I got my US version of We Love Katamari yesterday, the sequel to the innovative and clever sleeper hit Katamari Damacy. I couldn't wait for the European release (at the hands of EA) so went ahead and grabbed my Namco version instead. First impressions? Fabulous. Slightly different. Just as surreal.
Yet according to MTV News, KD creator Keita Takahashi never intended to make a sequel, commenting in an interview that he wanted nothing to do with it but the publisher's decision to re-release the game (perhaps to the heretofore ignored PAL territories) with a Christmas theme was final.
Suddenly celebrated for his originality, Takahashi would soon have to tackle the possibly contradictory idea of doing a sequel. He told his bosses at Namco several times that he wouldn't do one. "But it came to a point where the company was willing to release a sequel without me," he said. He discovered that the company's planned sequel seemed more like a re-release, primarily swapping Christmas graphics into the original game. "That went against everything I wanted to do with Katamari," he said. So he agreed to get involved.
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Takahashi hopes, of course, that his sequel can reach beyond cult-favorite status. "I realize that a lot of these sports games that big companies like EA make are very enjoyable," he said. But he hopes people will play games, like his, that allow players to do things they couldn't do in the real world. "If you want to play a sports game, why not go outside and play sports?"
Originally a sculptor with not much interest in games, Takahashi's success supports my layperson contention that a good way to ensure a truly innovative product is to hire a non-gamer to make a game. Why should games players have a stranglehold on interactivity?
