Beautiful Katamari
Encyclopedia
Beautiful Katamari, released in Japan
as , is a video game by Namco Bandai
for the Xbox 360
. Beautiful Katamari is the fourth game in the Katamari series of games following Katamari Damacy
, We Love Katamari and Me & My Katamari
.
Beautiful Katamari has gained extra attention because it was originally scheduled as a PlayStation 3
title in addition to the Xbox 360
, but development on the PlayStation 3 was abandoned. All previous Katamari games have been exclusively available on Sony consoles (PlayStation 2
and PlayStation Portable
).
while on vacation. However, a powerful serve by the King causes the tennis ball to rip through the fabric of the universe, creating a black hole
that sucks everything but the planet Earth into it. In order to correct it, the King commands the Prince to roll up katamaris on Earth to recreate the planets, sun, and other celestial features. Once the Prince completes this, the King then orders him to create a katamari large enough to plug up the black hole and restore order to the universe. The Prince then rolls up enough stuff to create the "Super Giant", a very large Katamari that he then plugs up the black hole with. In the end, the black hole is stopped and the King of All Cosmos takes all the credit for stopping it.
The core gameplay from the Katamari Damacy
series is unchanged; the player, as the diminutive Prince, controls a "katamari" to collect objects smaller than the katamari, causing the katamari to grow and collect even larger objects, as to meet various objectives given by the King of All Cosmos. After successfully clearing any level once, the player can then attempt a time attack
challenge on that level to make a katamari of a given size in the shortest time possible. Eternal modes, where the player is allowed to roll without any time limits, are available once a perfect score is obtained on a level.
In Beautiful Katamari, players are urged to build katamari with specific types of items. For example, to make the planet Mercury
, the King asks the player to collect liquids. After successfully completing the task, the player is rated on time, size, and the number of objects meeting the King's request. Another level requires that the player roll up only hot items and avoid cold items to raise the katamari's temperature to 10,000 degrees Celsius.
Beautiful Katamari is the first game in the series to support high-definition television
resolutions of 720p, 1080i and 1080p. Multiplayer modes include 2 player support on the same console and 2–4 player support over Xbox Live
in both cooperative and competitive modes. One of the online battle types is a "Thingy Battle", similar to a mode in We Love Katamari, where each player must collect the most of a specific type of item. Game lobbies include simple mini-games.
The game tracks all progress by the player in the various modes and shares this data through Xbox Live to allow the player to compare their performance to others, including on normal request levels, time attacks, and online play performance (tracked as "cookies" awarded by the King). A "worldwide katamari", representing the total size of all objects rolled up by all Xbox Live players and the player's contribution to that, is also available.
each. Each additional level occupies only about 384 kB on the Xbox 360 console's hard drive, leading game reviewer Aaron Linde to complain that the game was shipped feature-complete but crippled
unless players paid additional money. One of the Beautiful Katamari achievements explicitly requires that the player "download stages" to be able to build a 1,500,000 km katamari.
Additional downloads available on the U.S. Xbox Live Marketplace immediately unlock ten cousins or presents at a time. These downloads do not introduce new cousins or presents into the game; they merely work around the game's need to have the player find these hidden objects.
Downloadable content for the European market was released May 7, though mistakes were made with the item names, resulting in two items named "Perfectly Sized Katamari" with identical descriptions and only an image to differentiate the two. There are 6 additional levels available for download on EU Xbox Live Marketplace.
titles, Keita Takahashi
, is not involved with Beautiful Katamari, which is directed by Me & My Katamari co-lead game designer Jun Moriwaki.
Early in 2007, various reports suggested that Beautiful Katamari was in development and may be released in North America in Autumn 2007. These reports were based on a United States trademark filing, retailer listings, and a reported announcement by Namco Bandai to retailers.
A demo was distributed in the September 2007 issue of Official Xbox Magazine
and on the Xbox Live Marketplace on August 14, 2007. The demo spawns the player in one of several starting points in a single level with a three minute time limit and an 80 cm katamari. The main menu features the song Nananan Katamari. The demo level contains a song called Katamari Dancing by Takashi Utsunomiya which is also the opening song.
According to a press release from Namco Bandai, Beautiful Katamari went gold on October 2, 2007. The game was released in North America on October 16, 2007, on October 18, 2007 in Japan and was released on February 29, 2008 in Europe.
In mid-April 2007, the game was confirmed by Famitsu to be in development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan, and officially announced by Namco Bandai Games America on April 20. Both versions of the game were stated to retain the dual analog control scheme of the PlayStation 2 Katamari games, and also include online play features.
Designer Jun Moriwaki stated in April 2007 that while a Wii version of Beautiful Katamari was under consideration, difficulties are presented by the system's controller that must first be resolved.
On June 29, 2007, IGN
Nintendo editor-in-chief Matt Casamassina
reported that according to unnamed sources close to Namco Bandai, the PlayStation 3 version of Beautiful Katamari had been cancelled due to porting issues and stalled PlayStation 3 sales, with resources being redirected towards the development of a Wii version. Namco Bandai was contacted for comment, but a statement was not returned in time for the publishing of the report. On July 5, 2007 Namco revealed their E3 2007 lineup, listing Beautiful Katamari as Xbox 360
only. On the same day, Famitsu reported that Beautiful Katamari has been cancelled for the PS3 and is currently in development for the Wii and Xbox 360.
The box cover image for the Xbox 360 version, released in late August 2007, indicates that the game is exclusive to the Xbox 360.
On September 11, 2007, Namco-Bandai's U.S. website briefly identified Beautiful Katamari as a title for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, with the latter two platforms bearing a release date of "TBD." When asked by 1UP during the 2007 Tokyo Game Show
, Beautiful Katamari director Jun Morikawa stated specifically that the game will not be available for the PS3, though another Katamari game that stars the King of Cosmos in the lead will make its way to the PS3 "soon". Morikawa also suggested the same for the Wii.
Namco released Katamari Forever
, which shares some of its levels with Beautiful Katamari, for PlayStation 3 in 2009.
gave the game a 7.8 out of 10, calling Beautiful Katamari "a welcome addition to the barren category of family friendly games on 360," but also found fault in the game's short length and the lack of evolution in the Katamari series. Other critics lamented the lack of originality in Beautiful Katamari. Game Informer Online called the game the "ugly duckling" of the Katamari series, praising the new multiplayer facilities but calling the environments "dull and lifeless." Import-centric UK site NTSC-uk gave it 6/10 saying "When throwing in the short nature of the game and the lack of loving care to the little things that seemed to be lavished on its predecessors... then fans of the series may be left feeling somewhat disappointed. Newcomers will no doubt discover the reason why so many people hold the series very dear to their heart..."
As of December 27, 2007, Beautiful Katamari is the 25th best-selling Xbox 360 title in Japan at 24,186 copies sold.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a video game by Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. Beautiful Katamari is the fourth game in the Katamari series of games following Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America...
, We Love Katamari and Me & My Katamari
Me & My Katamari
is a video game on the PSP platform. It is the third game in the Katamari Damacy series, the first game on a portable system and the first game produced without the involvement of series creator Keita Takahashi.-Story:...
.
Beautiful Katamari has gained extra attention because it was originally scheduled as a PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
title in addition to the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, but development on the PlayStation 3 was abandoned. All previous Katamari games have been exclusively available on Sony consoles (PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
).
Story
The game opens with the King of All Cosmos, his Queen, and the Prince, enjoying some tennisTennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
while on vacation. However, a powerful serve by the King causes the tennis ball to rip through the fabric of the universe, creating a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
that sucks everything but the planet Earth into it. In order to correct it, the King commands the Prince to roll up katamaris on Earth to recreate the planets, sun, and other celestial features. Once the Prince completes this, the King then orders him to create a katamari large enough to plug up the black hole and restore order to the universe. The Prince then rolls up enough stuff to create the "Super Giant", a very large Katamari that he then plugs up the black hole with. In the end, the black hole is stopped and the King of All Cosmos takes all the credit for stopping it.
Gameplay
The core gameplay from the Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America...
series is unchanged; the player, as the diminutive Prince, controls a "katamari" to collect objects smaller than the katamari, causing the katamari to grow and collect even larger objects, as to meet various objectives given by the King of All Cosmos. After successfully clearing any level once, the player can then attempt a time attack
Time attack
A time attack is another term for time trial. The term is commonly used in Japan for individual time trial events for motor vehicles that involves a vehicle running around the circuit in lieu of a qualifying lap and the term is widely adopted outside the country for tuner event and...
challenge on that level to make a katamari of a given size in the shortest time possible. Eternal modes, where the player is allowed to roll without any time limits, are available once a perfect score is obtained on a level.
In Beautiful Katamari, players are urged to build katamari with specific types of items. For example, to make the planet Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
, the King asks the player to collect liquids. After successfully completing the task, the player is rated on time, size, and the number of objects meeting the King's request. Another level requires that the player roll up only hot items and avoid cold items to raise the katamari's temperature to 10,000 degrees Celsius.
Beautiful Katamari is the first game in the series to support high-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
resolutions of 720p, 1080i and 1080p. Multiplayer modes include 2 player support on the same console and 2–4 player support over Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
in both cooperative and competitive modes. One of the online battle types is a "Thingy Battle", similar to a mode in We Love Katamari, where each player must collect the most of a specific type of item. Game lobbies include simple mini-games.
The game tracks all progress by the player in the various modes and shares this data through Xbox Live to allow the player to compare their performance to others, including on normal request levels, time attacks, and online play performance (tracked as "cookies" awarded by the King). A "worldwide katamari", representing the total size of all objects rolled up by all Xbox Live players and the player's contribution to that, is also available.
Downloadable content
Beautiful Katamari is the first game in the series to include downloadable content. Seven additional levels are available individually from the Xbox Live Marketplace for 80 Microsoft PointsMicrosoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
each. Each additional level occupies only about 384 kB on the Xbox 360 console's hard drive, leading game reviewer Aaron Linde to complain that the game was shipped feature-complete but crippled
Crippleware
In economics, a damaged good is a good that has been deliberately limited in performance, quality or utility, typically for marketing reasons as part of a strategy of product differentiation.-Computer software:Deliberately limited programs are usually freeware versions of computer programs that...
unless players paid additional money. One of the Beautiful Katamari achievements explicitly requires that the player "download stages" to be able to build a 1,500,000 km katamari.
Additional downloads available on the U.S. Xbox Live Marketplace immediately unlock ten cousins or presents at a time. These downloads do not introduce new cousins or presents into the game; they merely work around the game's need to have the player find these hidden objects.
Downloadable content for the European market was released May 7, though mistakes were made with the item names, resulting in two items named "Perfectly Sized Katamari" with identical descriptions and only an image to differentiate the two. There are 6 additional levels available for download on EU Xbox Live Marketplace.
History and development
Artist, designer, and creator of the previous Katamari DamacyKatamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America...
titles, Keita Takahashi
Keita Takahashi
is a game director, his most notable titles being Katamari Damacy and its sequel, We Love Katamari. The original Katamari game was a surprise hit and was praised for its quirkiness, originality, and charm...
, is not involved with Beautiful Katamari, which is directed by Me & My Katamari co-lead game designer Jun Moriwaki.
Early in 2007, various reports suggested that Beautiful Katamari was in development and may be released in North America in Autumn 2007. These reports were based on a United States trademark filing, retailer listings, and a reported announcement by Namco Bandai to retailers.
A demo was distributed in the September 2007 issue of Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
and on the Xbox Live Marketplace on August 14, 2007. The demo spawns the player in one of several starting points in a single level with a three minute time limit and an 80 cm katamari. The main menu features the song Nananan Katamari. The demo level contains a song called Katamari Dancing by Takashi Utsunomiya which is also the opening song.
According to a press release from Namco Bandai, Beautiful Katamari went gold on October 2, 2007. The game was released in North America on October 16, 2007, on October 18, 2007 in Japan and was released on February 29, 2008 in Europe.
PlayStation 3 and Wii development
A March 16, 2007 post at Orange Lounge Radio reported that Namco Bandai announced Beautiful Katamari to retailers, which included a release for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Wii. According to the post, the PlayStation 3 version of Beautiful Katamari was to feature support for the motion-sensing feature of the Sixaxis Wireless Controller. The post was removed at the request of Namco Bandai.In mid-April 2007, the game was confirmed by Famitsu to be in development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan, and officially announced by Namco Bandai Games America on April 20. Both versions of the game were stated to retain the dual analog control scheme of the PlayStation 2 Katamari games, and also include online play features.
Designer Jun Moriwaki stated in April 2007 that while a Wii version of Beautiful Katamari was under consideration, difficulties are presented by the system's controller that must first be resolved.
On June 29, 2007, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
Nintendo editor-in-chief Matt Casamassina
Matt Casamassina
Matt Casamassina is a video game journalist who worked for IGN until April 23, 2010. In his time at the site, he was the author of many reviews and previews of Nintendo games. He resides in Los Angeles, California, is married and has two daughters, Zoe and Fiona Jade, and a son named Rocco Archer...
reported that according to unnamed sources close to Namco Bandai, the PlayStation 3 version of Beautiful Katamari had been cancelled due to porting issues and stalled PlayStation 3 sales, with resources being redirected towards the development of a Wii version. Namco Bandai was contacted for comment, but a statement was not returned in time for the publishing of the report. On July 5, 2007 Namco revealed their E3 2007 lineup, listing Beautiful Katamari as Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
only. On the same day, Famitsu reported that Beautiful Katamari has been cancelled for the PS3 and is currently in development for the Wii and Xbox 360.
The box cover image for the Xbox 360 version, released in late August 2007, indicates that the game is exclusive to the Xbox 360.
On September 11, 2007, Namco-Bandai's U.S. website briefly identified Beautiful Katamari as a title for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, with the latter two platforms bearing a release date of "TBD." When asked by 1UP during the 2007 Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
, Beautiful Katamari director Jun Morikawa stated specifically that the game will not be available for the PS3, though another Katamari game that stars the King of Cosmos in the lead will make its way to the PS3 "soon". Morikawa also suggested the same for the Wii.
Namco released Katamari Forever
Katamari Forever
Katamari Forever, known in Japan as , is a video game in the Katamari series. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 console in Japan on July 23, 2009, on September 22, 2009 in North America, and September 18, 2009 in Europe...
, which shares some of its levels with Beautiful Katamari, for PlayStation 3 in 2009.
Reception
Beautiful Katamari received mixed reviews from critics. Official Xbox Magazine stated, "It clearly aims to include everyone and exclude no one, and that's just plain refreshing amid a holiday season stuffed full of deadly serious, high-learning-curve me-toos." IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game a 7.8 out of 10, calling Beautiful Katamari "a welcome addition to the barren category of family friendly games on 360," but also found fault in the game's short length and the lack of evolution in the Katamari series. Other critics lamented the lack of originality in Beautiful Katamari. Game Informer Online called the game the "ugly duckling" of the Katamari series, praising the new multiplayer facilities but calling the environments "dull and lifeless." Import-centric UK site NTSC-uk gave it 6/10 saying "When throwing in the short nature of the game and the lack of loving care to the little things that seemed to be lavished on its predecessors... then fans of the series may be left feeling somewhat disappointed. Newcomers will no doubt discover the reason why so many people hold the series very dear to their heart..."
As of December 27, 2007, Beautiful Katamari is the 25th best-selling Xbox 360 title in Japan at 24,186 copies sold.
External links
- Official Japanese homepage
- Official Katamari website with information on Beautiful Katamari