Katamari Damacy rolls off to factory

Namco Hometek today announced that its quirky action title Katamari Damacy has gone gold, and it will ship to retailers beginning on September 21. Originally released in Japan earlier this year, Katamari Damacy quickly reached cult-classic status among import gamers and fans of Japanese design. The game will retail for only $19.99.

Even Namco has trouble finding the words to describe Katamari Damacy's gameplay, calling it a "rolling, sticking, never-stopping, ever-swelling clump of stuff that makes a star out of everyone and everything game." In the game, the title for which translates as "clump of souls," the player is the Prince of the Cosmos, who is charged with creating new stars in the sky by rolling up as many earthly objects as possible into a giant mass, regardless of their shape or size.

Shown off in a hard-to-find corner of Namco's booth at this year's E3, Katamari Damacy drew crowds anyway and won praise not only for its unique and intuitive gameplay, but also for its singular, quirky art style and original soundtrack, which features catchy smooth jazz tunes sung in both English and Japanese. More information, as well as screenshots, can be found with our recent--and exclusive--hands-on.