Amazing Katamari Damacy trademarked in Europe

Bandai Namco is bringing back the Katamari franchise, as hinted at by a recent trademark filing for “Amazing Katamari Damacy” in Europe.

The last time we stumbled across these wacky games was in 2012 when Touch My Katamari rolled onto the PS Vita. The series had hit a bit of a creative struggle after several major critical and financial failures on both handhelds, and Bandai Namco seemingly abandoned the franchise.

However, this new game has potential to be a genuine revival of the franchise. Although there’s hardly enough to grab any fact out of this, “Amazing Katamari Damacy” would be the first game in the series since the very first game released back in 2004 to use the word “Damacy” in the title. Could it mean that Bandai Namco has some confidence in this title?

My gut tells me we should wait for a platform confirmation to pass judgement. If this winds up on the Nintendo 3DS or mobile platform, I think we can put it in the back of our minds for the time being. However, if Bandai Namco were to create a genuine home console game and price it accordingly on PlayStation Store or Xbox Live, I could see some potential in that being a sale.

Remember, the first game launched at $20 in 2004, and it became a huge hit not only because it was fun, but because it was also dirt cheap in a year where $50 AAA games pummeled gamers’ bank accounts. Once again, we find ourselves crumbling under the weight of big budget releases, and I’m all for some cheap and insane Japanese escapism.

Don’t let me down, Bandai Namco! Amazing Katamari Damacy on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, maybe even the NX and PC. Let’s see it!