Katamari, Mark of Chaos, Ace Combat rolling to 360s?

  • By TimSpot, GameSpot
  • Posted Mar 16, 2007 3:18 pm PT

Source: Xboxic, which posted sneaky cell-phone pictures of a Blockbuster computer screen showing some new entries into the company database. The official story: See below. What we heard: New game information can come from all sorts of sources. Obviously the most concrete information comes straight...

Source: Xboxic, which posted sneaky cell-phone pictures of a Blockbuster computer screen showing some new entries into the company database.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: New game information can come from all sorts of sources. Obviously the most concrete information comes straight from the publishers and developers themselves, who time announcements with marketing blitzes.

Some gamers can't wait that long to find out about new titles and do their own sleuthing, as evidenced by a rogue Blockbuster employee who scoured his employer's database for clues. Three pictures of a computer screen taken by a mobile phone appear to show three new games headed to the Xbox 360.

The trio of titles is a grab bag of Namco franchises, with the most interesting being Beautiful Katamari, a new game in the quirky Katamari Damacy franchise. There are also database entries for Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (previously released on the PC) and Ace Combat 6 (subtitle unclear). All are dated for release this fall.

Namco Bandai did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.

Namco has registered a trademark for the name "Beautiful Katamari Damacy," adding legitimacy to the Katamari picture. Porting PC games to the Xbox 360 has so far been proven to be relatively easy--a good sign for Warhammer fans who want to see Mark of Chaos on the 360. As for Ace Combat, a 360 version would be a coup of sorts, as the flight-combat series has almost exclusively taken off from Sony platforms.

It's not uncommon to see some retailers post new listings of expected sequels before an official announcement...but seeing this trio appear on a new platform certainly raises some eyebrows. Barring some crafty Photoshop work, this looks legit.

Bogus or not bogus?: Retailer info is hit and miss, but recently the hits have vastly outweighed the misses. We're going with not bogus.

359 Comments

  • capthunt

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 11:27 pm PT

    lol consoles

  • Pfilosophy

    Posted Mar 27, 2007 2:52 pm PT

    Ace Combat 6 is one of the games I reallllly don't want on the PS3. Or at least, make it multi-platform if you have to make it for the PS3 because I ain't getting that thing and I don't wanna miss out on some good AC6 action. Katamari, however, now that'd be trippy - better for the Wii than the 360. The whole point of Katamari Damacy back when it was upbeat and original used to be about having simple fun and the Wii embodies that idea. The PS3 would just have more of the opera music and the King's dark past or whatever nonsense.

  • iMacBot

    Posted Mar 25, 2007 4:18 pm PT

    Ace Combat 6 better not be exclusive to 360, it would be so much better on PS3!

  • taisui

    Posted Mar 20, 2007 2:13 am PT

    Doesn't need to understand Japanese to read "ACE COMBAT 6" and "Xbox 360" eh?

    http://may.2chan.net/b/src/1174379359446.jpg

  • JustQuest

    Posted Mar 20, 2007 1:25 am PT

    I hope its not bogus I love Katamari, it would be sweet to be able to play that on the 360.

  • boalandmine

    Posted Mar 20, 2007 1:06 am PT

    those are indeed snapshots of blockbuster's film status database, athough i find it funny that xboxic called them shady. we are allowed to tell release dates to anyone who asks, the is no nda because dates change so often. more so with game releases than movies. in fact, some stores have pos (point of sales) systems set up and locked to film status so customers can look up movies and games for themselves.

  • Digital-Devil

    Posted Mar 20, 2007 12:27 am PT

    Katamari on XBL...yes please

  • Louis_Armstrong

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 11:56 pm PT

    Mmm... less exclusives for Sony it would seem, I wonder if the PS3 will be able to reach the same greatness of the PS2.

  • GonLee30

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 11:23 pm PT

    For the love of God!!!! Will someone please give me 8 on 8 online play or something!!!!!

  • GonLee30

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 11:23 pm PT

    For the love of God!!!! Will someone please give me 8 on 8 online play or something!!!!!

  • George_GameGuy

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 10:49 pm PT

    WOW!!!

    Devil May Cry 4 REALLY IS coming to the Xbox 360!!!

    The people who are saying MGS4, Tekken, and FF 13 are coming to the Xbox 360 are the same ones who said Devil May Cry 4, Virtua Fighter 5, and Mercs 2 were coming to the Xbox 360. I guess this means the Xbox 360 will end up getting ALL of those games!!!

    Xbox 360 is GREAT!!!!!!!

  • George_GameGuy

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 10:44 pm PT

    Ace Combat will be yet another game series that is leaving the Playstation brand and going on the Xbox 360.

    At this rate we will end up seeing Devil May Cry 4 for the Xbox 360.

  • rinoceronte66

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 7:32 pm PT

    BIOSHOCK from TAKE TWO
    GUITAR HERO II from ACTIVISION
    GTA IV from ROCKSTAR GAMES
    ASSASSIN'S CREED from UBISOFT
    VIRTUA TENNIS, VIRTUA FIGHTER from SEGA
    E4 from Q-ENTERTAINMENT
    ACE COMBAT, KATAMARY and WARHAMMER from NAMCO/BANDAI

    .........and now DEVIL MAY CRY 4 from CAPCOM (as confirmed in the today press release of Capcom http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/774/774093p1.html)

    seems hard times for Sony's exclusives XD

    (or maybe is the XBOX360 the real new playsation?)

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 6:43 pm PT

    Not bad...

  • snarple_basic

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 1:21 pm PT

    I do not comment on rumors.... But katamari on the 360 would rock!!!!

  • iuns

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 12:14 pm PT

    wow... if only they got dawn of war on that list instead of mark of chaos =D

  • Buck_Hotep

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 11:47 am PT

    As much as it would be cool to have Ace Combat on the 360, it's any news that Warhammer: Mark of Chaos coming to the 360 that excites me most. If that pans out to be true then will Dawn of War be close to porting over as well. Mark of Chaos Live multiplayer should be fun especially if it involves long-time Warhammer players. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULL FOR THE SKULL THRONE!

  • Euanp

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 10:51 am PT

    And yet not a single PS3 fanboy in sight, they're probably hiding under a rock crying about how they lost another "exclusive" (Ace combat), Katamari sounds good on 360 I will buy.

  • princ3ofp3rsia

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 10:44 am PT

    Ace Combat hell yh!!! i loved all the Ace Combats on PS1 and finnaly i get to play it on 360 after like 5 yrs...

  • MonkeysDad

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 9:03 am PT

    Nice to see Namco giving more support to the 360. Now just show me some Tekken!

  • DFTricks

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 8:48 am PT

    LMAO ... Sony is really going down! XD

  • JMDavis07

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 8:03 am PT

    Katamari=fantastic
    Ace Combat=awesome
    Mark of Chaos=why not?

    I've had alot of fun with these games, (especially Ace Combat) and I think that the developers are making the right move going with Microsoft aswell as Sony. Though the PS3 is losing all of it's exclusives, do they really matter anymore in a gaming spectrum as wide as it is?

  • smoothn00dle

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 7:47 am PT

    Xbox is doing better than I thought but they are fighting a loosing battle.

  • funbunny

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 7:23 am PT

    Rumor Control actually takes a stand and says Not Bogus.

  • GAMECAMILLER Site moderator

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 7:17 am PT

    Katamari may be back? OMG IT MAY BE BACK YESSS!!

    Wow, I thought we wouldn't see it again.

  • TheSlanger

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 6:53 am PT

    Can't wait to roll the prince around in Hi-Def

  • HeadHunter123

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 6:40 am PT

    oooo Ace combat online.......EEEEEEEE

  • Icekxg

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 5:21 am PT

    Like the Ace Combat series. I'm interested in seeing what they can do with the game and Live.

  • The_Frederick

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 4:46 am PT

    WOOOOOO! Ka-ta-ma-ri! Da-ma-shi-i! The best 7th gen console and the best game of the modern era finally meet!

    OK MR.SUNSHINE!

  • BLACKNESS-NSH

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 4:20 am PT

    nice

  • Jokul

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 3:50 am PT

    Ace Combat on the 360 will look great, it the rumors are indeed true

  • AgileNate

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 2:22 am PT

    More games I want!!! This is the year video games break me........

  • ulrikz

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 2:02 am PT

    Awesome if it's true!

  • Trigun1

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 11:49 pm PT

    Sweet.

  • TintedChimes

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 11:14 pm PT

    MORE KATAMARI!!!

  • blueflamedino

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 10:21 pm PT

    porting pc games are a plus

  • DoctorFu

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 10:18 pm PT

    Katamari for 360 sounds good. Talk about crazy achievements huh..

  • blue-fish

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 10:00 pm PT

    Warhammer AND Katamari!?! Should this be true I'd be very happy.

  • brar45

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 9:45 pm PT

    Super Mario is the best even non-gamers enjoy it, no one beat, it's better than HD, and all those next generation stuff. Everyone loves it

  • X360PS3AMD05

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 9:44 pm PT

    No surprise, people are buying the 360, which means more dev support.

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 8:31 pm PT

    Katamari...? On Xbox 360? Unbelievable how good the 360 is doing to getting all these PS2 game developers to switch the 360.

  • DrewBlood08

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 8:09 pm PT

    Ace Combat on xbl, guns only...

  • crithon

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 7:35 pm PT

    wow, Katamari Damacy on multiple platforms..... now that's the reason I bought a PS2 and I remember back in 2005 there were demos of a DS version of Katamari Damacy. I don't know..... still wonder about that Katamari PC MMO and DS version, at what point does Namco and Keita Takahashi decide when to test a new console and when they will release a Katamari game onto a console? And also the whole news from a blockbuster retailers is usually skeptical.... But I'd love to see more Katamari Damacy games out there that series would definatlly make me want to buy a PS3 or a XBox 360.

  • AzureLivesOn

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 7:06 pm PT

    LastSamurai14 wrote:
    "DO you realize how unlikely this is? Namco not only hates american-made-consoles, but whenever they have done a game for them it has always bombed (ridge racer 6/frame city killer...)."

    Ridge Racer 6 for Xbox 360 sold 2.7 million copies in two months worldwide. Ridge Racer 6 for PS3 sold 400k copies in 4 months worldwide.

    Soul Calibur II for Xbox outsold PS2 6 to 1. This was originally a Nintendo exclusive but was sold directly to Microsoft for dual-exclusivity. After Sony threatened, Namco reluctantly gave them third bid. To secure this coup would never happen again, Sony secured exclusivity for the third installment when signing for several contracts.

    To date, Namco is the second most profitting developer for Xbox Live Arcade games behind Digital Eclipse.

    "Do you think, after all the road blocks with microsoft, they'd "waste" (not a 360 flame) their time making 1 of these games on the 360? They had alot of success with Sony, so that's a given, but they always bomb with microsoft."

    Ask Namco/Bandai about Mobile Suit Gundam's impressive launch.

    "God, I hate all the 360 fanboys here, neither games have even been announced and you think it's already coming?"

    Just as bad as Sony fanboys. Neither game has been officially announced and already scrambling to defend the last remaining franchises Sony can still officially call theirs.

    "Wow......360 will probably won't see katamari damacy, ace combat 6, a new tales game, or tekken 6."

    Beautiful Katamary for Wii? Most likely.
    Ace Combat 6 for Xbox 360? Sounds about right (because Ace Combat X's abysmal sales are proof Namco shouldn't go anywhere).
    New Tales Game for 360? Letting this series die on PSP seems more fitting. But then again, Nintendo is already getting two more.
    Tekken 6 on Xbox 360? They've already secured DOA and taken Virtua Fighter away, why go after the weak link in the fighter chain?

    Like every other developer so far, why blame Namco for searching for a liferaft from that big sinking ship the S.S. Sony?

  • gamist

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 6:43 pm PT

    But yeah, I hope to see some trailers or pics soon - oh wait, E3 is right around the corner!

  • gamist

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 6:41 pm PT

    Imagine some news came about someone from BlockBuster miskeyed the 360 for PS3 - that would crush a lot of fans - probably some hanging.

  • MROmeo10

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 6:27 pm PT

    Cool, more PS exclusives moving to the 360. When will they stop??? (hopefully not too soon, although Sony doesn't have many awesome exclusives left).

  • Skiggy80

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 6:02 pm PT

    Yeaya!!! I'm loving the support 360 is getting. Moore wasn't kidding when he said games were first priority this time around. I am yet to hear more than 5 exclusives for the PS3. I looked in the newest Gamepro mag and they showed a list of new games coming out. There were 8 games and nopne of them were exclusive to PS3. 2 of them were 360 exclusive and the rest were on both PS3 and 360. I cant wait to say to PS3 Fanboys that "PS3 has no good games". I cant wait!!!

  • BigCleatus88

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 5:13 pm PT

    Ahh Ace combat... DO A BARREL ROLL.

  • UmonDaisuke

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 4:15 pm PT

    Not farfetched. AC has some merit, but Katamari.. not so much. The latter is more suted for the Wii console.

    At any rate, expect the 6th AC to be multiplatform, not exclusive as the series has some following in Japan.

    Though really, the Xbox brand does need a good niche franchise, and Katamari would fill in that gap nicely. MS could very well secure that as an exclusive.. seeing that it's not a big budget title.

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