Persona 5 Coming to North America "Following the Japan Release"

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

Persona 5 Coming to North America "Following the Japan Release"

SCEA CEO Shawn Layden made it offical today: Persona 5 is coming to PS3 and PS4 in North America some indeterminate time in the future.

Good news: Persona 5 got a shout-out at today's PlayStation Experience keynote! Less good news: instead of getting a release date or new trailer, SCEA head honcho Shawn Layden confirmed what many of us had already assumed: Persona 5 is coming to North America sometime after the Atlus JRPG launches in Japan.

If that sounds incredibly vague, well, it is! Announced for Japan in late 2013, Persona 5 was supposed to release in that region late this year, but was then pushed back to 2015. Earlier this year, Atlus mentioned the localization [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132479-Atlus-USA-Confirms-Localization-of-Persona-5-Spinoffs] of a slew of Persona games, but this is the first Persona 5 update we've gotten since then.

Since all we know is that the PS3/PS4-exclusive Persona 5 is set to launch next year in Japan, there's no telling when it will reach North American shores. I'm hoping sooner rather than later, because without a new Persona game, my life is basically empty.

Permalink

 

[Grace_Omega]

Is anyone else getting slightly worried that we still haven't seen anything at all of this?

 

[blackdwarf]

And what about EU?

Atlus seems to truly hate Eu, because are their releases are utter shit and the most anti Eu consumer I have ever seen. I want to play your games Atlus, they are fun, but getting the game not over a year later with complete radio silence is annoying, especially if you are going to release a expanded version anyway, while still ignoring EU.

 

[Camoman]

Disappointed there's no real news, but not surprised.

However, didn't the TGS trailer confirm it for PS4 as well? You may want to update the article as to not say PS3-exclusive, especially since it conflicts with the sub-header.

 

[Roxas1359]

Is anyone else getting slightly worried that we still haven't seen anything at all of this?

Not really. Atlus tends to be very hush hush about things from what I've noticed. From gameplay details, to even release dates.

OT: ...now for the actual question that should be asked: how long until it reaches the shores of PAL gamers in Europe and Oceania. Atlus always screws them over when it comes to release dates. And is this game gonna be region locked as well, as the last game was and people weren't too happy about that, especially since it took ages for it to get over to PAL shores as well. Hell, they barely got Shin Megami Tensei IV 2 months ago.

 

[rbstewart7263]

Im hoping later so that I can save for either of those systems. I wonder if it will be significantly "better" for ps4?

 

[Tanis]

MY BODY, IS READY!

Glad to see it's still coming, I was worried they were going to downgrade it to a handheld release.
I can't deal with those small screens anymore, getting too damn old.
XD

 

[AgentLampshade]

Yes! I get to pay almost double the price to import it slightly earlier! Seriously though, a big reason why Atlus aren't big in Europe is because barely any of their games come out here.

 

[Burnouts3s3]

Quick Question: Why is localization lag still a thing? In the world of the internet and subs, why aren't more games from Japan released the same time as the US or the EU? Why do Western gamers have to wait before they can play a game that's already out in Japan? I mean, I understand if there's voice dubbing that needs to be done, but games became 'sub only' why is there still a delay?

 

[Roxas1359]

Yes! I get to pay almost double the price to import it slightly earlier!

Well, might wanna hold off on that. Atlus to region lock the game like how they region locked Persona 4: Arena on the PS3, being effectively the only company to ever actually region lock a game on the PS3.

 

[Norix596]

The last few games from Atlus have had about a five month delay between Japanese and NA releases so I guess a similar gap could be reasonable to expect here. Earlier games have been about a year or more so maybe they're continuing on a shorter trend, but no game has had shorter than 5 months before NA release and this game is going to have a LOT of dialogue and voicing presumably so maybe it could possibly be longer.

 

[F-I-D-O]

Wait, Atlus is being cagey on info and won't give a solid release date? Color me shocked...
In all seriousness, its a Persona game. That's enough for it to be a day one buy for me even if it isn't a main numbered entry. Now, if they could just announce a special edition bundle to go with it, then I'd be perfectly fine picking up a new console.

 

[F-I-D-O]

Quick Question: Why is localization lag still a thing? In the world of the internet and subs, why aren't more games from Japan released the same time as the US or the EU? Why do Western gamers have to wait before they can play a game that's already out in Japan? I mean, I understand if there's voice dubbing that needs to be done, but games became 'sub only' why is there still a delay?

With Atlus, they take a lot of time in dubbing their games. While some sequences might have limited voice acting, the majority of the game and character interactions are fully voiced. Usually, they do an excellent job, and maintain voice actor consistency. That said, I have no idea why the EU releases suddenly take months to years longer than the NA localized copies.
Personally, I'm curious as to who will be voicing Igor, or if they will even have him, as the Japanese voice actors died.

 

[coates32]

Quick Question: Why is localization lag still a thing? In the world of the internet and subs, why aren't more games from Japan released the same time as the US or the EU? Why do Western gamers have to wait before they can play a game that's already out in Japan? I mean, I understand if there's voice dubbing that needs to be done, but games became 'sub only' why is there still a delay?

I imagined that, even for sub-only releases (which P5 will definitely getting a dub), Atlus wants to take the time to properly localize their games (proper translations, proper grammar, ect.). And since RPGs are usually dialog heavy, that would take longer to accurately all of the necessary dialog. The last thing anyone would want is another Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment situation, which was sub-only (details about that is on the link below).

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/09/10/sword-art-online-hollow-fragment-death-localization/

 

[teh_Canape]

Quick Question: Why is localization lag still a thing? In the world of the internet and subs, why aren't more games from Japan released the same time as the US or the EU? Why do Western gamers have to wait before they can play a game that's already out in Japan? I mean, I understand if there's voice dubbing that needs to be done, but games became 'sub only' why is there still a delay?

I imagined that, even for sub-only releases (which P5 will definitely getting a dub), Atlus wants to take the time to properly localize their games (proper translations, proper grammar, ect.)

And considering how many easter eggs and references and even puns ("sounds purrfect", anyone?), the localization lag really worth it, even if my inner hype throws me into nerd-seizure fits

 

[MoonWhispers]

I'm hyped. I'll pretty much be buying a PS4 for this game. Kinda like how I bought a Vita for P4G, and a 3DS for PQ. I have a problem. Heh. To be fair, the only one of those I hadn't planned on getting (though I still wanted) was a 3DS. But yea, Atlus is always really stingy with the updates until the game gets close to release. They don't have the marketing budget that other companies have, so they have to hold back till the best times to do it. We did get the Japanese language trailer a couple months back, and now a confirmation of NA release, so that's about Par for the course. I expect some time early next year we'll start getting a few more updates about it trickling in.

 

[FalloutJack]

Still waiting for results here, Atlus. Don't disappont me now. Come to papa...