Taiko Drum Master goes gold

Namco Hometek today announced that its highly anticipated rhythm title Taiko Drum Master has gone gold and will ship to stores by the end of this month. Exclusively for the PlayStation 2, Taiko Drum Master is the home version of one of Japan's most popular arcade games, which challenges players to beat a traditional Japanese drum, called a taiko, in rhythm with a list of hit songs.

Taiko will come packaged with a replica of the arcade controller for use with the PS2, along with two plastic drumsticks. Players can tap the middle of the drum to create booming sounds, or they can tap the edge of the controller for a short snap. Namco announced the full track list for the title in August, which features a wide range of pop-chart hits, classical music selections, and original tunes from Namco games (including Soul Calibur II and Katamari Damacy).

Taiko Drum Master is rated "E" for Everyone and carries an MSRP of $59.99. This price includes the game and the taiko controller.