Atlus announces Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth for 3DS

While it seems that most publishers have left the Nintendo 3DS for the Nintendo Switch, Atlus isn’t quite done. They just announced Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth for the Nintendo 3DS which is set to launch November 29 in Japan for 6,980 JPY (about $63 USD).

Persona Q2 will feature cast members from Persona 3, Persona 4 and Persona 5; including female protagonist from Persona 3 (guess they were left out in the last one?). Above this post I posted the TV spot that had been released, Atlus is teasing the official trailer won’t release until August 6 at 12:00 JST via the Persona twitter account. There will also be a 10-page Weekly Famitsu preview on August 9th, so we will have a ton of new information soon.

Its not surprising that Atlus will continue to support the Nintendo 3DS, they also supported the PlayStation Vita for a long time after Sony abandoned it.

[Source: Gematsu]

Check out all the SEGA & Atlus’ merchandise for Tokyo Game Show 2017

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Its that time of year again, when SEGA of Japan loads up Tokyo Game Show with a ton of amazing SEGA merchandise that makes us westerners scream, “Take my money!” I would say that SEGA’s Tokyo Game Show 2017 lineup is actually really good compared to last year, so expect a ton of great merchandise to follow. SEGA is not only set on bringing you merchandise for upcoming games like Sonic the Hedgehog,  Yakuza, Puyo Puyo, Hatsune Miku, and a ton more. But they are also doing Retro SEGA console merchandise which is very appealing. To add the cherry on top SEGA will also be selling Atlus merchindise including Persona 3, Persona 4 and Persona 5 stuff!

So lets get into it:

Blazblue Cross Tag Battle announced featuring Persona characters

If you are a big fan of Aksys System Works and have been looking forward to their upcoming tag team game Dragon Ball FighterZ, you might have to add yet another tag based game on your shopping list. Aksys System Works has announced BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle at this year’s EVO which will feature a ton of franchises that Aksys Games worked on over the years. So far the announced characters are:

  • agna the Bloodedge – BlazBlue
  • Yu – Persona 4 Ultimate Arena
  • Hyde – UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH
  • Ruby Rose – RWBY

You can check out the debut trailer above, teasing the upcoming BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle game. Below we have images by Arc System Works’ illustrator Konomi Higuchi showing off the characters. Like a lot of people online have been pointing out, Arc System Works are re-using a lot of 2D sprite assets on creating this game, but personally don’t mind as its something that companies have done since the early 90s. As long as this cross over has a fun fighting system, looks great (and these sprites still look amazing) and its a full featured package then we should be fine. What other Persona 4 Ultimate Arena characters do you wanna see in this title? Let us know in the comments below.

SEGA says ‘Yakuza’ and ‘Persona’ added to their SEGA PC Ports list

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SEGA had a pretty good start this year releasing the widely acclaimed titlesYakuza 0 which saw a brand new audience in the west and Persona 5, which happens to be the best selling entry in the franchise. One thing both these titles share is that they are Sony exclusive titles, so if you don’t own a Sony PlayStation 3 or 4, you won’t be able to experience the goodness that is Yakuza 0 or Persona 5. Seeing that SEGA Europe has been very kind to their SEGA PC ports list in the last few months, by having Platinum Games port over both Bayonetta and Vanquish to PC platforms. The guys over at PC gamer asked SEGA Europe’s senior vice president of commercial publishing, John Clark, what they are looking into porting over to the good old steam store:

“If I asked you to write me a list of ten games you want Sega to bring out on PC, it probably isn’t any different from the list [we have], I could ask anyone at Sega: write me a list. And what motivates it? I think there’s a certain catalogue that people just have an affinity with. If you send [your] list over I’ll tell you which ones we can tick, which ones are on our list, which ones are possibilities, which ones are not possibilities, which ones we’ve talked about, which ones we’re talking about, which ones we’re working on, you know, they’ll be on that list.”  

Since Mr. Clark didn’t go into specifics, PC Gamer pressed him and asked if a franchise like Yakuza would fit their type of list.

Persona 5 ships over 550,000 copies in Japan; new DLC announced

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Persona 5 has been a stunning success for Atlus since it’s launch on September 15th just a couple of weeks ago. The company announced at the end of this week that over 550,000 copies of the game have been shipped between PS3 and PS4 editions in Japan.

Let’s put that in perspective for Atlus. Persona 4: The Golden, the PS Vita re-release of the last mainline Persona game, had reached 350,000 units in Japan only after almost 2 years of being available. Clearly, Persona 5 is going to be a monster hit for the company and seriously fill parent company Sega’s coffers this year.

To celebrate this achievement, Atlus has announced it will be releasing two free sets of DLC costumes for players. Hit the jump to see pictures of the cast in their swimsuits and Morgana dolled up like a ram.

Extensive Famitsu interview with Persona 5 art and audio leads

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Play Asia has posted the entire exhaustive interview Famitsu ran with some of Persona 5’s art and audio leads.

First up is Art Director Sudou Masayoshi. He discusses the usage of color for the last few Persona games, the wild UI that Persona 5 boasts, his sources of inspiration, and more.

From the first full Persona 5 trailer we saw a lot of the Game User Interface (GUI) that you created for the game, it really is a splendid piece of work. Your chance to create such work began with Persona 3, correct?

Sudou: Yes, whilst working on Persona 3, Mr. Soejima (the games character designer; Soejima Shigenori ) we got together a lot to throw ideas and see if we could confirm how to create the games GUI. Not just the GUI but also the game’s website design. Speaking of design, we really wanted to create a GUI that didn’t just stand out in a game related magazine but also something that would look interesting and stand out in magazines aimed primarily at females as well, it was an idea that I never thought of before. I always like using traditional methods, I tend to not add gradations, but prefer filling in each and every graphic. When I’m designing, I will continue to create my best work through trial and error until I feel 100% satisfied.

Is there something that you’ve put your entire heart and soul into when it comes to your designs?

Sudou: The biggest thing I put my all into was regarding the color of the interface compared to the game’s main color scheme. For example, the main color for Persona 3 was teal, Persona 4’s a vivid yellow color and so I had to decide the right colors for the menus etc. Of course Persona 5’s main color scheme is a crimson red and therefore after much deliberation I sat down and after trying out black and white text I was confident with it.

Lead Sound Designer Tsuchiya Kenichi and Sound Composer Mr Meguro Shouji are also featured. You can read the entire piece here.

Persona 4 Getting a Pin Set Limited to 200 Units, Pre-Orders Up August 7th

P4FramedPinSetAtlus hasn’t killed Persona 4 just yet, teaming up with Udon Collectibles to create the Persona 4 Mystery Puzzle Framed Pin Set. The Persona 4 pin set will be limited to only 200 sets and will be sold for $199.99 each.

Each of the Persona 4 pin set comes with eight character pins that will feature characters such as Chie, Kanji, Naoto, Rise, Teddy, Yukiko, and Yu. The pins will be professionally mounted in a 15 x 17-inch frame. As a bonus the set will also include a Persona 4 logo pin that has been 3D sculpted, this pin is exclusive to this collection and won’t be sold separately.

Want to pick up the Persona 4 collectible pin set? Pre-orders open on Sunday, August 7, 2016 at 9 a.m. PST over at Udon Exclusives Website. Good luck, they will most likely go super fast and cost a fortune on Ebay. Persona 4 released on the PlayStation 2 way back in 2008 and got a PlayStation Vita remake in 2012 as Persona 4 Golden. Atlus has re-used the characters in their Persona 4 Arena fighting games, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth in 2014 and even had a rhythm game called Persona 4: Dancing All Night released in 2015. While Atlus is already planning on releasing Persona 5 this September in Japan, doesn’t mean they will let Persona 4 characters die. Wonder how they will be used in the future.

[Via: Siliconera]

PlayStation Essentials Sale slashes prices on Persona games

Persona_4_investigation_team_2Are you a SEGA fan that still hasn’t tried any of the popular Persona series video games? I think now is the time for you to jump on board since Sony has put three entries on sale! All prices are USD. Persona is like Final Fantasy as you don’t need to play the prior ones to enjoy a new entry. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fighting game that continues the plot after the RPG games, FYI:

If the prices aren’t low enough, Playstation Plus members get an extra savings (ranging from 10%-20%). If you have a Playstation Vita I would suggest picking up Persona 4 Golden instead of the PS2 classic version, since it has more content. You can read about that here. The sale ends on January 19th.

If you have an extra $4.00 dollars I suggest you also pick up one of my favorite Playstation One games, none other than Tomba!  a game created by Capcom legend Tokuro Fujiwara.

SEGA Europe to publish Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in Europe, SEGA also publishing in Australia

P4AUEuropeThis NeoGAF topic reported that Persona 4 Arena Ultimax’s (the expansion/sequel to Persona 4 Arena) PEGI classification was recently registered. That registration lists the game’s publisher as SEGA Europe. The move comes across a notable display of the new relationship between Atlus and Sega, fast approaching its first anniversary. Towards the end of May, Atlus took over distribution rights for Persona 4 Arena in Europe from Zen United, delisting the game from PSN in the process. Zen United previously handled distribution of other Atlus games in Europe, including Rune Factory 4 and Persona 4 Arena.

Sonic Unleashed and Other SEGA Titles Now Available on PlayStation Store

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If you have a PlayStation 3 system and still haven’t got your were-hog action going, the PlayStation Store now carries Sonic Unleashed in the US for $19.99 USD, and EU/AU territories for £15.99 GBP / €19.99 EUR / $29.95 AUD, with of course the usual complimentary PAL price gouging for no extra product!

Unleashed joins this week’s store update along with Persona 4 in the US for $19.99 USD as well as Football Manager Classic on PlayStation Vita for EU/AU territories £29.99 GBP/€39.99 EUR/$54.95 AUD. Xbox 360 owners have been able to purchase a digital copy of Unleashed for quite some time, and is now providing benefit to those who want to do away with their physical library.

Persona 4 hits the Playstation 3 on April 8th

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Last time we talked about Devil Summoner getting a re-release via PS3’s PS2 Classics brand and now people will be able to download Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 as well.

The game is set to come out on April 8th and cost a mere $9.99 through PSN  in North and South America. This will allow SEGA gamers who haven’t experinced the classic Atlus game to dive right in.

I suggest all gamers give this game a go, it has some memorable characters, writing and story.

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth announced for 3DS

Yup, it’s another Persona 3/4 spin-off game! Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth will be coming to 3DS on June 5th 2014 in Japan. This game will be similar in gameplay and style to the Etrian Odyssey games and is also being directed by Daisuke Kaneda, who previously worked on Etrian Odyssey 4.

Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold coming to PS3 in 2014

Previously only announced for arcades, Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold has officially been announced for PS3 today. While arcades will be getting the game on November 28th, the PS3 version will be released in the summer of 2014 in Japan.

Along with this announcement a new trailer showing new gameplay and cutscenes was also released, with a tease for a new character at the end. Due to the character being a spoiler for the endgame of Persona 4, you’ll have to see the trailer for yourself to see who he is. (Of course, this does mean you’ll probably see the spoiler in the comments section below)

Persona 4: Dancing All Night announced for Playstation Vita

Atlus announced a bunch of new Persona games today, one of which is a game funky student would be proud of called Persona 4: Dancing All Night. This game is developed by Dingo, a developer known for the Hatsune Miku: Project Diva games for PSP.

This game will be coming out exclusively for Playtation Vita sometime in 2014 in Japan.

Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold screenshots showcase Yukari And Junpei

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Yukari and Junpei are both your classmates and fellow Persona wielding sidekicks in Persona 3 and will now be in Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold. Seeing as I was a big fan of the character of Junpei in the 3rd Persona game, this is a treat. Hit the jump to view all the screens.  I have to say I like the art and vivid colors, looks too pretty for its own good.