Keita Takahashi 'not completely satisfied' with Noby Noby Boy, blames budget

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 29th 2009 at 10:30PM }

Was Noby Noby Boy misunderstood by the gaming masses? Creator Keita Takahashi seems to think so, as he believes the game's limited resources didn't fully realize his vision. "Ultimately, with Noby Noby Boy, I wanted to break the barriers between toy and game," Takahashi explained to Develop. "But for me personally, a bit more could have been done to the game. I'm not completely satisfied with the game, in terms of quality, due to the restrictions on budgets."

Takahashi, famous for his work on the original Katamari Damacy, has been surprisingly forthcoming on Noby's budget (or lack thereof). Had Takahashi been given additional resources he believes the game would have reached a much larger audience. "I won't go in to what I wanted to add to the game, because that's a really long list of things, but as an overall assessment, I think the game could have been much more detailed and easier for everyone to understand."

It appears Noby's shortcomings won't stop Takahashi from working on an even crazier design. Already, he's thinking of a new project, one that "is even harder to explain than Noby Noby Boy." Fans of Takahashi's works wouldn't want it any other way -- but we wonder if publisher Namco Bandai will embrace an even more experimental game.

Tags: katamari, keita-takahashi, namco-bandai, noby-noby-boy

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

foxholesniper @ Oct 29th 2009 10:35PM

It takes a certain kind of being to enjoy these games. I never got into them myself.

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 30th 2009 12:30AM

Don't be 'that guy'.

SolidSnakeX @ Oct 30th 2009 9:33AM

this game was made from a 7 year old the game is so boring and worthless! Who made it oh yeah NAMCO you suck ass!.. the same goes do the team that was in charge of Tekken 6 it got 3-out of 5 horrible...Thank god I never bought that game Well if you ask me $59.99 for a fighting game is crazy! ....The highest I'd pay would be $49.99...

Traceur_Ryuk [Founder of The Anti-EMCB(tm) Brigade] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 30th 2009 9:44AM

@SolidSnake: ...Really?

thatguy @ Oct 30th 2009 9:03PM

wtf you guys down vote me down i said excuse me ffs

Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 29th 2009 10:35PM

In this ekonomy, I'd expect publishers to be even more nervous about new IP, but they seem not to be. I haven't played the game, so I can't say anything about it, but if the guy admits there were problems, that's usually a good sign.

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 29th 2009 10:37PM

Do they pay you to comment on every article?
Seriously, can I get in on that action? I feel like I'm getting ripped off.

Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington] @ Oct 29th 2009 10:37PM

I was going to make a joke about the Mortal Kombat universe's eKonomy after reading your post, but I'm too goddamn tired.

Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 29th 2009 10:38PM

Yeah, I get paid.

www.gullible.com

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 29th 2009 10:36PM

The game sits on my list of PSN games because I can't understand what the hell is going on and the controls make my face hurt.

With that said, it isn't a bad game at all. I actually kinda dug it.
At least it wasn't as bad as The Punisher: No Mercy.

Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington] @ Oct 29th 2009 10:39PM

It's weird and Japanese. I'm required by law to like it.

And the controls are worse than Total Recall on the NES.

willooi (XBL & PSN: willooi) @ Oct 29th 2009 10:42PM

haha yeah, the controls are shocking! That 'guess the controls' intro tutorial thing was painful

willooi (XBL & PSN: willooi) @ Oct 29th 2009 10:41PM

"I'm not completely satisfied with the game, in terms of quality, due to the restrictions on budgets"... the budget he had for the elicit drugs required to think up this sort of stuff =p

But no, I love this guy. I still switch on Noby Noby Boy every now and again and each time I just do so with the biggest "what the hell is going on" smile on my face. Wasn't near the level of the Katamari games, which make utter and complete sense next to this, but still unique that's for sure. Long live Takahashi.

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 29th 2009 10:46PM

I never thought of it that way... Katamari Demacy makes A LOT more sense than Noby Noby Boy.

We need to stop this guy from making more games. Soon he will produce something so mind-bending that it will crush the US economy.

OH GOD, HE ALREADY DID...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--

Courtney @ Oct 29th 2009 10:58PM

Five years from now, he will make a game about destroying the world's economy, and everyone will think that he finally made a game that makes sense. What they don't know is that the game is in fact a time portal, and that everyone who plays it is in fact directly causing all of the economic woes of today, which also lead to his not having the budget he wanted for NobyNobyBoy, which in turn leads him to create a game about destroying the world's economy.

Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 29th 2009 11:04PM

Woah, Doc. This is heavy!

That would be funny if it were true.

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 29th 2009 11:07PM

Doc?

willooi (XBL & PSN: willooi) @ Oct 29th 2009 11:09PM

Wow! Courtney's comment = the plot of Noby Noby Boy! Thank you, it all makes sense now =D

Dao Jones @ Oct 30th 2009 5:07AM

We need to hit 88mph!

john evers @ Oct 29th 2009 10:57PM

One of the things he should have added to the game was a point.

johnnynumber5 @ Oct 29th 2009 10:58PM

Katamari is way better because even though it didn't have a point in the practical sense what you were supposed to do actually clicked. I get that Noby Noby boy is about experimenting but to be honest the game isn't very fun in my opinion. It's a trophy whores dream though ... which is useless to me.

The game should have cost no more than .99 or $1.99 tops. I don't remember what it did cost but I think it was around $5.00 or more. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Game like Katamari and Loco Roco are the kind of crazy Japanese stuff I like ... not Noby Noby Boy.

Just my opinion.

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 29th 2009 11:06PM

For some reason I felt the need to browse for the launch price.
It was $5.00, you were correct.

Now I don't feel so smart.

monkeyzamm @ Oct 29th 2009 10:59PM

I bought this on PSN the day it came out and was extremely dissapointed, but about a month ago a whole bunch of us got together because a friend was visiting from Kansas and we played this. We played it from 8pm to 3 am. Multiplayer is AMAZINGLY hilarious. One of us gets so big he starts eating all the elephants in this one level and poops them out everywhere. Worst fault is that after 7 hours of switching maps they tend to be repetitive. The maps need more happening and it would be perfect.

Muscular Jones @ Oct 30th 2009 12:24AM

i love noby noby boy. at one point in time i was ranked number 5 in the noby boy world. I don't play it much now but when i do go back to it, i can sit for a long time enjoying the music and strange creatures. i can't wait until we reach jupiter. i

i understand the game isn't for everyone, but it is fun. it's just sad that things have to have a point, a plot, a goal, an objective, for people to enjoy them. what ever happened to being a kid and not giving a crap about things making sense?

JeezWhiz87 @ Oct 30th 2009 6:47AM

I agree in a sense with what you're saying. I loved the nonsensical nature of games from "back in the day", which is what drew me into Katamari so much, but I just feel like Noby Noby Boy just lacks direction. I love the inovation, and how Takahashi consistently pushes the boundaries, but what exactly do you DO in that game? I eat and poop without a $300 console.

TriviumSuffocationTheBlackDahliaMurderLambOfGod @ Oct 30th 2009 1:16AM

I love Noby Noby Boy. It's a bargain for $5. The random sandbox hilarity that ensues is praise worthy. Simple, charming, hilarious, and fun. All that for just $5. Who could refuse that? Not I.

arrness (PSN: chsowls) @ Oct 30th 2009 1:42AM

i liked noby noby boy

what happened to the iphone version?

NervousXtian @ Oct 30th 2009 7:28AM

The problem with Noby Noby Boy is there just isn't enough to do. I get it, stretch. Katamari rewarded you for rolling, big and better things, more humor, the carrot that dangled in front of you when you couldn't roll an item yet because it was too big was always there. Noby Noby doesn't have that carrot to keep you going.

Katamari is quirky, but fun.

Noby Noby Boy is quirky, but not fun.

koehler83 @ Oct 30th 2009 7:36AM

The problem with Takahashi games is that he clearly does absolutely no research in other gaming trends and markets. He's in some kind of walled garden or bubble in which the NES is still the industry leader. He has no idea how to map an analog controller. I think he throws all the buttons in a hat and assigns them randomly to actions in his 'games'.

His concepts are good, but he should only be conceptualizing. More qualified people should be doing the work of actually creating them.

koehler83 @ Oct 30th 2009 7:38AM

Of course, I say that and then I think of Katamari Forever. Maybe he should just be conceptualizing and working at Walmart.

Mike @ Oct 30th 2009 9:38AM

It would have done better if released on Wii and 360 too. Obvious?

Longbottom, Leif @ Oct 30th 2009 9:54AM

I actually like NNB. I'm glad it didn't cost any more than $5 but I feel that it was $5 well spent.
However, I can totally understand anyone not liking it too: especially if they haven't smoked a big fatty beforehand. I'm just fascinated at how effortless the absurdity seems.
The thing is, you can't treat it like a game. It's just something I play with when I'm trying to decide between Warhawk or ... not Warhawk: Fallout 3 right now.
You should hear my soundtrack for it: The Go Team, Weird Al, Gorillaz, Plastikman...

Scott @ Oct 30th 2009 11:54AM

NNB is just as much fun "to play" as Katamary Damacy was.. It just had no story and lacked the catchy soundtrack. I remember playing NNB when I got and wondering WTF. Then I played it some more and didn't really like it. Then I played it again like a week later and I still wouldn't say I was amazingly entertained by it, but I did manage to play it for probably 3 hours straight, trying to loop all the donut clouds together. That's an impressive amount of time spent for something with no goal and extremely limited gameplay mechanics.