ATLUS Games to Wet Fanboy Dreams with Catherine for the Xbox 360 and PS3

Atlus has finally announced their first high-def game this generation and unfortunately for fanboys, it’s not a new entry into their beloved Persona series. However, it is related to the series. Especially if you’ve played the new portable version of Persona 3.

Handled by the same creative team behind P3 and P4, including producer/director Katsura Hashino, character designer Shigenori Soejima, and sound composer Shoji Meguro, Catherine is a horror-themed “action adventure” game designed exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Emphasizing the “adult” nature of the title, the game will feature plenty of erotic-related themes, although given the Japanese attitudes towards sexual content in mainstream games it is questionable to see just how far they are willing to diverge from previous installments. In an interview with the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, character artist Shigenori Soejima states that the game is raw terror and contains scenes that are intended to start adults. Sounds like it’s going to be an awesome mind trip if you ask me.

The story takes players out of high school, and revolves around a 32-year old Vincent (Koichi Yamadera) and the 22-year-old heroine Cahterine (Miyuki Sawashiro) as they unravel the secret behind the nightmares that Vincent is having. Similar to Persona 3’s Tartarus, Vincent is dreaming about a never ending staircase where he can wake up if he reaches the top, although it remains to be seen just what kind of connection the dream world has with the real world.

Vincent’s Cameo in P3P

“Before we storm the hi-def consoles with one of our RPGs, we wanted to try making something new,” Hashino told Famitsu. “These are the results, and it’s pretty weird…or, I should say, pretty neat! What’s unusual about it is how geared toward adults it is… It may wind up being a love-or-hate kind of game, but to those who find it fascinating, I hope we can provide them with a novel and interesting experience.”

The game has been stated to have been in development for quiet some time and was reported to be about 80% done. According to their promotional poster, the game is due out in Japan in winter of 2010 although, as expected, no US release date has been announced yet as of this time. Visit their official website (Japanese) at http://cathy.atlus.co.jp/ for more information.