ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

What is Katamari? A primer on the oddball and unique Japanese video game series

Updated on January 13, 2011

All about a sticky ball called a "katamari" and the Japanese video game series about it.

Katamari Damacy (or Katamari Damashii) roughly translates to "clump spirit". It also refers to a successful Japanese video game created by Keita Takahashi that involves pushing and rolling a highly sticky ball around, collecting objects in its path, and then allowing the ball of junk to grow big enough to form a "star". All this is done by order of the King of All Cosmos.

Er, did that make sense? No? Well the games' storylines don't make sense either but the quirkiness is part of their charm. The first game, Katamari Damacy won several awards including "Excellence in Game Design" at the 2005 Game Developers Choice Awards, "Best Innovation" at 2005's G-Phoria, and a "Good Design Award" in Japan.

Katamari is a game everyone, from kids to grownups, will be sure to enjoy! If you want to learn more about the strange and wacky Katamari phenomenon, please read on.

What is Katamari? - All about the Japanese video game series.

Katamari screenshot
Katamari screenshot

Katamari Damacy (Katamari Damashii) is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2. It was first released in Japan in 2004 but is now available internationally.

The game's plot concerns a little prince on a mission to rebuild the stars, constellations, and moon which were accidentally destroyed by his father, the King of All Cosmos. This is achieved by rolling a magical, highly adhesive ball called a katamari around various locations, collecting increasingly larger objects until the ball has grown big enough to become a star. Katamari Damacy's story, characters, and settings are bizarre and heavily stylized though the brands and items in the game are based on existing products in Japan.

Katamari Damacy was well received in Japan and North America. The game was dubbed a sleeper hit, and won several awards. Katamari Damacy inspired the development of other video games, and led to the release of five sequels in Japan and other territories: We Love Katamari (2005), Me & My Katamari (2005), Beautiful Katamari (2007), I Love Katamari (2008), and Katamari Forever (2009).

Information from Wikipedia / Photo reprinted from Media Herald Dispatch

Watch the Katamari Damacy pre-launch commercial - See the exciting preview for the unique and quirky Japanese video game series.

If the explanation above didn't do it for you, maybe this advertisement will. This awesome Katamari Damacy TV commercial was aired in Japan a few months before the game's release. Watch and prepare to laugh and be amazed!

Learn more about Katamari Damacy

Visit the pages listed below for information about the games in the Katamari series.

Katamari in Pop Culture

The Katamari video game was well-received all over the world and soon it made its way into popular culture.

Katamari in real life? - Watch a TV commercial inspired by Katamari

The following is a clever commercial for Travelers Insurance (an American insurance company) that was obviously inspired by the Japanese video game.

Katamari game play videos and reviews on YouTube - See the game in action through the eyes of gamers from all over.

It's time to play Katamari!

Get yourself copies of the fun and outlandish game.

Complete your Katamari video game library. - Purchase all the Katamari games in the series!

Katamari Damacy - PlayStation 2
Katamari Damacy - PlayStation 2
The first and original game in the Katamari series.
 
We Love Katamari - PlayStation 2
We Love Katamari - PlayStation 2
We Love Katamari, known in Japan as Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy, is the sequel to the sleeper hit Katamari Damacy.
 
Beautiful Katamari - Xbox 360
Beautiful Katamari - Xbox 360
Beautiful Katamari is the fourth game in the Katamari series of games following Katamari Damacy, We Love Katamari and Me & My Katamari and is for the Xbox 360.
 
Katamari Forever - Playstation 3
Katamari Forever - Playstation 3
Katamari Forever, known in Japan as Katamari Damacy Tribute isthe fifth game in the Katamari series and is for the PS3.
 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)