Word reaches us today from website Gamasutra.com that the team behind the previous two Katamari Damacy games at has now been dissolved and that no future additions to the best-selling series are planned. Series director and creator Keita Takahashi was vocally critical of his own sequel, and even stated ahead of launch that Namco had basically bullied him into crafting a sequel amid threats they would do it without him if not. He had in fact told the only last November that the original Katamari Damacy was never made with the intention of future versions. Not that we thought the original or indeed the sequel 'We love Katamari' were bad games at all.

In announcing the end of the Katamari team at Namco, the official game website apparently goes onto to reveal that designer Takahashi is hard at work on a brand new project: "You don't roll things up, or get bigger, but you might find it interesting anyway," read the statement online. Of course, this might not quite be the end of the line for the innovative series given that Me and My Katamari is bound for the even as we speak, having been crafted by a team extraneous the creators of the original. Could Namco go it alone on future iterations, too? We'll keep you posted.

By Luke Guttridge