Katamari Damacy Online Resurfaces

Katamari Damacy's conversion to the online world was announced a couple of years back, but it looks like the title is finally starting to take shape. 4Gamer reports today that WindySoft, the Korean publisher that's overseeing the game on the Korean peninsula, has started talking about the game, complete with artwork and a few vague gameplay details.

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The artwork shows a new Seoul Map and two new characters, Mint (left) and Mellow (right). The Seoul map will apparently feature landmarks from around Seoul. As for the characters, there are profiles in the above images, but I can't read them because I stopped studying Korean a year ago.

As for the content of the game, WindySoft hasn't said much so far. According to the 4Gamer report, the game's story surrounds a black hole that forms after the King decides to hold a picnic. Your goal is to create a massive katamari (the clump of junk you build up in the game) in order to seal off the black hole.

The game promises a number of new game modes and contents that one would expect of an online game. Just what those are have yet to be revealed. In a press release, a Windy Soft rep promised a game that both fans of the series and those who've yet played the series will enjoy.

In a January 2007 report at 4gamer, WindySoft said to expect a game with battle modes and community features. New gameplay systems mentioned at the time included the House System, where you create your very own island using the objects that you've gathered in your katamari, and the Pet System, details about which were not revealed.

Katamari Damacy Online is being developed as the first project for WindySoft's internal development team Blue Bird Studio and will begin service in Korea some time this year. Students at Seoul's Ewha Womans University are currently able to take part in a test play session as part of a market research program.