Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness coming to Europe on September 16

Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness, a detective game set during the timeline of the anime’s first season, will launch on PS4 and PS Vita on September 16, NIS America has announced. A Steam release is also planned.

NIS America’s Chris King explains why you should be interested in the game over on PlayStation Blog:

“Psycho-Pass originally began as an anime television series, airing in Japan in 2014. The anime received critical praise and quickly made its way to the West and grew to become very popular within the anime community,” wrote King. “Written by Gen Urobuchi, best known for his dark style and unforgiving plot twists, Psycho-Pass tells a dystopian sci-fi tale for the ages…

“In 2113, the government in this society has advanced technological developments that allow one’s mental state and disposition to be quantified and profiled. In other words, with only the mere intent of behaving in a criminal manner, your mental state would be profiled in your “Psycho-Pass”, resulting in potential imprisonment or even death. This system is the government’s omniscient eyes of justice.

“The Psycho-Pass is broken into two main components. One of the components is the Hue, a visual representation that conveys a person’s stress level. The other is a Crime Coefficient, a numerical value representing a person’s criminal capacity. This numerical value determines whether an individual requires enforcement by the detectives of the Public Safety Bureau.”

So that’s what the anime is about, but what of the new game? Developed by MAGES and set during the first season of the anime, fans are promised additional backstory and in-depth storylines for each of the new characters.

Players choose between two new playable characters: Nadeshiko Kugatachi, a calm and serious Inspector whose memories were wiped away; or Takuma Tsurugi, a hot-headed Enforcer who is searching for his missing childhood friend. Players will be handed different cases and must decide on a course of action for each given situation. Every choice has repercussions, and may not be the path you wish to follow, even ending the game sooner than expected.

Fans of the anime will be pleased to hear that the game is fully voiced by the original Japanese anime voice actors.

Furthermore, a collector’s edition set has also been confirmed for Europe including:

• Full-colour, 72-page deluxe softcover art book (7″x10″)
• Original soundtrack with jewel case
• 3 Pencil boards (7″x10″)
• Microfiber cloth (6″x6″)
• Collector’s box

The localisation process is still in its early stages, so expect more info at the September release gets closer.

Source: EU PS Blog