Are North American and European releases imminent?
The Australian media ratings board, the OFLC, has listed Sin and Punishment on its site, giving it an M (Moderate) rating. In other words, the game is going to be released on the Aussie Virtual Console very soon.
The Treasure shooter is another in a line of Japan-only games that have recently been revealed for release Down Under. A handful of Japan-only games have been released around the world up to this point, but none of them had Japanese text. Sin and Punishment would need a bit of localization; is Australia getting the original Japanese version, or one with English text included?
More importantly, does this mean that the release of Sin and Punishment on the North American and European Virtual Console services is inevitable? We're constantly keeping our eyes open for new Virtual Console ratings, so we'll pass on any new developments as soon as they make themselves known.
Thanks to mhus for the tip!