The first title in the series was Katamari Damacy for the PlayStation 2, which became a cult classic and led to several sequels and spin-offs.

This inspired Takahashi to entertain audiences with his creations and decided to join Namco as a visual artist.

In Katamari Damacy, The Prince is tasked with the job of rebuilding the stars and constellations that the King destroyed.

Players may also do a 180 degree turn that causes The Prince to jump on the other side of the Katamari typically by pressing the two sticks down into the controller.

Players may cause the katamari to roll at high speeds typically by rapidly moving the two sticks in opposite directions back and forth.

In Make a Star levels, players are presented with a specific size that the katamari must be before the time limit runs out.

In early levels of the game, players are given a katamari similar to the Prince's size, which allows him to only roll up small objects such as tacks and ants.

In more recent games, players can hit a glowing pillar that causes all items close to the katamari that are small enough to be sucked into it.

If players are able to reach the required size before the time limit runs out, they may continue making it bigger.

Not all levels follow this format; for example, some do not have a timer, and instead require players to do a certain task, such as rolling a snowball to a certain size and putting it on a snowman.

Due to the critical and commercial reception that it received, Namco Bandai followed it up with a 2005 sequel also for the PlayStation 2, titled We Love Katamari.

A sequel was made in 2006 for the PlayStation Portable titled Me & My Katamari, which used a different scenario and different gameplay which required players to utilize the d-pad or analog nub and the face buttons in absence of the dual analog sticks used in most Katamari games.