Persona 5

Persona 5 voted best RPG of all time by Famitsu readers

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The Japanese magazine, the Weekly Famitsu held a survey which asked readers what they consider the best RPG of all time. I can see why you’d assume the reason Persona 5 won ‘best RPG of all time’ in Japan by readers is because it just came out recently and that point is valid.

The survey gathered 2,295 votes which had 56% male and 43% females (with 1% not have a specific gender). Out of all these votes only 9% where from teenagers, 36% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 16% in their forties, and 1% where in their fifties. The voting took place between June 22nd and June 28th, which is less than a year since Persona 5 came out in Japan. Hit the jump to see all the JRPGs that made Japanese readers favorites list.You can see a great write up by DualShockers here.

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Yakuza Creator and Persona Director to host SEGA live stream on July 25

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Its not uncommon for SEGA’s general director and creator of the Yakuza (then Spikeout, Super Monkey Ball, Daytona USA, and more) series Toshihiro Nagoshi to have a stream. Its a very regular thing he does over in Japan. On the live streams he likes to bring on other SEGA creators to talk about various topics including movies, music and even their projects they are working or worked on.

We should be having a pretty good live stream later this week as Toshihiro Nagoshi has invited Persona 5 director and producer Katsura Hashino and will stream on July 25, 2017. Not to mention Katsura Hashino is also working on a new game, with a new studio within Atlus, this project is being called Project Re: Fantasy. Maybe the stream will offer more details on that project and even the next Yakuza title? Maybe, maybe not. Tokyo Game Show 2017 is only a couple of months away, so it wouldn’t be crazy if they hint at something.

You can catch the live stream, if you are fluent in Japanese or watch anime, on July 25th at 8:55pm JST on Niconico. I guess we shall see what comes of this, stay tuned to the site as we post an update on what went down on the stream.

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Persona 5 Morgana Nendoroid figure is adorable

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Atlus has announced the first Nendoroid figure for its massively popular Persona 5. So who will be getting the first figure? None other than everyone’s favorite feline Morgana, the figure was shown off on Kahotan’s blog. While the Morgana Nendoroid figure doesn’t have a release date as of yet, you will be able to pre-order it on July 11, 2017 and will have a bunch of juicy specials that will make you want to have this annoying cat sitting at your work desk.

The Morgana Nendoroid figure will feature different face plates, up to four different faces that show off iconic looks from Persona 5. But the faces can also be broken into two parts, allowing more options by changing the mouth with different eyes. That is pretty cool stuff. The figure will also have seamless joints, while other Nendoroid figures have ‘joint looking’ parts, these is more seamless and more accurate to the art design in Persona 5. I personally hate the joint look that some Nendoroids have, like the Yakuza one for example. I think this is a great improvement to future figures.

The figure is also set to come with its iconic slingshot, saber and even office chair that appeared in the full game. What are your thoughts? Adorable?

[Source: Siliconera]

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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.

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Persona 5 hits sales of 450,000 units in North America

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Last month Atlus’s Persona 5 broke records in the franchise’s history becoming the best selling entry. Now a trusted GAF source has confirmed that sales for Persona 5 in April for North America was around 450,000 between both digital and retail figures. Not only does this make it the best debut Atlus have had in their history, it also means this is one of the best debut a SEGA owned franchise has had in the American market. It’s hard to track down solid numbers for SEGA games, we already know that it’s outsold Sonic Heroes debut month (The best selling SKU being the Gamecube version was just shy of 200,000 units.) which was also SEGA’s best selling console title in the sixth generation era. With data we know about the 4th generation, I think the only title that could realistically have a chance at being a bigger seller would have been Sonic the Hedgehog 2 but as that market was smaller in the past, it’s fair to assume Persona 5 has even overtaken that title too.

In fact, the only title that had a better debut in SEGA’s long and varied history isn’t even a mainline Sonic game but 2007’s landmark title Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games which managed a staggering 613,000! It’s interesting to note that Persona 5 will also end up selling far better in America than it did in Japan. So there you have it, Persona 5 has not only made records for Atlus but for SEGA too and perhaps an indication that the Persona brand has now over taken the Sonic the Hedgehog series as SEGA’s best selling console series, can the blue blur pull one back with Sonic Mania or Sonic Forces? We’ll find out soon enough but for now as Morgana would say “Looking good Joker!”

[Source: NeoGAF]

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Survey: Tell us your favorite Persona 5 character

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We’re running a special survey for Persona 5 to find out what characters are fan favorites! All you need to do is start the survey, seen above, and make one selection or write in a character from the game that is missing from the list. The survey will run until this Friday, but we ask those who want to take it to take it sooner than later.

So what are you waiting for? Take the survey already!

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Persona 5 sold five times more than Persona 4 in the USA

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Persona5v4salesAtlus has shown that you can turn a cult classic game into a massive world wide selling IP if you stick with the franchise and continue making quality releases each time. According to the USA game tracking company, NPD, Persona 5 sold five times more copies than Persona 4 in its debut month in the USA. Its not surprising considering that Persona 4 seems to be one of those titles that got popular due to word of mouth and became one of the best selling titles on the PlayStation Vita. While Persona 5 sold more than ever, April also saw an increase in software sales in the United States compared to last year. An increase of 6%. The reason for the sales increase are due to the massive popularity of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Persona 5 and strong second month sales of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. “The industry drove the highest April hardware dollar sales since April 2011,” said NPD group in their report. Oddly enough all top three huge selling titles are Japanese developed games.

NPD groups’ top ten selling games for April 2017:

  • Mario Kart 8
  • Persona 5
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • MLB 17: The Show
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda
  • NBA 2K17
  • Overwatch
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Its no surprise that Persona 5 is a massive success for Atlus and SEGA, considering all the rave reviews, fan hype and those dank memes hitting social media. Persona 5 is available now on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Persona 5 sold five times more than Persona 4, did you guys see that one coming? Did you guys pick up a copy? Time for the Persona 5 spin-offs?

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SEGA plans “revival of major IPs” on its “Road to 2020”

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Sonic___SEGA_All-Stars_Racing-PCArtwork4539Sonic_Racing_GroupSEGA plans “revival of major IPs”, which is a phrase that a lot of SEGA die hard fans have been waiting to hear from the company in a very long time. SEGA revealed this strategy when the company did their “Road to 2020” business presentation. If you look at the ‘Segment / Business Strategies’ on their latest fiscal report, it highlights the following big points:

Packaged Games Field (example titles: Total War: Warhammer, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Football Manager 2017, and Persona 5)

  • Expand existing IPs and obtain new IPs for North American and European PC games
  • Build revenue base by being entrusted with outsourced development
  • Challenge for new IPs
  • Revival of major IPs
  • Effective utilization of development engines

Digital Games Field (example titles: Puyo Puyo!! Quest, Hortensia Saga, Chain Chronicle 3, and Phantasy Star Online 2)

  • Create titles that will become global hits
  • Establish digital marketing business
  • Expand overseas publishing business
  • Maintain profits through long-term operation of existing titles
  • Develop next-generation titles

If you notice, they have a nice section where they highlight that they are planning not only original IPs but also SEGA plans “revival of major IPs”. But what would SEGA consider a “major IP”? One of the challenges SEGA has with reviving IPs is that they want them to be ‘global hits’, so what titles do you think are considered ‘global hits’? SEGA plans “revival of major IPs”, do you believe it or is it a ‘wait and see’ sort of thing?

[via: Gematsu]

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Persona 5 soundtrack getting vinyl release by iam8bit

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Atlus has teamed up with iam8bit to offer two versions of its Persona 5 soundtrack. Before today, Persona 5 soundtrack fans could pick up the 110 track album on iTunes for a cool $29.99. That’s cool, but some of us prefer physical stuff and now iam8bit promises to release the Persona 5 soundtrack on vinyl, set to ship on the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Persona 5 soundtrack is set to come in two flavors:

  • The Essential Edition: Featuring the most popular music from the Persona 5 soundtrack and shipping on 4 LPs. Price: $100
  • Deluxe Edition: The complete Persona 5 soundtrack featuring all 110 songs. Limited to 1,000. Ships on 6 LPs. Price: $175

You can pre-order the Persona 5 soundtrack now, via iam8bit’s website. iam8bit promises that each version will come in ‘premium packaging’. No cover art has been revealed yet. What are your thoughts on this western pressing of Persona 5’s soundtrack on vinyl? Let us know in the comments below.

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Persona 5’s free swimsuit costumes & more paid DLC now available

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P5-Swimsuit-SetPersona 5 has a ton of paid DLC, which I’m not a huge fan of but Persona 5 will also have FREE DLC as well. This week Atlus posted Persona 5‘s free swimsuit costumes on the PSN store, letting you travel with your team of misfits in revealing summer wear. Persona 5‘s free swimsuit costumes are available to download in both North America and Europe regions. But Persona 5‘s free swimsuit costumes isn’t the only thing the update brings, it also has a swarm of paid DLC including stuff inspired by Persona 4 spin-offs and Shin Megami Tensei IV.

Here is all the Persona 5 DLC that is out this week, including prices:

  • Persona 5 Swimsuit Set (US-PS4, PS3 | UK-PS4, PS3) – Free
  • Shin Megami Tensei IV Costume & BGM Special Set (US-PS4, PS3) | UK-PS4, PS3 ) – $6.99 | £5.79
  • Persona 4: Dancing All Night Costume & BGM Special Set (US-PS4, PS3 | UK-PS4, PS3) -$6.99 | £5.79
  • Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Costume & BGM Special Set (US-PS4, PS3 | UK-PS4, PS3) $6.99 | £5.79
  • Persona 5: Tsukiyomi & Tsukiyomi Picaro Set (US-PS4, PS3 | UK-PS4, PS3) – $2.99 | £2.49
  • Persona 5: Asterius & Asterius Picaro Set (US-PS4, PS3 | UK-PS4, PS3) – $2.99 | £2.49
  • Persona 5: Ariadne & Ariadne Picaro Set (US-PS4, PS3 | UK-PS4, PS3) – $2.99 | £2.49

I will say, I’m a bit grossed out by how expensive all this Persona 5 DLC is, even tho I feel that the base game is worth every single penny they are asking for. Would I complain if this optional DLC didn’t exist? Maybe I just feel like Atlus should have been more reasonable and offered a season pass instead of asking $7 dollars for a set of costumes and background music. What are your thoughts on all this DLC? Do you think I’m being over dramatic?

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Persona 5 Review – Looking Cool, Joker! (PS4)

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It seems that with every new release, the more popular that the Persona franchise becomes and it’s hard to believe that the franchise is now celebrating 20 years of greatness. Now with the release of Persona 5, we take another dip into the velvet room and live the regular life of a Japanese high schooler. I mean, isn’t this how it is over there? Today we review Persona 5 and see if this game was worth the wait.

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Atlus registers new Persona domains hinting at spin-offs?

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vlcsnap-2015-02-12-14h56m56s136Atlus has been busy registering Persona domains in the last few weeks, Ryu’s Office, a games business marketing firm registered seven Persona domains for the publisher. It seems like these Persona domains could be related to Persona spin-offs, which Atlus has been notorious for releasing these past few years. Atlus registered the following Persona domains on April 18th.

Below is the domains they registered with guesses by Gematsu.

  • P3D.jp (Persona 3 Dancing?)
  • P5AG.jp (Persona 5 A…fter Golden?)
  • P5D.jp (Persona 5 Dancing?)
  • P5R.jp (Persona 5 R…acing?)
  • P5U.jp (Persona 5 Ultimax / Persona 5 Arena?)
  • Persona-Dance.jp (Persona Dancing portal site?)
  • PQ2.jp (Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth 2?)

But back in April 4, Atlus also registered the following domains. Probably to sit on them for the future, of course.

Since Atlus is doing a big Persona concert soon, which is the place they premiered Persona 5 gameplay last year, expect to see something new. Not only that, in a recent survey Atlus hinted that they were going announce a Persona related title this year, so don’t be shocked to hear something on August 2nd or before. What are your thoughts on the registered domain and do you want Atlus to continue making games featuring Persona 5 characters?

[Source: Gematsu]

 

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Persona 5 debuts at #1 on the UK software charts

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persona 5 famitsu interview“WOW! Looking cool Joker!” 

Persona 5 is celebrating the biggest launch in the franchises history, already claiming to have shipped over 1.5 million units world wide and now its also the best selling game in the UK in the latest UK software charts. check out the top ten games sold in the UK during the week, it was stiff competition but Persona 5 pulled through.

  1. Persona 5
  2. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  3. LEGO Worlds
  4. Grand Theft Auto V
  5. Mass Effect: Andromeda
  6. FIFA 17
  7. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  8. Lego City Undercover
  9. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
  10. Overwatch

Persona 5 is the only JRPG to hit the number one spot in the UK Software Charts since 2013’s Ni no Kuni on the PlayStation 3. Even the massively hyped Final Fantasy XV didn’t hit the top spot on the UK charts, it fell short at number #2. While The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wasn’t a JRPG, that game also only hit #2 in the UK charts thanks to the massive success of PlayStation 4’s Horizon Zero Dawn. It would seem that SEGA buying Index holdings, owner of Atlus publishing, was the right move for the company.

How long do you think Persona 5 will chart in the UK software charts? Let us know in the comments below.

[via: Siliconera]

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Persona 5 ships 1.5 million copies worldwide

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It seems that Persona 5 is a already a big success for Atlus and also their parent company SEGA who purchased the publisher back in 2013. Now that the game has hit America and Europe, Atlus has updated and said they have shipped 1.5 million units. Back in October, Atlus announced that they shipped 550,000 units of Persona 5 in Japan.

Atlus also said that they will continue to promote the Persona brand beyond video games, which includes a newly announced concert that will take place on August 2nd. But seeing that Persona 5 is a smash hit for Atlus, don’t be surprised to see side games, animes and more in the near future. I’ve been trying to play through the game to deliver you guys a review and I have to say I’m having a great time. I’m not surprised by the games success at all.

What about you?

[Via: Gematsu]

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Persona 5 releases today to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in the Americas and Europe

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At long last, the much anticipated Atlus title Persona 5 has released in both Americas and Europe. In the Americas, the game is available in three editions: the Persona 5 “Take Your Heart” Premium Edition for the PS4, the Persona 5 SteelBook Edition for the PS4, and the Persona 5 Standard Edition for the PS4 as well as the PS3.

In Europe there is the Persona 5 “Take Your Heart” Collector’s Edition for the PS4, the Persona 5 SteelBook Launch Edition for the PS4, and the Persona 5 Standard Edition for the PS4 as well as the PS3. Whew! Two consoles and three editions, that’s a lot!

As an added incentive, throughout the month Atlus will be releasing a slew of DLC. Available today is the Japanese Audio Track, Healing Item Set, Skill Card Set, and the New Difficulty Level Challenge – all free to download. Free with the digital pre-order, $1.99 otherwise, is the Protagonist Special Theme & Avatar Set (PS4 only). There are also three additional theme & avatar sets for $1.99 each (PS4 only), while on the PS3 there are four special themes priced at .99 cents each.

If you picked the game up, join us in the SEGAbits Discord chat or in the SEGAbits forums to discuss the game and have a happy Persona 5 launch day!

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