Beautiful Katamari

The core gameplay from the Katamari Damacy series is unchanged; the player, as the diminutive Prince, controls a "katamari" to collect objects smaller than the katamari, causing the katamari to grow and collect even larger objects, as to meet various objectives given by the King of All Cosmos. After successfully clearing any level once, the player can then attempt a time attack challenge on that level to make a katamari of a given size in the shortest time possible. Eternal modes, where the player is allowed to roll without any time limits, are available once a perfect score is obtained on a level. The player can also change to another character that the second player also uses- Marcy.

In Beautiful Katamari, players are urged to build katamari with specific types of items. For example, to make the planet Mercury, the King asks the player to collect liquids. After successfully completing the task, the player is rated on time, size, and the number of objects meeting the King's request. Another level requires that the player roll up only hot items and avoid cold items to raise the katamari's temperature to 10,000 degrees Celsius.

The game opens with the King of All Cosmos, his Queen, and the Prince, enjoying some tennis while on vacation, but a powerful serve by the King causes the tennis ball to rip through the fabric of the universe, creating a black hole that sucks everything but the planet Earth into it. In order to correct it, the King commands the Prince to roll up katamaris on Earth to recreate the planets, sun, and other celestial features. Once the Prince completes this, the King then orders him to create a katamari large enough to plug up the black hole and restore order to the universe. The Prince then rolls up enough stuff to create the "Super Giant", a very large Katamari that he then clogs up the black hole with. In the end, the black hole is stopped and the King of All Cosmos takes all the credit for stopping it.

Artist, designer, and creator of the previous Katamari titles, Keita Takahashi, was not involved with Beautiful Katamari, which was directed by Me & My Katamari co-lead game designer Jun Moriwaki.

Early in 2007, various reports suggested that Beautiful Katamari was in development and might be released in North America in Autumn. These reports were based on a United States trademark filing, retailer listings, and a reported announcement by Namco Bandai to retailers.

Beautiful Katamari received "mixed or average reviews", according to review score aggregator Metacritic. Official Xbox Magazine wrote that the game clearly aims at everyone regarding its simplicity, and called it a refreshing contrast to serious titles. 8 out of 10, calling Beautiful Katamari "a welcome addition to the barren category of family friendly games on 360" but also found fault in the game's short length and the lack of evolution in the Katamari series. Other critics lamented the lack of originality in Beautiful Katamari.

Game Informer called the game the "ugly duckling" of the Katamari series, praising the new multiplayer facilities but calling the environments "dull and lifeless". Import-centric UK site NTSC-uk gave it 6/10. The site noted the game's short length and lack of innovation and said that the title would disappoint fans of the series, but might be suitable for newcomers who have never played a game in the series.