It has been confirmed that Atlus’s Catherine has shipped over 500,000 units.

Catherine was released in Japan in February and a Western release in July. The game is scheduled for a European release in 2012.

Atlus released the official trailer of the sequel to Persona 4.

Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena is a 2D title developed by Arc Systems Works. The game has a Japanese Spring 2012 release for arcades and Summer 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Atlus released the official Persona 2: Innoncent Sin trailer for PSP. The game is set to release on September 20 and will be available in stores and PSN.

Atlus has announced that Persona 2: Innocent Sin on PSP will be available in store and PlayStation Network on Sepember 20. Innoncent Sin will come with a 10 track music CD for a limited timer after launch. Fans are encourage to preorder the game to guarantee a copy of the soundtrack.

The PSP remake of Persona 2: Innocent Sin has been delayed by about a month. The title was originally scheduled for a March 3 release, and Atlus has changed the date to April 14th. No reason was given for the delay.

Got a Japanese Network account? Interested in Atlus’ intriguing new project? We’ve got good news.

According to Siliconera, game director Katsura Hashino recently mentioned an upcoming demo for Catherine, the horrific/erotic blend of action, platforming and in-depth storytelling. We don’t have a release date for the sample but as the title is scheduled to hit Japan on February 17, we imagine it isn’t far off. The good news is that even though Atlus hasn’t announced any plans to bring the game to North America, you won’t have to import the entire product to get a taste…heck, we’ve all used our Japanese accounts for such things, right? We’re interested to see how Catherine pans out; everything we’ve seen and heard thus far has piqued our curiosity, and we always have plenty of faith in Atlus.

Atlus’ parent company, Index Holdings, has released the publisher’s financial earnings report, recording profits of 437 million yen ($5.39 million) for the fiscal year, up from a loss of 104 million ($1.2 million) in 2009. The reason, the company says, is a little Playstation 3 sleeper hit called Demon’s Souls.

According to Industry Gamers, Atlus picked up the rights to publish the From Software-developed RPG in North America after Sony declined to do so. Known mostly for its punishing difficulty, positive word-of-mouth in the Western gaming community, as well as favorable critical reception, helped the game’s sales.

Atlus is now hoping that Catherine, the next title in the Shin Megami Tensei series and the company’s first HD multiplatform release, will be a hit as well. It will hit store shelves in Japan on February 17.

Though it was originally announced as a Winter 2010 release, Catherine, the surreal action-adventure game from Atlus’s Persona team, will be released in Japan on February 17. We’d be more concerned about the delay, but Atlus hasn’t even announced a Western release for the PS3/Xbox 360 game yet — so this is just more time for Atlus USA to draft that press release.

It’s also more time for us to figure out exactly how the game works. We know protagonist Vincent spends much of his time trapped in a dream-world, attempting to climb a tower as a sheep-man. In his waking life, he appears to be surrounded by women who make him nervous.

Releasing on the PS3 and Xbox 360 later this year will be Atlus’ first HD title with the release of their provocative title, Catherine. Details have slowly been coming out on the new title, but Atlus is still holding a lot back about the gameplay and other finer specifics. Sales wise, Atlus has revealed their expectations for the game and they are expecting the game to do fairly well.

New IPs can be enigmas of sorts when it comes to predicting sales. Many of Atlus’ creations crater to a niche audience and Catherine will likely do just that. Atlus plans to sell 150,000 copies of the game this winter when the game releases on the PS3 and Xbox 360. It may not be an extravagant amount, but that’s pretty strong for such an ambitious and mysterious title like Catherine.

No plans for a North American release have been revealed this time.

Developer and publisher Atlus has seen its operations dissolved by its parent company Index Holdings.

Originally formed in 1986, the company has released a number of very memorable and popular games over the last few years including multiple Shin Megami Tensei titles, the Trauma Center series, and the hardcore DS dungeon games carrying the Etrian Odyssey name.

The reason for the demise of the company has been put down to a necessary business refocus by Index. The Index press release (translated) suggests that Atlus was not profitable enough as an independent company and therefore had to go. However, the Atlus name will live on in some form, but it’s unclear exactly what the plan is going forward. 

As to the fate of games currently in development at Atlus, there may be good news. The director of Atlus’ horror game Catherine has stated (translated) that his team intends to keep on working as will other teams. Either those teams haven’t been told their fate yet, or Index has decided to allow development to continue.