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.

It would be impossible for us to be here... if the world was not peaceful. If there was heavy fighting or pollution in the cities could we talk about videogames like this? If you're suffering from poverty and disease could you worry about collecting coins? I don't think so.

I don't know about the future but we will see more of the darker side of reality on the Earth. I'm not trying to be the next Al Gore but I'm not sure if we could afford to have videogames in ten or twenty year's time. I'm not saying that we don't need game events or games themselves, but in order to enjoy these events we should recycle rubbish... be friendly to your neighbors.

I might be being idealistic but I truly think so. Videogaming is good but it's also a luxury. You can't play videogames unless you are financially well off.

Keynote [GamesIndustry]

He tells Gamespot:

In an ideal world, I want to see only one major console being retailed on the market, and everyone actually making games for just one console, and bring the price of that console down from what the three currently cost right now.

Ah utopia! So which console wins the bloody war? Is it the PlayStation 3, "exclusive" home to Nobi Nobi Boy? Nope, the game designer envisions a totally new console, something that can shake up the industry. There's plenty more fantasy where that came from at his Q&A.

Q&A: Katamari Damacy director Keita Takahashi [Gamespot]

In the best quality video of the display, unsurprisingly at Gamersyde, we're shown a controllable trio of Boys, amid scattered livestock and pets, simply bumbling about. The titular characters are shown stretched out, playing with animals, safely ingesting and passing them, floating through the air, all with a distinctive, attractive style. The game's emphasis on physics is apparent, but the objective escapes us.

I recommend taking a look at the Gamersyde hosted clip, if only for a fun personal game session of How The Hell Is This Going To Work.

Nobi Nobi Boy presentation video [Gamersyde]

Keita Takahashi, a formally trained artist, commented, "I haven't had the chance to consider my plans for the day just yet but I'm definitely ready to enjoy myself! I'm hoping to share some of my works at the event so let's hope everyone can join me in October!"

Sounds like a potentially amazing amount of fun to be had by all, especially since Takahashi seems to have no idea what he is going to talk about. Expect hastily scribbled restaurant napkin speech notes

I especially like the description of the festival given in the press release below.

GameCity is the only event in the UK to bring developers, students and lovers of interesting culture together in Indian restaurants

Takahashi stretches out for GameCity/BAFTA Vision Statement

Unique talent headlines line-up for 2007 festival

24th July 2007. Nottingham, UK.

GameCity today announces Namco Bandai designer Keita Takahashi as their 2007 Vision Statement speaker. The unique creative genius behind the original title Katamari Damacy and recently announced Nobi Nobi Boy will deliver the 2007 GameCity Vision Statement, sponsored by BAFTA, on Saturday 27th October at Nottingham's Broadway Media Centre.

Keita Takahashi, a formally trained artist, commented, "I haven't had the chance to consider my plans for the day just yet but I'm definitely ready to enjoy myself! I'm hoping to share some of my works at the event so let's hope everyone can join me in October!"

Established in 2006 at the inaugural GameCity festival, the Vision Statement event is a platform for uniquely personal, creative perspectives from within the videogame industry. In 2006, Lorne Lanning gave an incisive and enormously well-received speech, detailing his perspective on the potential of videogames before announcing his new Hollywood movie 'Citizen Siege'.

Festival director, Iain Simons said, "We're enormously excited that Keita has chosen to participate in the GameCity festival and deliver the Vision Statement keynote. This really is a unique opportunity for gamers to spend some quality time in the company of one of the most exciting developers working today."

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is the UK's leading organisation dedicated to the recognition and promotion of excellence in the fields of the moving image. Renowned for its high profile Film and Television Awards ceremonies, the prestigious BAFTA mask has long been seen as a symbol of excellence. The Academy is now committed to the development of the contemporary art form of video games, and to lending equal weight to its British Academy Video Games Awards as that given to film and television.

Kam Kandola, Regional Programmer for BAFTA commented, "BAFTA is tremendously excited to be working with GameCity on our second Vision Statement following on from the British Academy Video Games Awards which are taking place on 23rd October in London. Opportunities for the public to meet with industry leaders such as Keita are very valuable and we are delighted to be continuing to help to bring the creative excellence behind video games closer to the people that play them. This event is part of our BAFTA in the Regions programme which is all about celebrating the very best in the fields of the moving image to as wide an audience as possible, and we're looking forward to another great BAFTA Video games event at GameCity."

GameCity is the only event in the UK to bring developers, students and lovers of interesting culture together in Indian restaurants, and this year promises to continue shattering expectations of what a videogame festival could be. Taking place across an entire city, the festival happens in a huge variety of venues - from cinemas, to market squares, to restaurants, cafes, schools.

GameCity is all about celebrating the culture and development of videogames, specifically bringing the people who make them into contact with the people who play them - and who want to make them. Students from Universities across the UK will be attending in their droves to question, probe and applaud the developers taking part.

With the full programme yet to be announced, GameCity can promise the participation of some extraordinary talents. Developers already involved include Frontier, Freestyle Games, Travellers Tales, Free Radical Design, Mode 7, SCEE and more are signing up daily.

Importantly from an Industry point of view, GameCity is perhaps the most visible example yet of the public sector stepping up and explicitly supporting an industry so often under attack. Iain Simons, festival director commented, "We are delighted with the support that the festival has gained from the City of Nottingham and its lead partner, Nottingham Trent University. It feels like a real milestone on the journey to mainstream culture for interactive entertainment that an event like this can happen at all."

GameCity 2007 happens all across Nottingham from the 24th - 28th October, 2007.

The game, which is loosely translated at "Stretchy Stretchy Boy" or machine translated as "Unrestricted Boy", doesn't have a release date, nor did Namco Bandai reveal the game's genre. Given Takahashi's creativity, I'm going to assume that Nobi Nobi Boy will probably not adhere to any currently known genre.

This goes a long, long way to make reparations for the Xbox 360 exclusive release of the fourth Katamari game, in my personal, always correct opinion. Hopefully, we'll see much more of the game at the September Tokyo Game Show.

What is Namco Bandai Games Nobi Nobi Boy!!? [Famitsu]

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]

•"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]

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

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]

Unfortunately, the fantastic content (including wallpapers, screensavers, and paper dolls) has all been taken down. What I would give for a site dump!

Takahashi had been vocal in the past about his disinterest in creating more Katamari games. With next week's Me And My Katamari shipping for PSP, it looks like the series may have come to an end. Rest in peace, Prince of Cosmos...

Official Katamari Damacy Japanese Web Site