You’re absolutely right that the divine comedy has deep roots in Europe, but it’s very surprisingly well known in the US. I read somewhere that over 80% of people have heard of it, but i doubt people who actually have read it and understand it is far less. How much less is a toss up though, since the poem is a standard in high school and college literature (as you mentioned) and since the target audience is high schoolers and college students the game will be easily recognizable, albeit maybe easier to adapt to and more exciting (in the game Dante is a hardcore badass who basically gives the finger to the demons of hell, in the book he passes out almost after every canto). All that being said, i think that it’s understandable, although disappointing, that they’re not releasing a special edition to the 360 in the US. I would’ve definitely dropped money on it, and i’m willing to bet a lot of other customers would too. Hopefully you’re right about the last minute deals!

The Divine Comedy has deep roots (obviously) in Europe, specifically Italy. Though it is a widely known epic poem, I’m sure if you asked the common gamer what the Divine Comedy is, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone to tell you that it’s Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece. I’m not 100% on this, but I would think that Europeans would know of the Divine Comedy more so than their American counterparts, just through secondary schooling alone. Besides us English majors, that is.

I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a “last minute” per-order bonus or special edition for the stateside release.

A Europe-only special edition for PS3 and Xbox 360? A PS3 only special edition for US?

For a game that is basically a ripoff of God of War, you would think they would target the right audience with these incentives.

I enjoyed the demo but I really find their marketing to be childish and confusing.