Na-Na-Nana... Namco Announces "We Love Katamari(TM)" Has Gone Gold

Sequel to 2004’s Award-Winning "Katamari Damacy(TM)" Rolls Closer to Shipping

News by GamesIndustry International Contributor

Published on Aug. 29, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (August 29, 2005) - Leading video games developer and publisher Namco Hometek Inc. announced today that "We Love Katamari" has gone gold, which is scheduled to launch on September 20th exclusively for the PlayStation^®2 computer entertainment system. Last year's release of "Katamari Damacy^TM" attracted fans from all over the cosmos, and these same fans will drive the brilliant storyline of the sequel, "We Love Katamari."

In "We Love Katamari," players once again meet the unforgettable King of All Cosmos, whose head may have grown even larger due to all of the fan adoration he has received in the last year. He seeks to reward his fans' allegiance by fulfilling their requests for creating new and bigger katamari's. To do this, he has recruited his determined little Prince, plus a host of the Prince's wee cousins, to roll up everything in their path - from koi fish and angels to gargantuan mountains and even international landmarks like the Eiffel Tower.

"We Love Katamari" offers an all-new two-player cooperative play mode, in which each player controls part of the katamari. Communication between the players is key to devise strategies and achieve their rolling objectives. An expanded battle mode has also returned that includes three size scopes for more challenging head-to-head play.

"'Katamari Damacy' was embraced with an overwhelming reception last year, winning numerous awards for its innovative style and concept," said Yoshi Niki, Business Unit Director at Namco Hometek Inc. "We hope 'We Love Katamari' will be equally well received by gamers and applauded for its new level of originality and addictive gameplay."

About Namco Hometek Inc.

Namco Hometek Inc. is the U.S. consumer division of Namco Limited, a Tokyo-based world leader in the high-tech entertainment industry. Based in Santa Clara, CA, Namco Hometek Inc. is an award-winning video games publisher for next generation game consoles. Namco has created some of the industry's greatest video game franchises: "Tekken^®," "SOULCALIBUR^®," "Dead to Rights^®," "Pac-Man World^TM," "Ridge Racer^®," "Time Crisis^®" and "ACECOMBAT^TM." For more information about Namco and its products log onto www.namco.com.

"TEKKEN^®," "SOULCALIBUR^®," "PAC-MAN WORLD^TM," "PAC-MAN^®," "Ridge Racer^®," "Time Crisis^®" and "ACECOMBAT^TM" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Namco Limited in the United States and/or other countries. "Dead to Rights^TM" is a trademark or registered trademark of Namco Hometek Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.