they gave away too. The game was playable at both the NAMCO and SONY booth. The US title is going to be We Love Katamari. The best part of the new game is that it's much bigger than the first one and there is a two player co-op mode. If I get a chance soon I will post some pictures from E3 on the post.

[kainemaxwell]

That's some sweet boxart!

[IntvGene]

Famitsu has given the first review of the game:

10, 8, 8, 8 - 34/40

So, obviously one of the reviewers thinks that it lived up to the hype. 8's are still good scores for Famitsu too. So, the sequel looks promising.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Got the soundtrack CD for KD2 today, and I gotta say that the music rocks every bit as much as the original did. There's a song called "Everlasting Love" on here that is absolutely, positivley going to rock your world.

:band:

[Cryomancer]

I'm just worried about the world stage getting censored, since you can roll up new york. If fully-clothed drymuping can cause this much of a mess I can't imagine what they're gonna think about this...

[Sothy]

Here are two pieces of We Love Katamari artwork from Namco's E3 asset CD for your much-enjoy time:

Heres some more:




http://img135.exs.cx/img135/6958/katamarigetsit5ha.jpg

[pragmatic insanester]

damnit. all these niche whores and mr. mosquito 2 will probably never get a stateside release.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Thats because I bought that game for $5, and I'm pretty sure half the people that have that game bought it for that same price.

[Cmosfm]

Thats because I bought that game for $5, and I'm pretty sure half the people that have that game bought it for that same price.

I paid 50.00 for it on release day.

[diskoboy]

I also pray that Namco will wise up and let us Xbox owners Love us some Katamari, as well, this time around! :)

[kainemaxwell]

Best news I've heard all day!

[Sailorneorune]

We Love Katamari is supposed to be $29.99 when it's released in October. I'd pay more if I had to for Katamari goodness remixed.

I hope the co-op mode is going to be fun. :)

[jajaja]

Damn that kamatari figure is freaky scary and ugly. I guess it could have given me nightmare if I was younger hehe. Just check that big scary head.

[fpstream]

I absolutely loved the first one, however the only reason I got it was because they sold it for $20, The most I'd be willing to pay for the second go is $30, but I hope to the King of All Kosmos it sells for $20. What's the highest people ever got on the moon level, for me it was 781 meters.

[fpstream]

Sorry, but I just remembered something else. They should release an interactive controller, make it like a trackball, now that'd make ME love Katamari Damacy.