Catherine Box Art: It's All About the T&A

[John Funk]

Geez, why does this keep getting reported on? I'm getting a little tired of seeing this game pop up in the news everywhere.

It most likely won't even come to the western market outside of Japan either, making it even more of a wonder as to why the Escapist seems to be following it so vehemently. I know it was made by the team behind Persona, but seriously, guys.

Because we think it's one of the more fascinating games in development these days as people who take games seriously as an art form, and we would *like* to see it come to the West, which Atlus will likely only do if there's enough interest outside Japan to make it worth their while?

It's... really pretty simple.

Also, the Catherine tag has 8 uses. That's it. We've written about it 8 times.

 

[roostuf]

Wow i hope it is going to be as interesting as the box art.

 

[Darkwolf9]

I'd be livid if we didn't get this game. I don't care about the "sexy" women as much as I'm curious at how this game will go about exploring human sexuality. Atlus is amazing at writing deep mental stories and I'm curious about this one.

 

[seditary]

I guess this is as good a place as any to say this. Very rarely have relationships been handled maturely in video games, and so I very rarely think that a game should indulge so deeply in them. We should just wait until we have some artistic merit before diving into deep themes of love and sexuality, and then sex itself. Personally, I don't really think that sex itself should be an interactive part of games. Disgusting, trying to emulate such a thing.

I just wanted to address this bit as John has done rather well with his replies. How do you think gaming will get artistic merit without games such as this looking at adult themes? You believe that if we just keep going with how things are eventually everyone will just magically come around to thinking gaming is a legitimate and interesting art platform?

I also had a laugh at your 'things have been done poorly so far so we shouldn't bother trying anymore' statement. You seem more focused on your prejudices than what the game is, could be and may offer. The boxart fits the style and substance of the game (as far as I understand it of course) extremely well.

 

[Strain42]

Geez, why does this keep getting reported on? I'm getting a little tired of seeing this game pop up in the news everywhere.

It most likely won't even come to the western market outside of Japan either, making it even more of a wonder as to why the Escapist seems to be following it so vehemently. I know it was made by the team behind Persona, but seriously, guys.

What exactly are you basing that on? Atlus is a small company, they localize a lot of games (especially the ones that they actually make...) it's already gained a lot of western attention. Why WOULDN'T they bring this over? It's not like this is some text heavy high school dating simulator for the DS.

Most likely (and by that I mean definietly) won't be the same cover design they use in the stateside release, but I do look forward to see what's gonna come up.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I really want it to come to States. I'm a huge Persona fan and supporter, and this had me sold from the first trailers.

 

[thublihnk]

That writeup got a little English Majorey for a box-art announcement, but I definitely appreciate where you're coming from. Might check this out if I've got nothing better to do.

 

[CleverCover]

lol wut?

No really? What is that? I've...I've never heard about this..ever...
What is the premise behind this game?
Can you be a chick battling between two dudes or do you have to be a guy?
Why is he hanging by her shirt in only his boxers?
Is there a chance it's coming over here? I'd like to buy it as a gag gift at the very least if it gets any cheaper and the game is nothing more than a porno. Not saying it is...but that's my first thought at seeing the chicks.

Laughter may ensue upon realization of the present in question.

 

[Mistermixmaster]

I remember seeing the trailer for this quite some time ago. It's definately on my "getting it once it gets here" list.

One thing that worries me slightly is that it has the "Playstation Network" logo on the PS3 edition. I guess I'm gonna need to disconnect Facebook with PS3 if the trophies (if there are trophies, but the PSN logo makes me think so,) are a bit lewd xD

 

[DJShire]

I remember seeing the trailer for this quite some time ago. It's definately on my "getting it once it gets here" list.

One thing that worries me slightly is that it has the "Playstation Network" logo on the PS3 edition. I guess I'm gonna need to disconnect Facebook with PS3 if the trophies (if there are trophies, but the PSN logo makes me think so,) are a bit lewd xD

Oh c'mon, wouldn't a great trophie be "I counquered them both!"

Oh, and this better come to the US....I like a good psy trip game

 

[Altorin]

I am glad that this game is coming out on the 360, I was worried it as PS3 exclusive. is it actually going to cross the pond though?

I really hope so.

We sort of thought the same "THis super sexualized game will never come out in the US" about Bayonetta, so there's that too.

 

[Nouw]

How many bras is the PS3 Girl wearing???

Anyway, it seems to be trying to be 'light-heartedly mature' which is good! I guess I'll keep tabs on this strange game which probably has Satan popping up at one point.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Well, I must certainly say that at least in those pictures Katherine looks way more appealing to me.

I really am just hoping this game makes it out of Japan. It certainly is getting enough coverage for it, but that may not be enough given it's apparent themes and mature focus.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Hey, you reckon if we spam the FUCK out of them they'll kinda be forced to release it over here like what we're doing for marvel vs capcom 3?

 

[Trivun]

When it comes to the UK I wanted to get this game anyway, because I've always been attracted to things that cause a literal mindfuck. It's why I like David Lynch's works so much, and why I'm loving Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni right now.

But with these covers? I am comfortable enough with my sexual desires to admit that this may be the first game I will ever wait in line for to buy on release, instead of waiting for prices to drop. It's just a shame that I'm an Xbox 360 owner, as I much prefer the PS3 box-art; hopefully both options will be made available for both versions. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if the art gets censored to some extent on release outside Japan, given the circumstances...

 

[Jumplion]

Snip

(I don't want to go through your paragraph sentence by sentence to address your concerns, so I apologize if I get off what you were saying)

From what I can tell, this game will not have any interactive sex. I have no idea, maybe there will be a "Press X to thrust" minigame or something, but right now I'll give Atlus the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're smart enough to not do something like that.

I'm on the side of the fence that is very intrigued by this game for all the possibilities it can have. Yes, I'm part of the "games as art" movement or whatever (that doesn't mean I don't like an occasional game of Team Fortress 2), and I really do want games to be taken seriously as a means of expression/artform/blahblah. If you've seen the recent Extra Credits episode here on the Escapist, it's "Video Games and Sex" and it offers a very good insight on the predicament here (I suggest you watch it if you haven't already).

Overall, while I can understand your distaste for this game, I think Atlus is smart enough to handle this topic maturely. From what I can gather, and this is probably all complete bullshit I'm pulling out of my ass, this game seems to be about an emasculated man who is struggling between two very different relationships and a part of some murder conspiracy or whatever. I have no idea what will happen in the game, but from the various trailers it's quite apparent that sex and sexual themes will be prevalent. There's a lot of teasing and innuendo, but nothing blatant, meant to excite you but at the same time make you feel uncomfortable just like how Vincent is in his situation.

I dunno, we'll just have to wait, but I for one really hope Atlus localize this to the Americas/Europes. It'll probably get a shit storm of controversy, but I think it'd be worth it if we could overcome it.

Whatever, if I'm off base on whatever you're trying to say, I apologize, I just didn't want to rant (which I did anyway.....huh....)

EDIT: Ooooo, I suggest looking up the Wikipedia article [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_%28video_game%29] on some of the characters, some interesting stuff.