7 votes

The history of Katamari Damacy

4 comments

  1. [4]
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    1. [3]
      nothis
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      I sometimes wonder what games I'd put in a personal top 10 and Katamari Damacy is one of maybe 3 or 4 games that have a guaranteed spot on it (I can never settle on the exact ranking, though). I...

      I sometimes wonder what games I'd put in a personal top 10 and Katamari Damacy is one of maybe 3 or 4 games that have a guaranteed spot on it (I can never settle on the exact ranking, though).

      I just love how it defies any genre definition, it's completely unique. It also makes me wonder how our stubborn obsession with games that mostly revolve around just a handful of base genres is limiting gaming as a whole. There's got to be so many other game ideas out there, equally unique. Where are they? Even within indie games, it's rare to see such a completely out-of-the-box concept. And for a relatively mainstream 2004 PS2 release, I think this level of creativity is unmatched.

      I find it interesting how the game's history is essentially one of a truly original blip of creativity that originated from a single person's mad genius and how the games industry swallowed it up and eventually spit out a F2P mobile tap game, lol. I know there's not a lot of money in it but it also can't have been that expensive to produce. Why don't large game companies have smaller studios running for more obscure titles and potential cult hits? Movie studios all have their indie branch for harvesting Oscars, game studios don't seem to give a shit. One other example I can think of is Valve producing Portal in 2007. Maybe Microsoft's indie branch doing Ori and Cuphead (although art style aside, these are already much "safer" choices)? It's so rare. It's a real shame.

      3 votes
      1. [3]
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        1. [2]
          nothis
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          Well, apparently they turned it into a Puyo Poyo clone at one point, lol.

          Well, apparently they turned it into a Puyo Poyo clone at one point, lol.

          1 vote
          1. [2]
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            1. nothis
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              The first two are the only ones that matter, really. From there on, it was just rehashes and weird mobile games that used the names and characters for essentially different games.

              The first two are the only ones that matter, really. From there on, it was just rehashes and weird mobile games that used the names and characters for essentially different games.

              2 votes
  2. [2]
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    1. nothis
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      Oh that's cool! Everyone should play Katamari Damacy, great to see it available with such a low entry barrier.

      Oh that's cool! Everyone should play Katamari Damacy, great to see it available with such a low entry barrier.

      2 votes