Katamari Damacy Team Dissolved, Says Namco

Namco Japan's official website for popular franchise Katamari Damacy has announced that the team behind both the original game and its sequel, We Love Katamari, has dissolved, and that no sequels have been planned. This may not be a surprise for most, as series director and creator Keita Takahashi has publicly stated that the idea of building a franchise off of the original game was never his intention, and that his involvement in the game's sequel was forced on him by publisher Namco's willingness to green-light a sequel with or without his involvement. "I didn't want players to be disappointed so I decided to take part," Takahashi told the BBC last November. "There are fun things in the game, though I am not happy with all of it." The official announcement does mention that 'Professor Katamari' (presumably Keita Takahashi) is currently working on a new game design, though apparently not with the core Katamari Damacy team. "You don't roll things up, or get bigger, but you might find it interesting anyway," says the site. Me and My Katamari, the portable iteration being released in North America for the PSP next week, is the last officially announced game in the series. However, the game was done without the direct supervision of Takahashi, which shows publisher Namco's willingness to create games in the series without his input.