The Catherine Conspiracy

Even though Atlus has said it has no plans to, I find it hard to believe they won't release Catherine in the U.S.. Their history betrays them; they've released weirder titles and taken plenty of risks over the years. Catherine may be a bit different from anything else the company has released so far, but not by that huge of a stretch.

There are a few things working against Catherine's U.S. release -- most importantly, its adult content and America's tendency to overreact to things they clearly don't understand. It's likely that Atlus is trying to find a way to release their first big current-gen project without any sort of controversy. Considering that Catherine's sexual theme is the only thing that trumps Bulletstorm's... let's say gregarious violence on the Motherly Outrage-o-Meter, how Americans perceive their title should be a concern. A popular controversy could increase sales of the game, but it could also get it banned. A likely outcome? Not really, but Atlus seems like a modest company, one that would try to avoid a debacle altogether.

Still, I remain hopeful. Why? Well, for one, not only does Atlus' history betray them -- their present does too. As a few people have pointed on podcasts and other, there's little incentive to develop a 360 version of a game you won't be releasing in States, and looking at the numbers in the news story above reinforces that thinking. 360's a console on life support (less so in recent years, but still), so porting to it may be always be the smartest thing to do.

So why not just announce a U.S. version and get it over with? My insane theory is that Atlus is still gauging interest. And it's not just about releasing it like they would usually. I predict that Atlus wants to go big-time with Catherine, to leave the niche-world and have a bona fide hit. They have that with Demon's Souls, but considering Catherine more volatile subject matter, they're taking a more cautious approach. They're not just gauging interest; they're gauging demand. They want to know whether they can actually pull off a chart-topper in the U.S. like they did in Japan.

So, like many people, I'm confident about a state-side version of the game. But I'm also confident Atlus wants Catherine to be a title that has a wider reach than they've had before. Whether or not the game's odd gameplay and mature themes cross over into mainstream success remains to be seen, but I have Atlus is going to give it a shot.