Some of our more eagle-eyed web surfing readers spotted on the official Namco Bandai Games web site “TBD” release dates for PLAYSTATION 3 versions of both Eternal Sonata and Beautiful Katamari. The latter also included hints about the rumoured Wii SKU. Both titles are currently only confirmed for the Xbox 360. Not long after the stories on each title were posted, Namco Bandai hive workers pulled the listings for the non-Microsoft consoles, leaving only the Xbox 360 release dates up.
Clerical error or something far more sinister?! It’s hard to think “sinister” when one is discussing an RPG occurring in the mind of a dying Polish composer or rolling things up with a katamari, so we’ll remain simply sceptical of the listings. Maybe we will know more after our trip to Tokyo next week.
Thanks to our tipsters for the heads up.
First this, now this: The Bandai Namco Games US page lists Beautiful Katamari as a PS3 title and a Wii title. Previously, the game was supposedly a multi-platform title, but then the PS3 version was apparently abandoned due to porting issues and sluggish PS3 sales. Since this past spring, there has been rumblings of a Wii version, and the game’s designer confirmed it was under consideration. Still, Beautiful Katamari was then announced as an Xbox 360 exclusive, and the released box art even carries the “Only on Xbox 360.” According to Bandai Namco’s site, the PS3 game’s release date is TBA as is the Wii one (Xbox 360 should be out in October). Does that mean “Only on Xbox 360″ is totally meaningless? If this is true, guess so! Katamari Listed as PS3 Game [BNG, Thanks Kotakuland! Send tips next time, you bastards :)]
Literally. Beautiful Katamari will feature a new Roller Roaster mode in which players need to roll up massive amounts of “hot things,” like pizza, coffee and pictures of Crecente. Laws of physics would generally argue that in order to reach 10,000 degrees Celsius, one would need more than a multitude of 100 degree Celsius objects in close proximity. But shhh, don’t tell the King.
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.
Thought the BioShock demo was enough? Wrong. The Beautiful Katamari demo rolled onto Xbox Live this morning, catchy music and cute graphics in tow. The Xbox 360 exclusive won’t be out until this fall. So, go on. Download it. DO IT.
[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.]
GameTrailer just posted up the new trailer for Beautiful Katamari for the Xbox 360 and, according to the site, the PS3. Not that again. I’m glad to see that the game remains bizarre and mildly disturbing.