Hardcore ero-puzzler Catherine has been judged too sexy for mere Americans, and as a result the game’s saucy covers have been given Bowdlerised editions bereft of cleavage climbing.
The Japanese original covers:
The American Edition:
However, Catherine fans can probably relax, as Atlus claims they merely provide the massacred covers for crazy puritan outlets, retaining the originals for normal people:
“In addition to the existing North American covers for Catherine on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, there will also be modified designs that appear in select markets.
The vast majority of copies available at launch will feature the cover we originally unveiled, essentially the Japanese cover of the game.
A small percentage of copies, however, will feature a cover that is more considerate of certain retailers’ broader customer demographic. Fans need not worry; Catherine’s cover art is NOT being altered for North America. There is just an extra option being made available for more sensitive shoppers.”
Amazon actually stocks both the proper version and the All American edition, bearing out this explanation.
The actual content for all its vaunted sexiness is far tamer than the sort of thing mature western gamers now take for granted, and so should escape any cuts without difficulty.
Catherine ships at the end of July.
Some screen caps from game please?
Who is the problem lol…for “These things” exist: Porn for see real girls, and hentai, for see 2d girls…nubs. I dont know for what reason the tards protest to that…
If you’re not going to buy a game because the cover was censored then you’re not a true gamer.
Atlus is widely known for Persona fans which represent 7-15yo kids for the most part in the west.
It’s not really surprising that they distance themselves from ones like Catherine or the real SMT’s in ways like these.
too sexy??lol
The U.S. has the world’s largest porn industry.Americans idiot hypocrite.
There are so many whiny bitches on this site who can’t read.
The altered cover is for a VERY SMALL percentage of the market, and the majority of the US will be getting the original cover.
I’m amazed at how many dumbfucks here can’t read a short paragraph properly.
sankaku idiots
Senses the conservative was Walmart 😛
Not gonna lie, this could’ve gone a lot worse. It was fairly inevitable that it would be censored, and while I think that’s unnecessary, cropping the image was a creative way of doing it without butchering the art too much.
The FCC has restrictions on materials used to market products, and other related items. This is why you don’t see many cleavage-filled movie posters in US theaters, etc. Also, yeah, the game is gonna be on shelves, where kids are gonna see it.
Too sexy, yet they censor their porn? yeah…
it’s a blessing in disguise. a parent might not buy the game for the child if it has cleavage on the cover. if they just see a girl face they might not think twice about getting it for their child. i like this kinda sneaky antics.
i think i like the american one better, dunno, looks mre psicho
Not enough for the the Europeans dough!!! ^^
“Catherine too Sexy for Americans”
“Free Speech to free for Japan”
I’ll stay here in America TYVM.
ooo cmon like we haven´t seen those already a million time.
The hypocrisy is really overwhelming. I’m guessing the kind of people who shop at those stores also stay away from TV, magazines and pretty much all media actually.
Probably best they stay away from society too.
America… I’m at a loss for words at the irony.
They should just label the All-American Edition for what it really is, the Walmart Edition.
I said the same on Kotaku but honestly, I kind of like the more closely cropped covers if only because they’re so much less visually cluttered.
The alternate cover art looks totally boring. I won’t be surprised if retailers find it a tough sell. Hell, if I already didn’t know about Catherine and I saw that I probably wouldn’t give it a second look. I guess that’s the cost of some retailers wanting to be a “family” store.
If same shit gets to Europe i will just print out JP cover and be done with it.
It works like this…
US: Boobs – NO
Gore – OK
Japan: Boobs – OK
Gore – NO
Europe: Boobs -OK
Gore – OK
Problem, Us? *trollface*
forgot Germany:
boobs NO
gore NO
yep no boobs and gore in germany, Thats why austria is better.
Brits: Boobs – NO
Gore – NO
Cant forget about Australia. MK9 was Ban’d there
Boobs – NO
Gore – NO
They’re gonna be selling both versions so I don’t see any real reason to get worked up on this
I hope they won’t touch the cover of European Catherine:p
Fake moralists!!!
Why not add a slip cover. What’s that cost, a whole dollar to make?
God, America is disgusting. You can have a severed hand floating in space on a cover, zombie hands with thumbs graphically rotted away, but you can’t show a little skin.
Huh? What about Spartacus and other 18+ movies ??? Or it’s different because it’s movie ??? Americans are truly hard to understand…
You can show skin. Where the fuck have you been? It’s the man popping out of the woman’s cleavage that’s the problem. It can be viewed as degrading, so they changed it SLIGHTLY based on the different audience.
It’s not that hard to figure out and definitely not a big deal.
Too se… sexy!? You make me laugh…
Wow, you Americans must be glad to know that you succeeded on your saving throw….
What’s the point of this goddamn article if they are selling BOTH covers?
Just to troll. Reading all the knee-jerk comments by mindless weaboos is a little funny, I guess.
Fucking dumb-ass Yanks.
Stupid Americans
Stupid censors you mean.
It’s Americans pressuring them to do it, wish we could fight the power. Row row…
Let’s hope nobody mistake it for “Barbie Block puzzle adventure”.
Atlus you sneaky bastards. I love ya.
Yep, that’s AmeriKKKa again for you.
The sick thing is, they were probably Vely wise to do this…
You can have “Splatterhouse” and it’s just durn funny, but any “Sex Appeal” has to be carefully regulated like Heroin/Opiates.
*Cries*
And I’m done. Back to waiting for the game to come out.
now I just have to pray they allow the user to switch the voice dubs in options to the original. I only plan on buying it for the sawashiro miyuki voicing to begin with so if they take that out I’ll just suffer through the original with my limited nihongo knowledge ;o;
Censorship in America… the irony
Does Atlus group have anything to do with Suda51’s group that animated No More Heroes? I’m getting a huge No More Heroes vibe off Catherine.
Why be sensitive? American TV has like sexually suggestive shit like in MTV’s springbreak, sex on this series, sex in that series, even the movies…. You’re 7 year old child might have seen worse stuff already so stop acting protective. America, you’ve failed already.
Don’t you people even bother to read the article before bitching? They changed the cover so they can sell the game in more family friendly stores, or stores that have toys and games for younger players. Changing the cover slightly lets them distribute the game further.
Heck if you walk in the right places in Utah you can find people half naked all the time. What’s the problem with this?
lol America can’t handle it huh? 😛
though it would be cool if they had combined Catherine and Katherine 😛
An extra $2 for the cover on amazon what a ripoff, what am i just made of money. :p
Deadliest and most dreaded weapon to combat America:
2D Boobs, Ass, and DSYG.
yeah, seems they can’t handle this sexiness
Now if only more publishers would do this. I hate it when I buy a US release of a Japanese game and they fuck up the cover.
Americans want glistening hairy man-chest.
I knew this was gonna happen
I’m guessing these guys have never heard of obscure american stuff like playboy,lol
Americans can handle something being sexy….we just can’t handle some of the wierd/perverted s*** that the japanese do
I don’t mind I still grateful its coming here, anyway I get to see her pretty face close-up :3
I actually see this as a good business move for the US market. *Shrugs* It’s fine as long as the game is the same.
“A small percentage of copies, however, will feature a cover that is more considerate of certain retailers’ broader customer demographic. Fans need not worry; Catherine’s cover art is NOT being altered for North America. There is just an extra option being made available for more sensitive shoppers.”
SENSITIVE SHOPPERS
typical idiots are typical.
are these sensitive shoppers that worried about a cover that even shows no nudity…..
hell
What!? American’s can handle porn
but can’t handle sexy games from Japan?
At first I thought it was for all, then I read the article, in any case, there is nothing a Custom Cover can’t fix.
Typical
I think its cool the guys at atlus made the extra work to make a more polite versions only for those especially picky stores and the normal version for the rest, that way they can please everyone and screw no-one, nice.
where’s the troll here i don’t even …
I’m very disappointed, The cover art wasn’t that bad…
I know right, it seems like this kind of thing is getting worse & worse…
There are other reasons to be scared by Catherine.
yeah, like the horrible english voice cast and no option to chance the audio
I’d usually agree with you but the cast they announced is pure gold , so fuck off fanboys!
You don’t know your subject .
import the japanese version if you want japanese voice this time , you understand japanese right ? >.>
Those who’ve ordered the game did it for that “sexiness” in the first place. Now you’re providing them a crap cover alter?
They’d better not change anything major in the gameplay. Dubs are fine to a certain point, but anything beyond that, I’d rather get the JP ver. and hear my Sawashiro forking me to death.
Those who ordered the game from FATLUS will get the normal unaltered version anyway. Walmart, the Red Cross and the Christian Catholic Church will put the altered version on their shelves.
this only gives rise to more collectable versions.
I’m surprised it took Sankaku this long to run this story. Normally Kotaku copies from you rather than the other way around…
Hardly a big deal considering the original covers are still intact at most retailers. Seems like much ado about nothing.
http://japangeek.es/wp-content/gallery/catherine/catherine-360.jpg
…the japan’s xbox360 cover.
Thank you good sir…
“…provide the massacred covers for crazy puritan outlets”
I loled for truth.
“crazy puritan outlets”
That’s a nice way of saying Walmart. =P
I’m guessing these guys did some edits not just to the cover but also to the game itself.
If you had read article above and the siliconera article, you would know thats not true.
Well excuse me for not knowing.
No excuses. You have brought shame upon the entire world. You need to commit seppuku immediately.
phew! that was a close one. Cleavage almost made it onto the racks in stores.
This will be my quote of the day!
🙂
“Cleavage… made it onto the racks.”
Ha. I see what you did there.
ahur ahur ahur
If only her boobs were guns…
I’ve seen sexier stuff at the underwear aisle at stores >.>”
America.
hypocritical isn’t it?
True the wrappers on them new lingerie are more awkward then anything else. Little boys could fap to those
But of Pete’s sake why would they have the covers have to be edited? Their own movie CD covers usually have more suggestive(some don’t even suggest anything) then this cover could ever be.
Can’t believe the No.1 porn producers of our Solar System are that afraid of the Japanese H market
Yes yes but quit your bitching, I hate those types of people in the good and fair ole US of A much as you would.
i agree with niwa
Yeah, much like any situation, it’s always a couple idiots who ruin it for the rest of us, and then a larger swath of people is blamed for it.
Thank god Atlus has management who isn’t, for lack of a better description, full of pussies…
At least the game is coming out. I don’t really mind covers.
Until you find after dropping something close to SEVENTY bucks on a heavily CENSORED game! You truly think the content with be excluded here?
~~~~~~~obama & unicorns over the candy rainbow governmente for you then!!!
This cover looks 500 times better than the original anyways. More focus, more detail and less clutter.
It’s not like you would be able to fap to the original cover anyways unless you were REALLY desperate.
Funny how a country of fat fucks with huge, wobbly, saggy tits can be so sensitive about a drawing of cleavage mainly covered by text.
I thought you meant Catherine Middleton
I dunno about the 360 version, but I doubt anyone will be playing the playstation version
(spoilers: sony’s fucked and shit out of luck”
Sure little buddy. Unicorns for you as well, then~
What? Sankaku actually gives proper information?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA RETARDED AMERICANS!!!!!