Katamari Damacy developer Keita Takahashi was forced to return to Japan after the release of his latest game. K T.
Conversation with GamesRadarThe industry icon said his latest project failed to live up to commercial expectations upon its release earlier this year, meaning he had to move from San Francisco back to his home country.
To a T was developed by Takahashi's Uvula studio and published by Annapurna Interactive in collaboration with accessibility charity AbleGamers.
“I don't think anyone is trying to create a niche game. The name “niche game” is just an outcome. I know that my games are far from mainstream,” Takahashi said.
“I recently returned to Japan, and one of the reasons I had to do this was [so] because To a T didn't sell very well. It's a risk to be independent and I'm willing to take it, but I don't think it's a question of niche or tradition, it's a question of whether people like it or not.
“I believe there is still room for new ideas and unfortunately To a T just didn’t fit. But I think the situation is what it is.”
Takahashi also lamented that despite creating the Katamari Damacy series, he does not own the intellectual property. The development vet said he, too, has ideas for future franchise projects.
“I wish I had the Katamari Damacy IP,” he said.
“In any case, I'm glad that the game and characters are still loved today. In many ways, I have some interesting ideas for Katamari Damacy that only I could come up with. If I had the opportunity to work with Bandai Namco again, it would be a very interesting project.”
Keita Takahashi directed Katamari Damashi, released in 2004, and then helmed We Love Katamari, released the following year.
In 2019 he created Wattam with Annapurna Interactive before collaborating with publisher To a T.
When GamesIndustry.biz talked to Takahashi back in 2022the developer lamented the fact that despite all his efforts to promote video games as a medium, the industry remained the same as before.
“That will never change,” he said. “It's always like this. Because I'm trying to go against the current trend in gaming that we have now. You know, shooting games or fighting games. They never change, but almost all people love these games, and I understand that. has music and vision, can give you a more emotional story, but we're still giving the player very little perspective on life experience.”
