At the peak of a 12 year working relationship, Sony has acquired Sucker Punch Productions, makers of the inFamous and Sly Cooper series. Both sides have expressed nothing but excitement about the deal, which will have all future products release under the Playstation monicker.

On the consumer side, it will be as if nothing has happened. Sucker Punch titles have consistently been exclusive to the Playstation brand. Yet, there are more subtle forces at play that may prove to be less than favorable.

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[Update: If recent tweets and pictures of cake are to be believed Catherine managed to sell over 200,000 copies in its opening week.Yay!]

“Catherine has exceeded our highest expectations,” said Tim Pivnicny, VP of Sales and Marketing at Atlus when speaking with IGN.  Citing the enormous fan response to the game’s mature themes and challenging gameplay, he went on to say “It is fitting, then, that Catherine can boast the largest launch in the 20-year history of Atlus, and continues to see strong sales at retail.” Despite the strong sales Atlus has yet to reveal any specific sales numbers.

While strange Japanese games may be popular with the enthusiast press and core gamers, I had my doubts about how well Atlus’ latest would do at retail. In a market dominated by shooters, it’s rare to see something so unique be so successful. We enjoyed Catherine quite a bit, so it’s nice to see that Catherine beat the odds.

If you had any worries that Grasshopper Manufacture’s next project would be another exciting game that never made its way outside of Japan, Warner Bros has other plans in mind. While Kadokawa will be handling things in Japan, the Bugs Bunny publisher will be the one bringing Lollipop Chainsaw to your PlayStation 3s and Xbox 360s in America, Europe and Australia.

We’re always looking forward to the latest from Suda 51 and will be sure to keep you posted as more details come out. In the meantime you can follow the game on Twitter and Facebook.

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Catherine tells the story of Vincent Brooks, a man in his early thirties coming to grips with growing up. When his long-term girlfriend Katherine starts planning their future, Vincent begins drinking his troubles away, unsure of whether he is ready to give up his freedom and settle down. On one booze-soaked evening, the attractive young Catherine walks through the doors of the Stray Sheep Pub and into Vincent’s life, turning his world upside down and sending him into a guilt-ridden, downward spiral as his life becomes a web of lies.

While those looking for a salacious affair with Catherine are sure to be disappointed, anyone with an open mind will discover one of the most truly mature stories ever told in a video game. That, and one hell of an addicting puzzler.

Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge!

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Originally landing on the Wii in early 2008, No More Heroes was met with critical acclaim and has since become something of a cult hit for punk rock game visionary Suda 51 and his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture. The game has since spawned a sequel, a first for the studio, in 2010’s Desperate Struggle. Now there’s talk of a mobile game in the works, but first, Konami will be bringing Travis Touchdown to the PS3 later this summer with Heroes’ Paradise.

While I managed to get my hands on the game last month at E3, playing games in overcrowded rooms for hours on end doesn’t always make for ideal conditions. Now having played the demo in the comfort of my home today, I have some concerns for the impeding PlayStation 3 release of Grasshopper Manufacture’s celebrated Wii title.

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Dragon Age II was met with some pretty mixed reception, to say the least. Although I personally found the combat enjoyable enough to warrant a second playthrough, there were many unforgiveable issues with the title that were tell-tale signs of a rushjob.

So, seeing as Legacy, the first piece of DLC (and not the last, according to Bioware) has just dropped four months after the fact, the burning question is: does it fix some of the core game’s glaring issues? Read on to find out. Read more… »

[Update: Apparently they won't be coming to retail after all, as GameSpot once sugggested. While Capcom has no plans for physical release, they will be available on the PlayStation Network and Microsoft's Games on Demand for $19.99.]

Earlier today at the San Diego Comic Convention, Capcom announced that you’ll be able to get your mitts on HD remakes of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X come September. Resident Evil 4 HD will be landing in stores September 20th, with Code Veronica X HD arriving a week later on the 27th. Ah… I’ll buy them at a high price.

If you enjoy physically owning your games, both titles will be available at retail. But if you just want to experience the crisp Dreamcast/GameCube-era visuals straight away, they’ll also be available via the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Games On Demand. So what’re ya buying, stranger?

Hot off the heels of Shadows of the Damned, the latest issue of Famitsu revealed Suda 51′s next project, Lollipop Chainsaw. Grasshopper Manufacture’s upcoming title centers around chainsaw wielding cheerleader, Juliet Sterling, who must use her acrobatic skills and chained blade to defeat an army of zombies that have invaded San Romero High School.

While details on the title are presently scarce, the game appears to be a hack and slash in the same vein as No More Heroes. If you’re interested in seeing more about the title, screenshots await in the gallery after the break.

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Diving head first into the Comic-Con craze, Capcom has been on a tear of revelations. They’ve announced everything from games like Ultimate Marvel v. Capcom 3 to a fresh new look for mythical creatures. The publisher shows no signs of stopping with the release of a new gameplay trailer for Asura’s Wrath.

Well, this footage has been around for some days now. The difference is that this Thursday was marked by the release of the gameplay trailer without the dull, lethargic commentary of one of the product managers. No offense, Capcom, but with this dynamic, high action footage, it was just a strange juxtaposition.

Before you click on to see said trailer sans unenthused commentary, let’s get some legal out of the way: by clicking to read more you acknowledge that you are over 18 years old. Now, enjoy.

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Capcom released new screenshots for its upcoming title, Dragon’s Dogma, Tuesday. They feature a new take on the Golem — a giant stone juggernaut bent on destroying your character. The fact that it’s a giant made of stone isn’t new to the Golem mythos, but, the fact that it shoots a massive laser from its face is.

Dragon’s Dogma is a peculiar title, as many of the fantastic tropes that have been revealed thus far have typically belonged to the RPG. Capcom has gone out of its way to assure us that it is indeed not an RPG, but an action adventure.

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So far, Obsidian has given us Dead Money and Honest Hearts – both of which had their positives and negatives, but nothing on New Vegas’ table has been as definitive as Fallout 3′s Broken Steel.

Thankfully, Obsidian’s latest offering, the appropriately titled Old World Blues, comes close.

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Square Enix announced Monday its lineup for 2011′s Comic-Con, set for July 21-24 in San Diego, Calif. Attendees will get hands-on with four major titles: Dead Island, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Wakfu. In addition, the publisher will be holding one-hour panels for the first two games on the list.

Square Enix aims to dive deep with these panels, into societies’ perception of monsters (Dead Island) and the morals behind transhumanism (Deus Ex: Human Revolution), highlighting a bit of the academics behind these anticipated titles.

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