Late Night Consoling

After announcing that the Katamari Damacy (PS2) franchise, designed by Keita Takahashi, has sold over half a million units in Japan, publisher Namco announced an intent to developer other simplistic titles in that vein. The decision in the wake of Katamari's success is a bit ironic, given how hard Takahashi had to fight within the company in order to get his game developed in the first place, having been told by Namco producers and senior designers that the concept was too simplistic and would not be fun. After the game's release, Takahashi attempted to prevent the development of a sequel to the game, preferring to work on something new, but eventually agreed to work on the title We Love Katamari (PS2) as an alternative to Namco developing the game without him at all. However, when it came to PSP version Me and My Katamari, due in March, Takahashi had had enough and refused to contribute. Frustrated with the endlessly sequel-driven mentality of an industry which he feels does not give proper credit or freedom to its most creative members, he plans to take his leave of gaming in the near future. A sculptor by training, Takahashi hopes to move on to design playgrounds.

Trade publication MCV claims that EA's upcoming adaptation of The Godfather (both the film and the book), long expected in the first quarter of 2006, will actually hit stores just in time to make its projected release period. According to the site, the PS2, Xbox, and PC versions of the game will reach retailers on March 24. No North American date was given, but North American-developed games frequently show up in Europe a bit later than in their home territory.

No date was discussed for the Xbox 360 version, which has been confirmed to be in development. The PSP version of the game, for which there has been the least media released, was not mentioned.

MCV contributes another rumor to the mill with the claim that Activision has obtained the rights to the upcoming live-action Transformers film. The film is being directed by longtime Jerry Bruckheimer collaborator Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor, The Island), who is working without Bruckheimer this time around. Steven Spielberg will be lending his assistance as executive producer.

Activision has been handling a lot of film to game adaptations in recent years, and has scored some hits with Treyarch's games based on Sam Raimi's two recent Spider-Man films. The news outlet's source states that Activision obtained the rights last year, and has a "top US studio" working on the game.

The recently formed Namco Bandai has sent out its official 2006 lineup. Some of the more notable titles are as follows:

PlayStation 2: Tales of Legendia (Namco, February 6), MS Saga (Bandai, February), Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (Namco, Spring), MotoGP4 (Namco, Spring), Naruto: Narutimate Hero (CyberConnect2, Summer), .hack//GU Part 1 (CyberConnect2, 2006).
Xbox 360: Frame City Killer (Namco, 2006).
Nintendo DS: Mage Knight: Destiny's Soldier (Namco, Spring), Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop (NanaOn-Sha, January 31).
PSP: Bounty Hounds (Xpec, Spring), Me and My Katamari (Namco, March).
PC: Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios, TBD), Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (Black Hole Games, Fall), Mage Knight: Apocalypse (InterServ, Spring).

Tecmo has confirmed that it is currently in development of titles for Sony's upcoming PS3. Though the publisher is not ready to divulge its lineup just yet, it promises that it will arrive "shortly." Company president Junji Nakamura announced Tecmo's commitment to PS3 last August. Just months later, he slammed Sony for a lack of information regarding its upcoming machine, praising Microsoft's efforts with Xbox 360 and saying that "the [PS3's] hardware is conceived by an appliance manufacturer." As a Japanese company, Tecmo has displayed an usual level of support for Microsoft's first-generation Xbox console, moving the Dead or Alive franchise to Xbox (and now Xbox 360) and launching Ninja Gaiden as an Xbox exclusive.

Capcom has quietly changed the Dead Rising (X360) date on its release info page from May 2, 2006 to a more ambiguous Summer 2006. Speaking to IGN, a Capcom representative said that the original date was merely "a rough estimated date," so even if it feels like the zombie-bashing game is being delayed, it may in fact not be. Or something.

As a completely innocent side note, Clover Studio's upcoming Okami (PS2) happens to be listed right above Dead Rising, with a Spring 2006 release date. I'm just sayin'.

GameSpot is reporting that a demo of Pseudo Interactive's upcoming Full Auto (X360, also PS3) will be coming to Xbox Live on January 25. There is also a faceplate promotion going on for preorders at certain retailers. The game will hit stores on February 14.

If you're interested in becoming a cheapass gamer--and we're talking about price deals here, not spawn camping--The Escapist has a feature up about Cheap Ass Gamer, a site which helps gamers find games for cheap.