Being totally honest with you, I'm beginning to get a bit bored making just games. I wanted something in a different area, but quite similar. Being able to move physically, to exercise, I thought that would be a good idea to start with.

Defining the word creativity is difficult in a sense. Even the likes of God of War, for instance, it is really well made. It's a great graphic game with an interesting story. It's not fair to tell them that their games have no creativity. Having said that I do feel many games do lack the wow factor in a sense.

There's nothing surreal about it. I think if Katamari is considered so creative then to me it feels like the video game industry in general has lost its direction.

Katamari Sculpture [via gaygamer]

And when we finally laid our eyes on the 93 ton, 700+ year-old statue Flynn said, "Never in my life did I think I'd see this. I remember rolling it up in Katamari..." It was a special moment.

Hit the jump for our Frankenreview on Beautiful Katamari for the Xbox 360: every review you ever need on a game from a franchise famous for rolling up the Great Buddha.

Gamespot
Beautiful Katamari doesn't look much like an Xbox 360 game. If anything, it looks like the PS2 game engine upscaled to the brink of exploding...we hoped for visuals that represented some kind of significant advance over those in previous games. The world and things that dwell within it just look kind of fuzzy up close, and while there are plenty of colorful backdrops and square-shaped people, again, all of it seems ripped right out of the PS2 games.

Gamepro
Beautiful Katamari suffers from some of the same goofs that plagued the other titles. You'll still get stuck in tight spots because the camera swiveled behind a wall or table, co-op control still amounts to pretending you share a single uncomfortable body with a twin, and a few of the levels are filled with frustrating opportunities to abruptly end your hard-won progress because you ran over the wrong item.

Gametap
...for Mars, you've got to roll up a katamari that hits 10,000 degrees. The katamari is continually getting cooler, and if you roll up cold things, the temperature goes down even more quickly. And then there are the environment hazards to watch out for, like those panicked fireman who might throw water on you and put out the katamari completely. It's a fun new twist on the katamari levels.

Gameinformer
This installment is also void of the wacky human-based story, and the King of All Cosmos seems to be bored and doesn't have the witty one-liners you know him for.
1up
The big addition to this Xbox 360-exclusive title is online versus play (as well as some future downloadable content and online leaderboards). Here you jump in a match with three others and compete to nab the most of a certain item in the given time. The big change-up from single-player action is the addition of a lock-on button that allows you to target opponents before dashing into them, knocking items off for the taking. This mode offers nothing more than forgettable fun, though, at best...
Hmm, I really hoped for this to be an HD feast for your eyes, even if the mechanic was getting a bit stale. Sounds like a pass if you've played the games before and aren't craving more Katamari.

The 4-player "Thingy Battle" sounds like a good time, in which you compete to roll the most of any one thing. And there are also loads of leaderboards in the game—so many that we expect a Beautiful Katamari Leaderboard spinoff down the road.

[Meanwhile, I spent over three hours to get 35 percent of the BioShock demo, before shutting it off and going to bed last night. So, reader people, please clear a space so I can snag BioShock. Kthxbye.]

The lucky bastards over at GameSpot got a chance to do a hands on with the new Beautiful Katamari and brought back some details with them. The game will be available via Xbox Live Arcade and from the looks of it, the gameplay and art style that make Katamari great have remained untouched. There will be a ton of new content though, including eight new playable characters, new music and all new levels. It will be presented in glorious 720p HD and will also include achievements to help pump up your anemic gamerscore. As in the other games, Beautiful Katamari will have a central area where you can access all your cousins, royal presents and save/load your games called Princetown. Clever, eh?

The best news of all is that Beautiful Katamari will be rolling on to XBLA sometime in October making it a mere four months away. I just hope that it's appearance on XBLA will bring with it an appropriate price tag and some good downloadable content somewhere down the road.

No word from Gamespot on the rumored Xbox exclusivity, but if Newsweek's finger-on-the-pulse guy, N'Gai Croal, is right, we should hear all about it come E3. Flynn De Marco

Beautiful Katamari Hands-On [Gamespot]

The announcement of My Beautiful Katamari was met with mixed reactions. Some, like me, were excited for yet another round of candy colored Japanese bizarreness while others thought it wouldn't be the same so why bother and yet still others could have cared less.

If you're a member of the first group however, have I got a treat for you. Brand spankin' new gameplay footage of the upcoming game complete with trademark kooky music. Even his Royal greatness, The King of All Cosmos is on hand with his nonsensical ramblings. So grab your cup off coffee, lean back and enjoy an easy Saturday morning kickoff with a little Katamari deliciousness. Flynn De Marco

Just in time for Earth Day, which is today (living in Taipei, where a layer of suspicious-looking black gunk coats every exposed surface on my roof, I didn't even notice), Game Daily brings us a list of the top 10 planet friendly games. A couple of my pet favorites are on here: Katamari, Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon (I'm not sure farming has ever looked so fun and environmentally friendly as it does on my DS) all make the list, along with some unexpected choices like Grand Theft Auto.

And what comes in at number one? Why, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, of course. Maggie Greene

Top Ten Planet Friendly Games [GameDaily]

It's been a while since I posted a game cake, but this one definitely deserves it. This is probably the best representation of Katamari Damacy in cake form that I have yet seen. I was always fond of that star-like icing decoration. It reminds me of all those character cakes my Mom used to make me when I was a kid. It's a bit of an antiquated style, but in this case , it works perfectly.

As much as I like the cake though, I can't help being drawn to the Prince of the Cosmos figure. Did the cake maker make that? And if not... Where the hell can I get one?! Flynn De Marco

Katamari cake [Wonderland]

Website Orange Lounge Radio has a pretty good track record with reporting rumors that usually turn out to be right on target. Their newest addition to the rumor mill is that Namco has announced to retailers that a new Katamari game, entitled Beautiful Katamari, will be arriving on all three next gen consoles this fall. They even go so far as to list release dates and prices. According to their source, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will hit on October 17th at $39.99 followed swiftly by the Wii version on November 14th for a slightly cheaper $29.99. Their source is listed as a "someone who works in video game distribution" and if you doubt their word, they have put together a little FAQ explaining exactly why you should believe them, including this post on Xboxic which seems to corroborate the story.

Once again, rumor is rumor, but this is one I'm crossing my fingers turns out to be true.

Beautiful Katamari rolling onto the PS3 & XBOX 360 in October, Wii in November [Orange Lounge Radio - Thanks Eric]

Just in time for winter comes these insane mammary-like Katamari earmuffs. There's even a secret compartment where you can stuff twenty dollar bills. The pattern appears in the December issue of Shojo Beat magazine, so you can make them if your into having large funbags on the side of your head. Brian Ashcraft

You Can, Uh, Make This [ThirtyKnitter via Boing Boing]

Halloween may be over, but that doesn't mean we can't show you these awesome (ly freaky) costumes of the King and Queen of All Cosmos. Can't...stop...staring...at...king's...sexy...legs. Jason Chen

Homemade King & Queen of All Cosmos Katamari Damacy costumes [MAKE]

By posting this, we acknowledge one thing: Our inbox will be bombarded with countless game pumpkins. That's okay, but make 'em good, gosh dernit. Frodo from the Weekly Geek Show carved his a Katamari pumpkin, a Triforce pumpkin and what looks like Ken Kutaragi. Nice work, Frodo! Brian Ashcraft

Admit, It Kinda Looks Like Kutaragi [WGS]

So. Yesterday, Florian posted a naughty pic and got everyone at work in trouble, including himself. He actually felt tremendous guilty about the pic and sent us a handwritten chicken scrawl fax in which he wrote "I shall not post photos of impaled naked people ever again on Kotaku" 539 times. Today, we bring another impaled photo from a reader with the clever name "Anonymous"—it's a Katamari birthday cake that has a Prince with stick rammed up his tooter. Delicious. Brian Ashcraft

Before this delightful Katamari rip-off ad from Travelers Insurance, it had never occurred to me that any frail meat puppets caught in the onslaught of a Katamari would find all of their limbs horrifically snapped and mangled; their bodies pulverized into a slurry by the relentless pressure of the rapidly building layers on top of them. Ghoulishly, this thought thrilled me, so I am disappointed that the commercial ends with everyone walking away from the Katamari just a-okay.

As an ancillary note, I have a question: I've only played a bit of the first Katamari. Do any of the levels allow you to build a Katamari so big that you eventually manage to roll-up the planet you're on, then continue to build your katamari until you make a star of all creation, sucking up black holes and galaxies? Eventually, you get so big that you realize that the entire universe is but one small molecule in an infinitely recursive cosmos, and you can actually continue to expand your universe throughout infinity? That really does seem like the natural conclusion of the concept. Florian Eckhardt

The always delightful GayGamer points to artist GuitarAtomik (AKA Marques Cannon), whose thang is taking male video game heros and putting them in dresses and tube tops. His DeviantART page features a gallery of sexy heroines, which he creates using Photoshop and Illustrator. Currently his "Dante" from Devil May Cry is available as a print. Hot! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [GayGamer]

Anytime a large ball of something is discovered, we are immediately sent it with the tagline: "Check out this giant Katamari doohickey!" We hate to rain on everyone's parade, but there were balls of crap before Katamari Damacy. That game just made balls of crap cool. Here's an art installation in Shanghai, made from thousands of blue jeans. The diameter is roughly 16 feet. It looks like something from Katamari, if the game took place in a Levi's store or something. But really, what the hell does this sculpture mean? Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Across-the-Board] Thanks, Jonathan!

Here's another Threadless design you all should vote for: a strange Katamari Damacy meets Harry Potter mash-up, "The Half Blood Prince of All Cosmos". Here's hoping the Prince is planning on rolling them all into a pit filled with glass and honey. Florian Eckhardt

The Half-Blood Prince of All Cosmos [Threadless] (Thanks, Aaron!)

Sony has rolled out a giant failure with LocoRoco. Oddly fun, the game was pegged to be the PSP's own Katamari-type hit. The company poured millions into advertising the PSP game, even shifting marketing focus from other titles to LocoRoco. This game, Sony was convinced, had all the makings of a smash.

The game went on sale July 13th, and the entire country of Japan let out a collective "meh."

The buzz online wasn't so hot. Critics pointed out that this isn't a huge, launch game. Rather, the title should've been released quietly and spread by word of mouth, instead of getting the Sony hard sell. The PSP LocoRoco bundle reeked of desperation for some Japanese gamers—as though Sony had to increase the PSP shipped numbers somehow. There are reports of the game's price getting slashed in half and that the title's already hitting the bargain bins. Everyone may love Katamari, but apparently no one loves LocoRoco.

Maybe, a little racism controversy would boast sales in Japan? Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Kishou]

Namco's Katamari Damacy was one of those games that totally caught me off guard the first time I played it. I hadn't seen anything like it and was genuinely trying to figure out what the hizzy heck was going on. That took all of ten seconds. Then I was ready to move on and not have anything to do with the game. The same can be said about this fan-made stop motion clip. Though, ten seconds is being kind. Brian Ashcraft

There's Actually Another One [Siliconera]

I was in Berlin for the world cup a couple of weeks ago, and couldn't resist rolling that giant Katamari.

And there's Chris, exerting himself with Sisyphean toil against the Prince of All Cosmos' plaything. Way to go, Chris!

For the record, this ain't no Katamari, or it'd have more cows stuck to it. Berlin's full of impressive, wonderful art works like this. Walk around Berlin sometime and you'll notice 6's spray painted everywhere. It's all the act of a single man, whom I once quizzed about the significance of 6. Like most artists, he simply rambled incoherently for thirty minutes, then wandered off with a dazed look... as did I. Florian Eckhardt

Chris Rolls Katamari! [Flickr]
Previously: Katamari Sculpture Stuck in Berlin

Lucky Germans. They not only get to eat yummy fritters and guzzle delicious beer 24-7, but also can stare at this Katamari-type statue thingy. Located in Berlin, this giant sculpture is located on the way to the Checkpoint Charlie museum. There apparently isn't a plaque explaining what it is or who made it, but we'll just chalk it up to general nuttiness until some lovely German folk clue us in. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [BaLtiMoRe RoLL] Danke, Jason!

... Precious. Seriously, now this is one of the best examples of handmade copyright violations I've ever seen. For a mere $9.50 (cheap!) you get:

1 retro styling magnetic katamari
1 magnetic blue ghost, looking left
1 magnetic red ghost, looking right
1 magnetic yellow ghost, looking up
1 magnetic yellow ghost, looking down

Plus a little bit of bragging rights for your geeky buddies! Think of all the time you'll while away rolling your little katamari around your desk, picking up ghosts. Literally minutes of entertainment! Michael McWhertor

Get Your Goods Here

And speaking of this site's inexorable Katamari fixation, our enthusiasm started flailing wildly about the room like a rampant fire hose, spraying whatever less-than-subtle euphemism you'd care to mnemonically conjure, when we read that the Katamari Damacy series may not be dead after all.

Although Keita Takahashi is off to grander hippy-dippy gaming adventures, he recently told Gamasutra that he expects Namco will probably continue the Katamari games.

That's comforting, although perhaps inevitable. Have you ever known a publisher not to milk a successful franchise into a dusty slab of pitifully lowing beef?FLORIAN ECKHARDT

Katamari Series Not Necessarily Over [1UP]

We sure hope we haven't posted this before, because it's adorable. A stop-motion Prince rolls his Katamari boll through a doll house. Very cute, but we'd never quite realized that the Prince was actually the gaming equivalent of a dung beetle before. FLORIAN ECKHARDT

•"Sure! Though I don't know that it's over. I know I won't be working on it right now, but I think Namco will probably continue it. It's still a viable franchise. I had nothing to do with the PSP version, so clearly they can keep making them on their own. So yeah, I won't be having anything to do with it anymore, but Katamari is not finished." (when asked if he was happy about the Katamari series finishing)
•"One that's soft, and with lots of big blocky shapes, and a place [kids] can't really get hurt - very colorful - where kids can roll around and be free. But it's probably okay if they occasionally get hurt too." (describing the types of playgrounds he wants to make)
•"It's not that I don't want to make games necessarily... it's just that I don't know that this will be a career for me. If I do the same thing for my whole life, I'll become really narrow minded. So... I might make one more."
•"Oh, I cut it myself!" (on his haircut)

Geez. Well. Hmm. There is more over at Gamasutra, including his thoughts on space aliens and the Wiimote. So do drop by, read the full interview and shake you head in bewilderment. His name is Keita, and he's nuts. Brian Ashcraft

Full Interview [Gamasutra]

San Francisco Katamari March Photos [Kodak Gallery]

katamari damacy embroidered patch [Flickr]

The improbably named Rakka Deer sent us a link to her great Flickr photoset featuring some enthusiastic and charming attempts at immortalizing classic game characters in cupcakes and pies. Not only she baked the chain of Centipede cupcakes above (or to the right, I guess... this new widescreen template is so damn unpredictable), but a Pac-Man cupcake, a Space Invaders apple pie and Tetris cookies.

Oh! And Katamari Cake! A woman who can bake and plays video games? Love of our life, fire of our loins. - Florian Eckhardt

What would we do with Kotaku's occasional most luscious apparatus, Alice? She hardly ever writes for us anymore, but still, we pushed ourselves through the enantiomorphic bubble into her Looking Glass Wonderland daily, and she always has cool little video game crafts for us to coo over. Like this knitted and magnetic Katamari pen holder, above!

Alice has more Etsy goodness at the link below, including Mario mushroom keychains and Counterstrike clocks. Disentrench your credit cards from their leathery sarcophagi.

Its Etsy Time [Wonderland]

On May 21st, a group of freaky fun-lovin' Katamari cosplayers are going to gather refrigerator boxes in San Francisco and make a giant katamari out of it. They are entering the certifiably odd 12K Bay to Breakers run and picking up junk along the way. 12K run? These Katamarians won't get further than 1K before this half-baked idea runs out of gas, and they gather for a group hug.

Info Here [Live Journal] via Siliconera

Here's some meat:

For a game that should be extremely accessible, Katamari leaves even the most experienced gamer occasionally shaking the controller in frustration after they've been backed into a camera blind-spot and can't turn around quickly enough to figure out how to escape.

In terms of gameplay and approaching the industry from a unique perspective, Keita Takahashi can critique all he likes.

But in terms of control schemes, in two games he's consecutively proved he's one of the Revolution's least qualified critics.

You tell him, Aaron! "Naive pure wonderful and silly love" my ass!

The Revolution's Least Qualified Critic [Games First]

Katamari creator, loose canon and future playground designer Keita Takahashi has started his own revolution by dismissing the Revolution's controller. At the recent Game Developers Conference, Keita told Game Developer, and we quote, "I'm not really interested in it. I don't think a controller should have that much influence on the enjoyment of games." Continuing, he said, "I see what [Nintendo is] trying to do, but they're putting such emphasis on the controller; 'Woah, this controller lets you do this!' and I'm thinking - are you messing with us?" And the death blow came with: "So, there's nothing I really want to do with it right now." Now that fanboys have been pitted against Katamari cosplayers, we'd like to admit we were wrong. Keita doesn't hate video games, just Nintendo.

More Here [Gamasutra] Thanks to everyone who sent this in

Thought Katamari was dead? Well, it is. Or is it? For the hardcore, it lives on and on and, yes, on. Namco announced a Katamari cosplay contest. Hey, we love cosplay, we love contests and we now *smooch* Katamari creator Keita Takahashi. So send in your snapshots to Namco (not us). Winners get "special presents." Ohhhhh, enticing.

More Here [Namco] Thanks, Jo!

One of the aforementioned speedy bastards, Tom Batchelor: "One of the things that make We Love Katamari so good is that there are so many ways to play it. There are a lot of stages, like Campfire and Sumo, that are probably not meant to be speed-run, but that are very good for speed-running nonetheless."

We're always in awe of the twitch reflexes of these guys. It's like they live their entire lives in Bullet Time. Plus it's Katamari, which is endlessly watchable. We'll try not to fault them for not putting up their speed runs on You Tube, which would make browsing them a lot more enjoyable. But if you're a Katamari or speed run fan, check it out!

We Love Katamari, But Really Quickly [GameSetWatch]

Now that Katamari site has been killed off and game-hating Keita Takahashi is designing playgrounds, fans are left picking up the pieces. Exclusive downloads have been wiped from the Namco site, but Kotaku reader Sketh has found a paper craft that many have been looking for: The King of All Cosmos Nose Cutout. Go ahead, print it out and wear it proudly. Or something like that.

End of the Road [Kotaku]

At last week's GDC, hot designers like Cliffy B, Harvey Smith and Keita Takahashi gathered at the Game Design Challenge to construct a game around a unbelievably difficult theme. This year's was to design a title that could win the Nobel Peach Prize.

During his presentation, Takahashi said all we need was love. And by love, the designer meant "naive, pure, wonderful and silly love." He illustrated this with photos of his fans in Katamari cosplay. Slate reports that one of Takahashi's slides explained he wants to bring "everyone in the world the luxury of playing games using natural power." An image of red, black, blue and green children huddled around a wind-powered TV and solar-powered game console accompanies the slide. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, yes. According to Gamasutra, the last slide of his presentation featured his characters sitting around, saying "Boring," "Crappy," and "Cheesy."

Looks like we were wrong. Katamari creator Keita Takahashi does not hate games. No, no, no, he loves 'em and his costume-wearing fans in a drippy hippy, post-India George Harrison sort of way. And has a pretty damn good sense of humor about the whole thing. Bravo!

Full Article Here [Slate]

Katamari toys are pretty common, but do you have a knit one, with spokes, with magnets sewn inside the ball so you can pick stuff up as you roll it across your kitchen table? If not... don't you want one, for god's sakes? Or as the knitter describes:

These Katamari are big enough to fit in the hand comfortably. The nubs are fully magnetic to facilitate the Katamari rolling power. Perfect for sitting on a desk or in a craft area holding metalic things for you. I can make them in any combination of 3 Bright acrylic yarns you want.

A tad pricy at twenty five bucks, but there are more worthless novelty toys. Playfully throw it at that uncle with the plate in his head for extra fun! They are temporarily sold out, but if you're interested in your own knit Katamari, the seller invites you to email her to get one specially made.

Custom Magnetic Katamari [Etsy]