Ben-DutkaAtlus just didn't want to spill the beans beforehand. But the official word is here now, and North American gamers can rejoice.
Today, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. announced that Catherine , the erotic, horrific cinematic adventure, would be coming to North America this summer. The game in which "falling for a girl" is meant literally, players will have to brave nightmares and deal with a complicated love triangle.
We've been following this particular project since we first heard about the very original concept. Said Aram Jabbari, Atlus Manager of PR and Sales:
"Catherine is an unprecedented exploration of the pleasures and horrors of love. As Vincent, a man recently succumbed to the irresistible beauty of the game's titular diversion, players find themselves swept into a treacherous love triangle. Catherine's core themes–those of free will, of the delicate nature of relationships and the choices we make within them, marry perfectly with the intense, terror-filled gameplay that serves to accurately reflect Vincent's growing sense of anxiety. It is an experience wholly unlike any to come before it, and is certain to leave gamers talking and thinking about Vincent's tribulations long after the credits have rolled."
The game will be available on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the official website will soon contain more info and details. As you can see, they're also prepping separate box art for the PS3 and 360 versions.
We've heard a lot about this one, especially the fact that it supposedly boasts insane difficulty. But Atlus is already preparing a patch to deal with that; it'll be ready long before Catherine arrives stateside. So prepare yourselves for a unique and terrifying experience!
Related Game(s): Catherine
What about Europe?
Do I have to buy it from american ebay?
Last edited by IronFace2 on 3/1/2011 9:48:41 AM
Oh you little devils at Atlus! Just like Catherine, you toyed with our emotions!!
REJOICE!!
Well, considering Europe is apart of this localisation. Always import if not though….so yeah, REJOICE!
LOL! There ought to be a law against flatly denying something a week or less before announcing the thing you just flatly denied….
This is good news.
I know that folks in Europe (and Australia/NZ) will be concerned about it being a US localization. Well, I don't know the particulars, but at very least this will be done in English, and as we all know (don't we?) PS3 games are region free. So importing it shouldn't be an issue…
Yes, and we must also hold Square Enix to this law retroactively.
Most of us Aussies purchase from the UK, since it uses the same region coding. So if Catherine is released in the UK, many Aussies will import from there.
But that's mostly 360 owners. 😛
We PS3 owners will import games from anywhere that English is supported!! Hooray for Sony and their region-free console!!
Y'know it's funny… The so-called insane difficulty of this game is actually on par with the difficulty levels of games dating from the pre-PS2 era. Especially with some NES games.
These days, gamers need patches, guides or cheat devices to hold their hand from the opening menu, up until the end credits.
Games have become so easy these days.
Those were also the days when one game would have to last you a long time…usually until the next playable game came out, and that could be months. Oh, and as kids, most of us had plenty of time to do nothing. With the average age of a gamer rising, few have the time to play and replay a certain game until they're blue in the face.
Furthermore, had the difficulty been lower in those days, I seriously doubt we would've complained. We would've complained about length, surely, but many controllers and systems would've been saved.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 3/1/2011 10:06:59 AM
And that's why i'm less enthusiastic than ever on games this gen, Bonampak. My passion is there, but it rarely gets satisfied.
Japan are still turning out the real games the most. That demo to Catherine blew me away! It has what is missing, innovation, originality and that original magic from gaming day one, still intact.
I agree with what Ben said, as the average age of gamers increased and well we all need to work in order to live and play games, our time in front of the TV shrinks. I know I've probably rubbed this into the ground, but having played the import version I can say that the puzzles would be way to difficult for the average gamer to sit down and have any type of enjoyment with. I'm having to restart this game over again on Easy just so that I can find some enjoyment with the puzzles. Normal is a beast. Can't even begin to imagine hard.
I'm sure most of you have played the demo so you know how easy the first stage can be, especially after repeated plays, however, if you were to play it on "Normal" mode and the farther your progress the more godly insane the puzzles become. It's hard to explain unless you actually sit down for yourself and try it out.
Honestly I'm just super excited this is making a US debut. Persona Team designs some awesome games and with how the story is for this game, everyone who plays it is in for a treat. (No Spoilers from me)
I surely sympathize with what Ben and DIsmael85 are saying here. I also have to find time to play complex games.
However, I do not agree with the idea of making games easier just to fit them in our busy schedule.
I rather have these type of games stay just as they are: with a higher than the norm difficulty level. This so younger gamers (and anyone that has the time) have the chance of finding a game that features an actual challenge. Which is a not an easy thing to find these days.
I sort of agree with that. I do want some of the challenge to return from the old days; it can be refreshing. I still remember getting that good old surge of satisfaction after beating a level in Stuntman, or finishing Ninja Gaiden.
Even so, I believe the difficulty level for most of the best games available is just about right. I think they're plenty challenging enough for those who wish to use video games to relax. I can't remember the last time I just blew through an entire game without having some issue.
I think the other thing we have to remember is the difference in how games are saved. I'm willing to bet we die as much or even more than we did in the old days; it's just that now, we don't have to repeat an entire level after death. Save points are so numerous, you usually just have to repeat the one sequence where you just died. So, you can die like 50 times in a very short span of time, but it's nothing like "death" in the old days.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 3/1/2011 3:15:24 PM
i wish the challenge would come back.
it was the old style of splatterhouse that really made me enjoy it!
really made me feel like i was playing a ps1 game, and for the first time thats a good thing.
tis why i always say ps1 games will always be better then ps3 games.
there just built so differently, they were about challenge and fun where ps3 games are about ZOMG the grafix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Blank,
Try Dead Space 2 in Hardcore mode. That's a NOPE if ever I've seen one.
I am definitely pre-ordering this! I've been devouring every little bit of info I can find about this game! I even had a buddy who took a vacation to the Philippines poke around in their "Black Market" (street vendors) for some English dubbed copies. He found them, only they wanted $300 USD a piece! Sure am glad he had the good sense to pass on that!!
Guess all our voices were finally heard!
Atlus for the win! Close to a fail, but they redeemed themselves!
umm, if you're talking about pirated games then he was getting screwed. combined with how much they sell games and the exchange rate, 300 bucks for each copy is a too much. of course i'm basing this on the prices i saw for ps1 games. each ps1 game was 50 pesos at most which was about a dollar in us.
This is a great news indeed! I will buy NA version too when it come out. I'm proud of the fact that I completed normal difficulty on my own and now working my way "up" on hard difficulty.
Told you guys that comment was just normal PR talk =) Glad they announced sooner than expected to calm down some people. I really hope people support this game.
Oh and glad they kept the original cover for both versions too!
Consider it bought and paid for.
Well this was very apparent, why would atlus release a 360 version if it wasn't coming to north america? But oh man am I super excited. I'm just kind of worried about multiplatform approach from atlus. Yes I know it is potentially more money for atlus but if they decide to make persona 5 multiplatform it better be multiple discs for the 360 version. I want a full 50 gig persona or any SMT game.
great news. the ps3 version will easily sell more.
This looks like my kind of game so i will probably take a stab & import it. Erotic horror + Innovative = wierd personal fetish of mine, so it has definitely peaked my interest.
It's good to see bizarre games like this getting more exposure from Western audiences. Hopefully it will generate enough sales for people to take notice.
Imo games like this deserve more credit, if not for quality then at the very least for innovation & a fresh approach at something a little different.
Looking forward to it, it's been a while since i've indulged into a decent horror experience so i will be anticipating this until it arrives in my cobwebbed mailbox.
Gonna buy it, people need to start buy games like this or we gonna get berried on FPS hell.
Last edited by Oxvial on 3/1/2011 1:23:03 PM
i love atlus, but with this being more of a puzzle game ( not sure if there isn't any rpg elements ) i will have to wait for your review ben
Last edited by aaronisbla on 3/1/2011 1:27:23 PM
Atlus you troll you…
"great news. the ps3 version will easily sell more."
This game won't sell no more than 1,000 copies.
Haha, nice attempt at trolling.
Trade-ins might be crazy high but the box art alone will prompt more than 1,000 purchases.
It'll sell more than a thousand copies simply from the folks here at PSXE.
I'm looking forward to this one. I have never played any of it's predecessor's, but I'll definitely be picking this one up as long as the review is decent.
Ooh man, you should totally play the Persona series. Well at least starting with 3. 4 was really good. Loved the whole story. You will super impressed on how awesome they are and how well they respect the traditional turn-based RPG element lost in a lot of RPG's these days. Catherine is totally different of course, but I highly recommend giving it a chance. From what I played so far and how open everyone seems to be with it, I think you will have a blast. I can assure you that much Kraygen. 🙂
I don't know what to believe anymore. But I'll stick with this over the previous news. Can't wait!!!
I'm glad to hear this, i hope it's released on the european store too, i would like a chance to play this odd game.
i will pick this up for sure.
Damn the patches that take away from what the games were aiming for initially; Bulletstorm & Catherine.
I don't think the patch will take too much away from Catherine, it'll probably just make Normal "normal" and easy will stay the same. Hard will most likely be adjusted a tad bit, but trust me, it'll be for the better of all those who want to enjoy this fine game. The hardcore folks will still get a challenge. I can guarantee that.
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
hope its not too long a wait, and hopefully this time it will release here the same time as the states not months after like deamon souls!
thats IF it gets released here, i can see the OFLC having a field day with this!
though DNF got past so i guess anythings possible.
MK didn't. But that's because of the OTT violence. Of course our censors are harsh on sexual content, but if Heavy Rain and Leisure Suit Larry can get through, I'm fairly bertain Catherine will too. And if not, I'm importing this sucker.
After having played for 8 hours I saw nothing that would get censored. There is seriously more nudity in Heavy Rain than in Catherine. Now as far as things getting lost in translation, this could happen considering they want to have it make sense for an English speaking audience.
its not what you see, its what the games about.
this leaves allot to the imagination and i can see them pounding the game for that.
as for MK, yea it has over the top highly detailed violence but splatterhouse, dead space 2, GOW3 dont?
im sorry but i refuse to believe MK9 is gorier then GOW3!
let alone splatterhouse!!!!!
they say the games RC because of high impact violence.
ripping a gods head off, or shoving your arm up a monsters a$$ and ripping out its insides is not high impact violence?
WB are right, there are allot of games with MA ratings which are just as bad, if not worse then this!
there appealing it and thats what there going to argue, but all i can say is GOOD LUCK!
if thats their argument, then this things as good as banned no way in hell there going to give into that even though its true.
i dont mind though, well i would not if i could get the kollectors edition online.
everywhere i look online they only have the standard edition available, either that or they wont ship to AU.
might see if a old school friend of mine can grab it and sent it to me, i really want the kollectors edition especially for the sub zero and scorpion statue.
Again after having played for 8 hours I saw nothing and experienced nothing that I haven't seen done in a game before. Grand Theft Auto 4, Heavy Rain, God of War 3. Like you said it's not always about what you see, but what has been talked about or the underlying meaning isn't anything to make news. It's a mature Puzzle game. I don't see very many kids being into it unless they are fans of Atlus. Then again, if it's the provocative cover you guys are talking about, then maybe, but I guarantee this is a game that you will not find at your local Target or Wal-mart. Atlus games have never, from my experience, been sold any where but Online, Gamestop, or Specialty stored like Frys Electronics, Hastings and Costco.
Woo! At least we'll get it in English, but no guaranteed Euro release is a tad disappointing. Keep us posted, Ben.
Peace.
Just make a very easy, easy, normal, hard, and very hard for the game difficulty in options.
I… so… called this! I totally called this, I knew Catherine would make it at least to the U.S.! I knew Atlus wouldn't leave us out! Niche games are what Atlus' U.S. counterpart does so I never had much doubt (I won't say none, but definitely very little). I will so get this one first day, partly because I've been excited for it since I heard about it and partly to show Atlus my support for niche/Japanese games. I suggest everyone do the same if you appreciate niche/Japanese, unique, original, and/or ambitious video games in the U.S.
Last edited by LanceNLT on 3/3/2011 10:54:49 PM