Persona 5’s Joker joins the Super Smash Bros Ultimate roster

It was just announced at The Video Game Awards that Persona 5‘s main protagonist, Joker, will be added to Super Smash Bros Ultimate. This wouldn’t be the first time Atlus and Nintendo crossed paths, prior to this Atlus developed the Nintendo crossover title Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE and now Nintendo has included Joker in Smash Bros! That means that the Persona franchise is just bound to get more fans.

Can you see a Persona 5 re-release on Nintendo Switch soon? I can.

Japanese PlayStation Awards certify Persona 5 as a million plus seller, Yakuza: Kiwami 2 wins ‘Users Choice Award’


The Japanese only PlayStation Awards have announced all the winners, a few included SEGA made/owned IPs like Persona 5 and Yakuza: Kiwami 2. Persona 5 was one of the only two recently released titles in Japan to sell over a million copies earning it the Platinum Prize. To get this award you have to ship over a million units, which could include digital sales. The only other game to get the Platinum Prize was The Last of Use Remastered! On the other hand Monster Hunter: World got the ‘Quadruple Platinum Prize’ which means it sold over 4 million units! That’s Japan and Asia only, which is freaking insane.

To show you how big this is for the Persona franchise, we found out that God of War, Gran Turismo Sport, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Call of Duty: WWII all managed to get the Gold Prize, which means they sold just over 500,000 units (under a million of course). Those are all big titles. As for Yakuza: Kiwami 2, it was part of the top ten titles voted by Japan and Asian users (games released from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018). My only issue is that games that didn’t come out in this time period (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) got into the top ten user voted list. You can check out all the awards given over at Gematsu.

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]

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New Persona 5 Haru and Ryuji Figma Figures Announced, Makoto Figure Gets Sneak Peak


Atlus has teased a few Figma figures coming out soon for Persona 5, which seem to be tied into the upcoming anime. The two figures they announced was Haru Okumura as Noir and Ryuji Sakamoto as Skull. Prior to these new Figma figures, the company has been hard at work on the Makoto Niijima as Queen figure. You can see the sneak peak on that figure after the jump.

Arc System Works hints at future Persona Arena Fighting Games


Arc System Works seems to be more popular as time goes on, now known to millions of new fighting game fans due to their work on the ultra popular Dragon Ball FigtherZ. But back in 2012, Arc System Works and Atlus teamed up to do Persona 4 Arena and later in 2013 (arcade) they released the direct sequel Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Since then Arc System Works has been mostly busy releasing updated versions of their in-house IPs like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear.

Now Arc System Works is advertising their latest fighting game BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle which features cross over characters from Persona, BlazBlue (duh), RWBY and Under Night in-Birth. Kotaku recently got a interview/opinion piece with the director of that game, Toshimichi Mori on the thought process of designing that game, but at the same time he teased the future of Persona Arena Fighting games.

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Should SEGA stop making console exclusives?


It does seem that part of SEGA is going more multi-console friendly approach, with games like Shinining Resonance Refrain and Valkyria Chronicles 4 getting ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. But it seems some franchise are continuing to stick with one console, most blatantly Yakuza and Persona series. There are quite a bit more, but these seem to be the ones that have been growing in popularity for SEGA. The biggest insult? The lack of PC announcements for titles like these, considering that PC seems to be a ‘non competing platform’ for most console manufactures. For example, Sony funded Street Fighter V to be exclusive, but it still got a PC release. I think having PC ports is very important for SEGA, considering the success of stuff like Bayonetta and Valkyria Chronicles.

Do you think its worth it for SEGA to make console exclusive games anymore?

It seems that something is going on behind the scenes with some franchises, especially Sony exclusives. But as fans, would you rather see these titles hit all platforms or do you like the fact that SEGA has console exclusive games? Sound off in the comments below.

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Persona 5 has shipped over 2.2 million units world wide

Atlus/SEGA have put out their latest financial reports stating that they have shipped more than 2 million units of their highly acclaimed JRPG Persona 5 world wide. If you didn’t know, the game has been a massive success for Atlus/SEGA, selling more than five times that of Persona 4 in the USA. We also know this November the game broke its 2 million milestone, meaning that since November 2017 the game has shipped an additional 200,000 units.

The way that Atlus seems to do their Persona titles, don’t be shocked if they announce a re-release with extra content on it and manage to outsell this version of the game. Maybe Persona 5: Crimson on Switch? Regardless, its most likely going to happen. If SEGA and Atlus really wanted to sell a ton, they would make the re-release available on all major platforms.

[Source: Gematsu]

New Project Re Fantasy trailer shows character classes and dark themes

Atlus has released another concept art trailer for their upcoming, brand new IP ‘PROJECT Re FANTASY‘ which is obviously a working title. We know that this game is being developed by Studio Zero, which is a new studio lead by the Director of Persona 5. Right now they have this project and are also developing Catherine: Full Body remake on PlayStation 4.

Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night getting live stream on Dec. 24

Persona53Atlus (and SEGA) are busy this month, since they are putting up multiple streams in Japan. They just finished their ‘Persona 5 the animation new information broadcast‘ live stream, where they announced that they would be having another upcoming stream for the upcoming Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night on December 24 at 20:00 JST.

If you didn’t know, both Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night are coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita this upcoming spring 2018 in Japan. Yes, Atlus still loves their PlayStation Vita. We will know more information regarding these titles after the stream. As far as Western release, don’t be shocked seeing them released here.

[Source: Gematsu]

Atlus sets live stream to reveal Persona 5 The Animation details on December 24

Atlus is set to share new information about their upcoming Persona 5 The Animation via a live stream on December 24 at 20:00 JST. Atlus Japan is naming the live stream “Super Secret Information Reveal! Broadcast Special” which will air on live TV in Japan via Abema TV’s New Anime Channel as well as YouTube Live.

The Persona 5 The Animation reveal stream will also feature Persona 5 talent like Jun Fukuyama (voice of protagonist), Aoi Yuuki (Futaba Sakura), and Souichirou Hoshi (Goro Akechi). A lot of Persona fans love these animation entries because it adds new stories and backstories to characters found in the main games. We shall see what Atlus has to reveal by the end of the month.

Persona 5 recently won RPG of the year by the Video Game Awards earlier this month. You can pick up Persona 5 on both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. If you haven’t read our review, we highly recommend the game.

[Via: Gematsu]

ATLUS online store launches with Persona 5 merchandise available for pre-order

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While the SEGA Shop opens tomorrow, today the ATLUS Online Store launched with merchandise from Persona 5. The store is being dubbed a work in progress and will initially serve North America with plans to expand globally. Currently available are dozens of items including Morgana and Jack Frost plushies, hoodies, “The Phantom Thieves” t-shirts, pins, phone cases and more. Several items are imports, being made available for the first time outside of Anime Expo. Pre-orders are expected to ship late November to early December and are available while supplies last.

Visit the store for yourself, and happy shopping!

Persona 5 to release Ann’s Hoodie and Futaba’s Jacket, pre-orders up now

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Japanese clothing company Cospa, who mostly does cosplay costumes and appearl have announced that they are working with Persona 5 character designer Shigenori Soejima to bring in-game clothing to real life. The first official set that they are releasing are Ann Takamaki’s hoodie and Futaba Sakura’s jacket. These pieces will hit Japan in early 2018.

The Ann Takamaki hoodie is up to pre-order right now on Atlus’ shop for 18,500 yen ($165 USD) plus tax. They ship in January 2018 for pre-orders and will be at general shops in February. Futaba Sakura’s jacket on the other hand features removable fur for its hood and is available to pre-order for 19,800 yen ($176 USD) at the Atlus shop. It will ship on February 2018 for pre-orders and March for general sales.

[Source: Siliconera]

Atlus releases statement on why they issued DMCA takedowns for PlayStation 3 emulator

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Atlus games have had a long history of having a niche, hardcore fanbase. But over the last half decade, they have been getting more and more popular, the issue with a lot of the new fans is that they don’t release their games on a lot of platforms. For example if you want to play Persona 5, you have to play it on either PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4. Well, unless you want to play it on a emulator and PC gamers have been using RPCS3, a PlayStation 3 emulator to play some of the latest Atlus games.

Earlier this week Atlus sent out DMCA takedowns for the developers behind RPCS3 and its Patreon page, which is where they fund the emulator. This is why, according to Atlus:

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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:

New Persona Q, Dancing All Night Games Announced

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Bet you never see this coming. Atlus and SEGA are pushing hard after the success of Persona 5 by bringing back two of it’s spinoff franchises. Just announced today is Persona Q2  for Nintendo 3DS and Persona 5 Dancing Star Night for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. But wait! Without having to play catch up, Atlus also announced Persona 3 Dancing Moon Night for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. All three titles have special websites open but the only information shown are the target platforms and release windows slated for the dancing titles in Spring of 2018. That’s three new Persona titles and equally surprising are two new PlayStation Vita titles that will release next year.

The Persona Q series is developed by the same team responsible for the Etrian Odyseey series that focuses on dungeon crawling and a super deformed art style with the first game focusing on Persona 3 and Persona 4 characters. Meanwhile the previous Dancing title played similar to the Hatsune Miku music rhythm series of games and focused only on Persona 4.

More information on these titles as more news develops. You can check out trailers for the two dancing games after the jump.