It’s been confirmed that eccentric game design star Keita Takahashi has left publisher Namco Bandai, after seemingly becoming disillusioned with the general direction that the videogame industry has begun to take with regards to motion technology, stereoscopic 3D, and expensive development cycles.

The news of Takahashi’s departure was confirmed to consumer site Play.tm by a Namco Bandai spokesperson.

Takahashi would best be known for his work on designing the playful ‘ball rolling simulator,’ Katamari Damacy, while the last game he worked on was the quirky, ultra-experimental Noby Noby Boy.

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Keita Takahashi, the visionary behind games such as Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy, has made a new post on the US PlayStation Blog regarding the recently released update for Noby Noby Boy, entitled Version 1.1. Here’s Takahashi:

“Finally, the updated 1.1 version is ready (available now on PSN). Honestly, debugging it was hard for multiplayer as it was a hotbed for bugs. So, if you run into a bug or two, please laugh that off. Since there are more silly updates aside from multiplay, I hope everyone has fun with the game as a whole.

“By looking at the number of WEBWEBBOY, however, a lot of people don’t seem to have noticed the updates. They may be playing something else and not know about them. But I do wonder when GIRL will reach Mars.”

A new trailer, as well as additional details about the update from Takahashi, follow below:

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In a post on the US PlayStation Blog, Keita Takahashi (creator of Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy) has revealed a little more about the multiplayer update heading to Noby Noby Boy soon. Takahashi said:

“I’d like to share a little bit more about Multiplayer. In Single player, the game allows BOY to eat another BOY as well as people and animals, etc. In Multiplayer though, eating everything has some funny consequences. For example, if the head of a 1P BOY eats the rear of a 2P BOY, the two players end up with a combined BOY.

“This could be very confusing because one BOY is controlled by two players. Moreover, the fact that the game is compatible for up to four players could bring even more chaotic situations. Doesn’t that sound fun?

“We are almost there. Please be a little more patient.”

Takahashi also released a new bit of footage for the new multiplayer mode, to further demonstrate what he’s explaining. Watch below:

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According to data retrieved from a website that is currently tracking all kinds of statistics about Noby Noby Boy, as little as 1000 people are playing Noby Noby Boy at the moment, which means that not many people are contributing to GIRL’s growth, which means that GIRL’s next goal, reaching Mars, is roughly 2000 days away from happening.

It seems as though around only 60 000 people around the world have played Noby Noby Boy, which is sure to depress the game’s creator, Keita Takahashi, even further. Luckily there’s an iPhone and iPod Touch version of the game coming out, otherwise we… uh, GIRL, will never reach Mars, let alone the end of the solar system!

C’mon people! Log in and play Noby Noby Boy for a little bit and report your progress! Let’s get GIRL to Mars!

If you’re a little lost, go read El33tonline’s review of Noby Noby Boy to catch up.

Sony has posted an interview it held with Noby Noby Boy creator Keita Takahashi.

It’s a really cool interview as Takahashi gives more information on the multiplayer mode which is coming soon as well as discusses how he is open to suggestions from fans and keen to implement players’ ideas into the game.

Takahashi also comments on how gamers should be more open and accepting to non-traditional games like Noby Noby Boy and gives a clue about the next game he is working on.

You can also read El33tonline’s review of Noby Noby Boy which we thought was wonderfully quirky.

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Katamari Damacy creator, Keita Takahashi has revealed that his latest creation, Noby Noby Boy will be heading to the iPhone and iPod Touch, while also speaking a bit more about the upcoming multiplayer update for the game. Takahashi comments:

“Before PS3, we thought it might be fun to do it on the iPhone. So, we’re in the process of making it for the iPhone. I thought if we used the Boy from the iPhone as well, Girl can reach the solar system in only 400 years.”

No concrete details on the iPhone version, such as price and release date, were mentioned. The update for the PlayStation Network version of Noby Noby Boy, on the other hand, will include an offline multiplayer mode which allows players to eat one another, with a maximum number of players per session currently set at four.

Read El33tonline’s review of Noby Noby Boy to discover what you’re missing.

Keita Takahashi, the creator of the quirky PlayStation Network title, Noby Noby Boy, recently teased the addition of an offline multiplayer mode to the game sometime in the future.

Well, a teaser video has recently been released showing the eponymous Boy exploding out of the starting house, ostensibly to begin a multiplayer session. What could it all mean? Watch the teaser below:

If that headline made any sense to you, then you’re someone you has enjoyed the quirky, weird and wonderful world of Noby Noby Boy, from the mind of Katamari Damacy’s Keita Takahashi.

Speaking of Takahashi, he’s recently posted on the US PlayStation Blog that an update is coming to Noby Noby Boy which involves ‘offline multiplayer’ and also revealed what Noby Noby Boy players already know – while Girl did indeed reach the Moon very quickly, Mars is still very far away… Takahashi posted:

“A featured addition to the update is going to be offline multiplayer. Some may say, ‘Offline!?’ But it’ll still be fun. Please check it out.

“Well, it’s going to be quite a long journey to Mars. Please be patient. This is Takahashi.“

Go read El33tonline’s review of Noby Noby Boy to makes sense of this post, and maybe even go buy the game on the PlayStation Store to get in on the ‘craze.’

Ah, Noby Noby Boy, where to begin. A basic gameplay session will probably consist of you controlling the titular BOY, a worm-like creature with four legs, navigating your way around a square slice of earth suspended in a void of nothingness. Other inhabitants of the land include giant spinning tops, ballerinas, curious cows, banana cars and bubble-emitting robots, amongst others.

As you control both the front and back end of BOY, it is your job to stretch yourself out as far as possible, walking in opposite directions to do so, eating, and then pooping out unscathed, the inhabitants of the world to grow bigger as you deem necessary. Occasionally, one of the inhabitants will ride on your back. Welcome to the world of Noby Noby Boy.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Noby Noby Boy for the PS3.

While the videos released the other day to accompany the release announcement of Noby Noby Boy didn’t quite make much sense, this new launch trailer sheds a bit more light on just what you’ll be getting up to in the world of Noby Noby Boy.

Still doesn’t make much sense though… but looks incredibly zany and fun.

Noby Noby Boy is available now on the PlayStation Store.

Noby Noby Boy is a strange looking title indeed, naturally from the creators of the Katamari series of games, where you are tasked with stretching your body longer and longer in order to complete goals that require your extra length, as you move the front and back of your body independently with the analogue sticks. Bizarre indeed.

If that didn’t make any sense, then you can catch a few videos showing gameplay from the game, although it may not make much more sense…

Looks like one giant physics demonstration! Noby Noby Boy is releasing tomorrow (February 19th) on the PlayStation Store, in both the US and European regions, at a price of $4.99 and £3.19 respectively. Watch some more footage from the game below, if you dare…

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