Catherine is Atlus’ Biggest Launch Title Ever

Normally, I don’t like to use In Third Person as a means of perpetuating a company’s PR cycle. Not to say that I’m anti-establishment or anything like that, but every professional or amateur video games enthusiast writer is going to write the same stories about the same press releases. Adding my own spin to a public relations piece that has been spun a million times before generally doesn’t excite me one bit.

However, this one is a bit different. The Catherine demo won me over in a big way, and I’m really loving the final product. Expect to see a review for Catherine tomorrow. I had some concerns that this game would fall on deaf ears for looking like a perverse Japanese porno game (which the game is not). Had it flopped and discouraged Atlus or others from releasing more unique products, I would have been a very sad panda. Thank goodness then for the announcement from Atlus that Catherine set an Atlus sales record, having shipped more units at launch than any other Atlus game in the publisher’s 20-year history.

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Pick-Up Post: Catherine Pre-Order Edition

One of the reasons I pre-ordered Catherine once I decided to buy it (besides the ability to avoid the embarrassment of purchasing it in person) was to get the CD soundtrack and the art book for free with what Atlus positioned as the pre-order edition. However, due to Amazon failing to ship my order in a timely manner, I just went out to my local retailer and bought a copy. To my surprise, every launch copy of the game is the pre-order edition, which means if you buy a launch copy of the game, you’ll get the bonus art book and CD soundtrack regardless of whether you pre-ordered it.

As of writing, I haven’t played the game yet. However, I thought I’d at least post my impressions on the launch package in case you were interested in what the art book and soundtrack are like.

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Societal Pressures and How They Influenced My Purchase of Catherine

Shortly after writing my previous post on my time with the Catherine demo, I decided that I was going to purchase the game. Normally, when I’ve made the decision to buy a game before its release, I patiently wait until launch day and buy said game at a store. I like the experience of going into a store and getting the game immediately, rather than having the release date pass by while my game is in transit at the mercy of the postal service.

This time, I pre-ordered it online. I grabbed the PlayStation 3 version so that my girlfriend can play my copy too. I’ve never pre-ordered any games online before, and this is only the second time I’ve ever purchased a game online. No, I didn’t go out of my way to pre-order it so that I could get the bonus soundtrack and art book (though it’s a nice bonus, I guess). I pre-ordered it to save myself from any potential embarrassment.

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I Played the Catherine Demo

When this game was first announced, I immediately wrote it off as simply one of those erotic Japanese games that never make their way to my country. There’s a market for those types of games, but they’re not for me. However, the more I read about Catherine and its premise, the more I was intrigued to learn more.

With the demo out now on XBOX Live and PlayStation Network, I gave it a shot.

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