Earlier in November, Bandai Namco confirmed it would be releasing Katamari Damacy Reroll on 7th December - the same day as the highly anticipated release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. Alongside this announcement was the reveal a demo for Reroll would also be made available on launch day here in the west.
Anyone with a Japanese eShop account on their Switch won't need to wait to try before they buy, though. A demo for this enhanced re-release of the original Katamari game is now available to download from the Japan eShop. It'll require 837MB of free space and also happens to include English language support.
Keep in mind this demo will still arrive locally on 7th December, but if you were tempted to pick up the actual game on the same day as Smash and weren't sure yet if it was right for you, now is a great time to check it out in between bigger sessions of other recent releases such as Diablo III: Eternal Collection and Pokémon: Let's Go.
Did you rush over to the Japanese eShop to download this demo when you heard the news? Are you excited this 2004 PlayStation 2 classic is being revitalized? Will you be adding it to your collection alongside Ultimate? Tell us below.
Comments 17
Ugh. It looks like the physical version is skipping Australia, and perhaps also Europe, and with the English physical version being exclusive to GameStop in the U.S., it looks like I'll have to import the Japanese release. And GameStop won't ship to Australia of all places, which is absolutely ridiculous.
With the Switch being as successful as it is, I don't get why publishers are so reluctant to try and branch out to more markets with these long-running franchises. If Taiko no Tatsujin can get a retail release in Australia of all places (and sell out), then surely...
Glad I preordered this one. Did you try PlayAsia as well or Amazon Japan?
And they aren't doing it this soon for the NA eShop why?
The full game will get creamed by Smash Bros., no question.
I will be using my Japanese account to download the demo, though.
@Silly_G probably because it’s so much cheaper for the companies to release digital only, and at this point in time the impact in sales doesn’t outweigh that. They can avoid physical production entirely and if they save more money than they lose, what motivation is there for them to bother with physical?
Sucks for the people who DO want physical releases but more and more people are sucking it up and going digital...
@DockEllisD Thanks for the notice, will download that soon.
Might as well mention Shin'en also released a demo for Art of Balance.
@Silly_G yeah i know it's a farce, the fact that at first the EU physical copy was delayed till next year and now there won't be one at all i'm frustrated by that a lot now.
@RickD is it still confirmed that physical will be available next year for EU then?
let hope they don't skip the UK like the tetris effect physical release did.
I pre-ordered the moment it went live lol. It's been a long wait...
@RickD : We don't know that for sure, unfortunately. There have been a number of physical Switch releases that have been pulled at the last minute. They weren't big releases, mind, but it's frustrating when release dates are forfeited only a week or two prior to release.
Pre-order pages for Katamari have since been withdrawn as well.
I’m in the UK, can anyone confirm where I can preorder here?
I’d probably go digital over paying to import from Japan, but might go physical if I can here - although the wait might put me off as I did want it for Christmas
Likewise, I'm looking to get this physical in Europe or an otherwise English language release. But it sounds like I could import the Japanese game and still enjoy English language support.
Thanks Japan!
@Silly_G
Is it cause you have some kind of GameStop addiction that you will not look elsewhere? Plenty of other options will send you the English version.
@Aneira : I live in Australia, so there is no GameStop for me to be "addicted" to. The only English-language physical release is exclusive to GameStop in the U.S., and without the option to buy from them directly, there is no other option than to import the Japanese release (which still includes English on the cartridge, as does this demo, but I will generally prioritise an English-language version physical release over Japanese/Asian ones, if such an option is available).
Likewise, I was unable to buy the boxed version of Mega Man 11 which included the amiibo because it was exclusive to GameStop in the U.S. (there was no physical release in Europe or Australia), so I was left with no option but to pay some scalper on eBay for the amiibo.
Day one purchase and I had no clue of a physical version at GameSlop!!!!
@JoeDiddley nothing right now and won't be a while till next year if we are lucky, it's physical or nothing for this release.
as for the demo, while it was fun to play katamari again, the demo was little short so i'm eager to play the full release hopefully soon.
I downloaded it with the Japanese accounting created and it looks and plays great, inspite of the 30 fps cap in the game. On my TV it looks buttery smooth thanks to motion smoothening, and the input delay hasn't affected my steering of the Katamari. Can't wait to play the full, sharp looking, game on my Switch!
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