Tag: Atlus

New Domain Registration Further Hints at ‘Persona 3’ Remake

Looks like news and hints are piling on as of late. Earlier this year, we got our first rumor hinting at a future Persona 3 remake. It wasn’t too surprising if it had any validity given the project was voted as the top choice to get reworked by fans and there has been some concern over Atlus remastering the PlayStation Portable variant rather than tweaking the original Persona 3 FES release.

Earlier today, some supposed footage had leaked from a 2021 internal meeting at Atlus. While only a rumor at the time, the footage included one of Persona 3‘s main characters in a new model alongside never-before-seen Sonic Frontiers footage including an enemy that was only featured in concept art but not in the final release. It doesn’t confirm it and is just a rumor but it still is a curious leak.

Now, it seems another hint may have surfaced, as Twitter user @MbKKssTBhz5 has shared a new domain that has been registered in Japan. The title P3RE.JP doesn’t really give away what it is for but would match the naming that Atlus has given its other entries. The microsite for Persona 5 Royal is titled P5R.JP and would match this overall naming. Other titles haven’t received their own site to give a better comparison.

https://twitter.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1645169046290149379

It seems like the naming was set earlier this month in 2023, which could hint that they are preparing the site for an upcoming announcement. It’s not uncommon that these kinds of site registrations are renewed or done ahead of announcements, but with P3 and a “RE” hinting at Remake, perhaps there’s more to this rumor than we thought at first. It’s definitely something to keep a close eye on.

Source: Twitter

April 9, 2023
RUMOR: Possible Leaked Footage Offers First Look at Long-Rumored ‘Persona 3’ Remake

A Persona 3 remake has always been something fans of the Atlus franchise joked around about. Not only because technically there are three other Persona entries that have yet to receive much love since the PSP era but also due to the many rumors that have lit a little spark of hope throughout the years. Still, the concept of an actual remake with Persona 5‘s engine has picked up quite a bit of steam as of late with a new rumor sparking the conversation earlier this year and we may have even gotten our first look at the project.

While not officially confirmed, user @AVtoGAMEnoYAMI has taken to Twitter and shared some footage of Yukari Takeba shooting her arrows at a shadow. Out of context, it looked like an impressive fan-made concept, especially as we don’t see her using an Evoker (the gun they point at themselves) and she also is seemingly using a bow from a Persona than something that was provided in the game. Plus, you don’t see the SEES armband either or any hint at the group.

https://twitter.com/AVtoGAMEnoYAMI/status/1644990912328798208

Yet, the animation looks well done, the background is definitely Tartarus, and with the many rumors, it just feels like a curious timing to leak. What adds weight to it potentially being real is the fact that an additional showcase included the long-rumored Jet Set Radio sequel and most notably Beta footage of Sonic Frontier with a boss that was only confirmed to exist in concept art and never made it into the final game.

Supposedly this is footage that was shared initially 2021 during an internal meeting held in 2021, which would match with one of the earliest hints that Atlus might be working on trying to bring many of its iconic IPs back with remasters or remakes as first hints were given in 2020 of this new development (still waiting for Tales of Arcadia).

There’s a chance that what we’re seeing above was just a pitch visual using some minimal visuals to showcase the idea of remastering the game or an early test build that didn’t include all details. Of course, it also still remains a mystery and hasn’t been given a DMCA by Sega since it leaked online which means it might not be true (though they also may not want to raise any flags by doing so either).

For now, it’s just a rumor and if it turns out to be fan-made, it is extremely well done. Sadly the recent live stream that was hinted at in March was mostly about the Blu-ray release and an additional artbook from the stageplay inspired by the Persona series. So, who knows just how long we’ll have to wait for an actual game announcement but rumors pointed to Persona 3‘s remake hitting this year. So, all eyes will be on Summer Game Fest and whatever PlayStation stream is heading our way as some others believe reveals are “a ways off.”

Source: Twitter, Twitter

April 9, 2023
Atlus’ ‘Persona’ Would Make for a Great Globe-Trotting TV Anthology Series

Atlus has made quite a splash internationally with Persona 5. The latest entry in the Shin Megami Tensei spinoff managed to bring a somewhat niche JRPG franchise into one of the biggest offerings with spinoffs, a remake, multi-platform releases, and who knows what else might be in the works. What makes this franchise special is that each new entry tells a story that is unique with a brand-new cast of characters. Some familiar elements return with each new entry, but it’s still a unique story not shackled by having to be a direct continuation.

There are enough recurring themes and elements that truly tie this franchise together, may it be the iconic Velvet Room, the carry-over demons and gods from SMT, the high-school setting, and many more. Still, each entry is even freer to explore a story that makes it stand out. Persona 2 Innocent Sin explores the concept of rumors coming to life. The fourth entry explored a murder mystery plot in the small town of Inaba, while the fifth entry just had our main characters turn into literal thieves of hearts.

There’s something unique about what Persona has to offer and the wait for each new entry seemingly gets longer every time. Who knows how many scrapped ideas and concepts were left on the cutting room floor? Plus, the games have a strong focus on the Japanese market, which fits with its constant taking inspiration from real Japanese locations. Persona 5 almost took a very different direction but stuck to its roots after how Japan held together following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

So, who knows where Persona 6 might take the franchise, as it may simply build upon what we saw in Persona 5 Royal or even take a completely new direction. Generally, there’s also a good chance that Atlus looks beyond the gaming market to expand its brand; we’re already seeing it with SEGA busy in hoping to bring Yakuza to live-action. So, who knows how long the wait will be until Persona or generally the Shin Megami Tensei franchise gets a similar treatment.

And there is a lot of potential with a franchise like Persona. It’s made for the anthology series format similar to True Detective, which can explore a similar concept with multiple new cast members. Plus, it would allow some of the scrapped ideas to potentially make it back into the franchise by having them as jumping-off points for the new live-action adaptation. Each season represents a new group of characters that face off against unique takes of the shadows that manifest from the hum consciousness.

They could start familiar with the first season by playing closer to home with something that was already established. Persona 4 seems like the perfect template for a starter season given its more somber tone and a murder mystery always makes for good television. They could give it a different twist and simply use the basic template to build a Western variation to ease viewers into the concept. Once hooked, each season can explore other parts of the world also affected by the Shadows and Personas.

Though, the biggest challenge is to also bring the flair of the visuals many connect with the franchise to a new format. It’s not impossible as with smart cuts and visual additions, they could still keep those elements alive. Different variations on the iconic music with strong inspirations from whatever culture and location the latest season explores open up many avenues to add something fresh to familiar elements of this iconic JRPG franchise.

Of course, they could always go down a cinematic route but there’s something bout the build-up across 80+ hours in the gaming franchise that just feels more natural in a long-form format like television. It may just be a dream for now, but if they ever do decide to bring the franchise to live-action, it would be a damn shame if they don’t make use of this concept to explore new avenues across the world.

Source: Persona Central

March 10, 2023
Latest ‘Persona 6’ Rumor Hints at a Potential Delay

The hunt for any news regarding Persona 6 continues. After a rather disappointing Persona 25th Anniversary, Atlus has been coy about the future of the franchise. To be fari, we did get re-releases of their three most popular entries on all consoles, but it’s been strange not to end such a milestone with the next major installment even if it is years away. Ever since our Persona 6 news has mostly relied on online rumors.

If there is one thing we know about the Internet, it is the fact that the rumor mill never truly rests. User “Im A Hero Too” has returned once again to ResetEra to unveil more on what may or may not be happening behind the scenes as we’re still missing out on any hints regarding the franchise’s future.

In it, they reveal that Persona 6 has “absolute zero chance” to release in 2023, but does hint that they have a rough timeframe even if the project may have been delayed internally. The reasoning according to him is that they are focusing either to release the rumored Persona 3 Remake (also first unveiled by this user) or another game. Though he hints there’s a chance we’ll see a teaser at Sony’s next showcase, which might not be until this summer.

Going by this timeline, we may have at least one potential Persona game releasing this year, but that might be a bit strange they’ll fast-track the remake of 3 given they just released a remaster of the PSP version. So, perhaps that won’t release until next year either, and who knows when Persona 6 may hit modern consoles. Though, we have to still take these statements with a grain of salt as neither project has officially been announced as of now. For now, it just looks like the wait for an official update may take quite a bit longer.

Source: ResetEra via ComicBook

February 28, 2023
Atlus Teases “Several” Unannounced Titles

Persona’s anniversary in 2022 hasn’t quite lived up to the hype in some aspects. While it did finally lead to the confirmation that Persona 3 Portable (oddly without a name change) and Persona 4 Golden are heading to consoles, there was no sign of the sixth entry of the franchise.

It’s great that they aren’t rushing out the sequel but not even a sign or brief teaser to capitalize off of its anniversary seemed odd. Persona 5 was released back in 2016 and many hoped to avoid a similarly long wait that occurred between that game’s release and Persona 4 in 2008. Yet, it seems like the wait will be quite a bit longer but a new statement by Atlus may have given some hope going into 2023.

In 2023, we will start with the remastered releases of P3P and P4G, and we are also preparing several new unannounced titles. Please look forward to it!

Sadly, they don’t give away anything but we can at least expect some new games from Atlus to get announced eventually. They may be holding back on some releases due to the production timeline needing more time and if Persona 6 is on the menu, they’d likely want to make sure they won’t keep postponing it like they did last time around.

Sadly, we’ll just have to wait and see what is heading our way for now. There are also quite a few other franchises under the Atlus umbrella that might get their time to shine. Soul Hacker just got a new entry last year and who knows if another Shin Megami Tensei title is already further along in production. Perhaps last year was just the prelude to many more titles heading our way.

Source: Famitsu via Persona Central

January 1, 2023
Sega and Atlus Eyeing to Develop Live-Action Projects Based on Persona and More

While superheroes are still the dominant force in the current adaptation world, gaming has been slowly building up more momentum. As it turns out, Atlus is just as interested in joining the game, especially in bringing their franchises like Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and Catherine not only to the silver screen but also in the form of TV adaptations.

They don’t offer any exact details but it makes sense given Sega’s success with the Sonic the Hedgehog films and a new animated series heading to Netflix. the Blue Blur’s lead producer from Sega, Toru Nakahara, shared the following statement in an interview with IGN.

Atlus’ worlds are filled with high drama, cutting-edge style and compelling characters. Stories like those from the Persona franchise really resonate with our fans and we see an opportunity to expand the lore like no one has seen — or played — before. Together, Sega and Atlus, are working to bring these stories and worlds to life through new mediums and for new audiences.
Toru Nakahara

Persona is definitely a franchise that lends itself to a live-action adaptation with its focus on high-school drama mixed with supernatural events. Given it’s the franchise’s anniversary, it was more surprising they don’t already have a project in development, especially with their active development in the west. For now, we’ll have to wait as no cooperation partners have been named and what the future might have in store for the franchises under Atlus’ banner.

Source: IGN

June 30, 2022
Current State of ‘Persona 6’

Persona is a series that has finally entered the mainstream due to its success with the official fifth entry. After its titular character Joker joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as its first DLC character, it was clear that Atlus had pushed their slice-of-life RPG to a new level. Yet, we haven’t heard much on the next numbered entry in the series, Persona 6. Yet even as 2021 was the franchise’s 25th anniversary, we still are lacking any concrete information on the next entry. As such, let’s take a closer look at the current state of what we know about the project so far.

The official confirmation came in a rather surprising way. We never got a definite highlight that work has already started on the project, but through a statement by Atlus director Naoto Hiroaka in a job listing back in July. It explicitly highlights that they are hiring for a sixth project that manages to succeed previous entry.

Thanks to the large amount of support we received for Persona 5, we have gotten a sense of accomplishment. But we can’t stop there. When we created Persona 4, there was pressure that it had to exceed Persona 3. Now, we will have to create a 6 which exceeds 5. However, exceeding 5 will be difficult with the current staff. I would like to surpass this tall hurdle with everyone who joins us in this recruitment
Naoto Hiroaka

This job listing came around a similar time when the 25th anniversary was announced with a promise for a year of news surrounding the Persona franchise. As mentioned previously, we still haven’t gotten quite a lot of insight into what the anniversary includes. While we did get the announcement in July and the confirmation of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax has been the only major reveal so far. The game wasn’t confirmed until the Video Game Awards in December with rumors hinting at remasters of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden. The official site still hints at more announcements coming but the well has been dry for some time. Still, supposedly we’ll get seven announcements up until the fall of this year. If they include the merchandise and wallpapers, there are still four slots open.

There have been some curious visual teasers in the form of the anniversary-themed goods, which include all the main protagonists o the various entries across the series. What stands out is that they purposefully included one that only has “Secret” in its place. So, once an official announcement drops, they may unveil the character card, which would include the sixth entries protagonist, the game’s main color, and the school logo.

It seems very likely that this is a tease for an eventual announcement, especially with the placeholder also being used for the covers. Thoug, curiously,t the game covers includes two slots while each entry since P3 is mainly the vanilla game and its expansion, such as Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. So, the new game either has two unique covers, or we might have a Pokémon situation with two versions of the same game.

Of course, an announcement this year doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll get the game any time soon. Though, there is a comment that hints at Atlus having some major plans for this year. Shinjiro Takada, who is the mastermind behind Etryan Odyssey and Shin Megami Tensei. He made the following reveal that the hope to offer a major release this year that will “become a pillar for Atlus” moving forward. Sadly, there’s no definite clue what exactly may end up being or even if it is Persona related.

I chose ‘Challenge’ as my keyword for 2022 in hopes to release a title to the world that will become a pillar for Atlus. The staff are working hard on development to make something that’ll be interesting and satisfying for everyone, so I’d be happy if you could look forward to it.

The interesting aspect about Persona 6 is that there aren’t many rumors about the upcoming release. As the last three entries covered the primary colors of blue, yellow, and red, many theorized that green is the most likely choice for the next entry in the franchise. Others have pointed to orange also being a possibility, but Persona 2‘s entries seemed to rely on a similar color. There are some rumblings of the game either embracing a female-centric storyline or copying Persona 3 Portable‘s option to choose your gender at the start of the game.

For now, the well is pretty dry but it seems likely that the 25th anniversary might end with an announcement for the franchise in the fall of this year. It’s not definite but signs are there given the inclusion of those “Secret” placeholders. There are hints that we’ll get a lot more announcements as time goes on, which hopefully means that it’s going to be a big year for the franchise. For now, we can only keep an eye out for more information as

Source: GamesRadar, Twitter, Atlus, Polygon, IGN, Kotaku

January 12, 2022