Katamari fans were dealt a blow in September, when franchise creator Keita Takahashi announced he would be parting ways with publisher Namco Bandai. The move wasn't entirely unexpected, considering Takahashi had for some time held a jaded outlook on the games industry, the Katamari series, and his publisher in particular.

　　Katamari's royal family may be in the mood for love. But even with Takahashi gone, it appears as if Namco Bandai has plans to keep the ball rolling on Katamari. As first spotted by Siliconera, Namco Bandai has entered new Katamari-related trademark filings with Europe's Office of Harmonization in the Internal Market (read: the region's patent and trademark organization).

　　Both filed on March 25, the trademark applications are for "Katamari amore" and "Katamari amore Rolling Whopper." No other information was offered regarding the nature of the trademarks, leaving open the possibility that they could be for non-game products. Namco Bandai had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.

　　Namco Bandai's most recent installment in the franchise, Katamari Forever, arrived for the PlayStation 3 in September 2009, though the game was largely a port of 2007's Xbox 360-exclusive Beautiful Katamari. For more on the series, check out GameSpot's review of Katamari Forever.