Atlus is one Japanese video game company who seem to have gained quite the rabid and dedicated fan following despite never having released a game that sold in the millions of units. They’re titles are considered by gamers as being very “Japanese”. This is probably why those in the US and Europe who love their games also happen to be major fans of anime, manga and many other Japanese pop culture.

One game being developed  and published by Atlus that was announced sometime in 2010 was the puzzle-platformer/action adventure game Catherine. Right from the get-go Atlus fans were clamoring for more info on the game and when it would be localized for a North American and European release. When the game was just weeks away from it’s Japanese release date news came down from Atlus themselves that there was no plans at the moment to release the game outside of Japan.

To say that Atlus fans were heartbroken would be an understatement. While they could still import the game that would mean higher price due to import shipping fees.

Fortunately, this stance suddenly changed and on March 1st of 2011 the company announced that they were officially releasing the game for North America and with a release date of July 26, 2011. This news was greeted with joy by Atlus fans and some grumblings from those who shelled out the extra cash to import the game.

Catherine is a game that one might call one with “adult” themes and subject matter. It because of this that some call it quite “Japanese” since they’re more willing to release games that are adult in nature without resorting to violence as the foundation. While the game is not one of those eroge titles (erotic game) it is one that should definitely be bought and played only by those who are old enough to buy M-Rated titles.

The game will follow the similar Japanese release pattern and come out with different covers for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The game is still set for a July 26, 2011 release.