When asked about the availability of Eternal Sonata for the PS3, an Namco Bandai spokesperson only had this to say: that they are not aware of a PlayStation 3 version at the moment. But their official website now says otherwise.

And that's not all. Beautiful Katamari is also listed for both the PS3 AND the Wii.

Remember the previous rumors about Beautiful Katamari leaving the PS3 in favor of the Wii? It looks like our dear beloved Prince had a change of heart and decided to - once again - roll over to the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3.

If this isn't a typo (like the supposed Killer 7 for the Wii), this should be a definite sign of good things to come.

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*Update* As QJ reader teeg commented below, it turns out that Namco Bandai has indeed updated their site and took out the listings. That was pretty fast! So, all we can assume now is that the listings of Sonata and Katamari for the other next-gen consoles were nothing more than a simple typo. Glad things are cleared up now!

Thanks for the heads up, teeg!

Our tipster Geo came to us with an interesting piece of information regarding our favorite ball rolling prince and a jilted console.

There has been a number of reports about the cult hit from Namco Bandai the past couple of weeks. One report showed that the Prince will be skipping the PlayStation 3 and will be rolling away on the Wii instead. Another report was about the official site of Beautiful Katamari Damacy showing only Xbox 360 as the only platform listed. Well, according to a recent article in Famitsu magazine, the earlier report is confirmed. According to Famitsu, the upcoming video games' 360 and Wii versions are already in the works.

So does this mean that the Prince is really leaving the PS3 in favor of the two other consoles? There hasn't been any official announcement from Namco Bandai, but we'll be sure to be here when that happens. Stay tuned for more Beautiful Katamari Damacy news.

Thanks again to Geo for the tip!

Not so beautiful news for the PS3 owners who are latching onto hope of seeing The Prince on their consoles. In line with recent Namco Bandai whispers, yet another clue is toking up the flames of Beautiful Katamari being an Xbox 360 exclusive. This time around, the clue is rolling in from the official Beautiful Katamari website  itself.

As the observant folks at Siliconera point out, at the bottom of the game's official site, the only platform listed is a resounding "Xbox 360." Not a single breath of a "PlayStation 3" anywhere. We've screen capped the image below:

It's not an official confirmation just yet. Namco Bandai hasn't given any statement that Beautiful Katamari won't grace the PS3's Cell processor. However, their exclusion of the platform from the Japanese website does say quite a lot in itself. Even more so, as Siliconera reports, the website previously did have "PlayStation 3" tucked somewhere in the site. Now? Well, it's probably cosmic dust already. And for what it's worth, the official site doesn't speak of a Wii version either.

Most people are now content with the knowledge that Beautiful Katamari is now being developed for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 consoles, but IGN reported a rumor that may turn some PS3 owners' worlds upside down: Beautiful Katamari for the PS3 is now getting axed in favor of a Wii version.

The reason, IGN's sources said, was that the developers encountered a crippling trouble in the making of the PS3 port of Beautiful Katamari, forcing them to halt the project. The PS3's currently sub-par sales was also rumored as a reason for cancelling the PS3 version.

This adds another Beautiful Katamari Wii rumor to the list, with the first BK Wii rumor getting debunked due to Namco Bandai's apparent disinterest in making a Katamari title for the Wii, whose success was still not proven then.

Namco Bandai has yet to answer IGN's queries about the issue, and until they have released an official statement its best to treat this bit of rumor with a grain of salt, despite IGN's sources' claim that the news is "100 percent reliable". Stay tuned as we roll around for more information!

Like other Namco Bandai games that we all thought were Sony PlayStation stalwarts, Beautiful Katamari is closing in on an exclusivity deal with Microsoft for the Xbox 360. So says an article in the Newsweek blogs.

The article says it got the information from sources close to Namco Bandai, indicating that Microsoft's aggressive drive to snare exclusives from Japanese developers is finally paying off.

This comes as a big surprise as many who have thought that Beautiful Katamari for the PlayStation 3 is a foregone conclusion considering all the press that's been written from official sources.

Newsweek's article cited the trend of Namco Bandai games pledging allegiance to the Xbox 360 as a potential indicator of things to come. So far, Eternal Sonata and Ace Combat have done just that. Neither Microsoft nor Namco Bandai have made comments or hints towards such a development in their business plans.

Readers are reminded that everything is still just a rumor. We will confirm or debunk the rumor as soon as official statements are made by the legitimate parties.

Need another dose of ball-rolling fun? We've got another video montage of Namco Bandai's Beautiful Katamari for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The prince of the universe is at it again. He's been tasked to roll up katamari to massive proportions by the King of the Cosmos. We all know how the gameplay works, you roll the adhesive katamari and everything sticks to it. Nevertheless, it's still fun to watch, isn't it? Adding to the entertainment is the King of the Cosmos himself, supplying the commentary like a sportscaster (Holy hornbeam!).

Anyway, we'll leave you to watch the prince roll up the continents. Be sure to keep checking back, we'll scour the interwebs for more info on Beautiful Katamari.

Will Xbox 360 have the Royal Rainbow all to itself? At least, that's what Newsweek's N'Gai Croal is speculating. He points out the trend that's been happening recently in Namco Bandai. Cases in point:

Ridge Racer 6 was released as a 360-exclusive launch title for the 360. It should be noted that the Ridge Racer franchise has always been associated with the PlayStation consoles. However, Ridge Racer 7 became a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

Also, Ace Combat 6, the latest addition to the previously Sony PlayStation-only franchise, was introduced as a timed Xbox exclusive game - with a PS3 version to be released after some time.

See any patterns? Croal supposes that Namco is in the process of "flirting" with Microsoft, though it could not let go of its long-time relationship with Sony. Well, whatever drama there may be, it's not impossible that the same thing will happen with the quirky little favorite that is the Katamari franchise.

Croal's source did mention that Beautiful Katamari, the upcoming sequel to the PlayStation 2 hit, We Love Katamari, will roll into the batch of video games that will be released as Xbox 360 exclusives, and will most probably be announced at the upcoming E3 event.

PS3 owners need not be alarmed, however. The Newsweek blogger did note that none of the games were entirely lost to Sony; they eventually made their way back into the PlayStation 3 console.

But he emphasizes that Sony's currently weak PS3 sales are what may be causing the problem. Sony is not strong enough to hold on to its supposedly exclusive games and franchises. Microsoft's aggressive courting of Japanese game publishers are also to be taken into account as well, and if the current trend goes on, everything that previously belonged to Sony may eventually be found alongside Microsoft.

Yup, you heard it right, they've already posted gameplay vids of Namco Bandai's Beautiful Katamari. The game is slated for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and can we just say that we can't wait to get our hands on it?

Ever since it's first release on the PlayStation 2, the Katamari Damacy series has maintained the same gameplay. In a nutshell, your character rolls up everything not bigger than his Katamari (it's the ball-like thing). The latest iteration of the game is sticking to the same formula, but from the looks of things some major changes have been implemented that will make fans of the game happy.

One thing we noticed from the videos is the lack of dodgy camera angles. As most experienced Katamari players know, the camera is one of the biggest problems of the game. They seem to have fixed that. Another major thing we noticed is how (*ahem*) beautiful Beautiful Katamari is. The HD version looks sharp and crisp with no artifacts and overlapping objects visible.

Below is a link to GamePro where you can find the vids they made from the Xbox 360 version. Check it out and enjoy.

We are brought to tears by the latest series of screenshots of the third console sequel to the clump-rolling sleeper hit, Beautiful Katamari (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) - brought to us in full Royal Rainbow Color by the good folks over at GamePro. For those of you who are still worrying about the game staying loyal to its roots, a gander at these screens would put to rest any and all doubts.

Ah, simple blocky graphics and equally-simple gameplay, how we miss you, and how these screenshots from the video game's developer Namco Bandai tease us so!

More screenshots after the jump!

 

A whole truckload of Beautiful Katamari screenshots are included in a recent Famitsu report. If you're curious about Namco Bandai's upcoming next-generation installment of their much loved franchise, check the screens and game details after the jump.

Yes, more, tons more screens at the "Full Article".