Sega seems to be pushing Atlus to do more global releases

Global Persona?

In case you don’t follow along with Atlus games and see them when you see them, typically the company does a long lead of releasing games in Japan first, then elsewhere, roughly six months later.

This happened most recently with Shin Megami Tensei III HD, and with Persona 5 Strikers/Royal. In other words, spoilers from importers and Japanese fans are flying around for a bit, amid all of the economic considerations that Sega has to consider with a release schedule like this. Well, going forward, they may change tact.

Atlus is no longer a niche JRPG brand: they’re a global powerhouse, and Sega thinks they should be thinking globally too. Sega Vice President Shuji Utsumi plainly states, when speaking to Famitsu: “Simultaneous worldwide release on multiple platforms will be a tailwind for titles. Of course we’ll make adjustments for each title, but we’d like to be aware of global expansion for Atlus titles as well.”

This possible decree didn’t just come out of the blue. Utsumi explains that Yakuza: Like a Dragon was the catalyst, as it was the “most successful in the series,” with the global launch being named as  a reason for its success.

It’s a lot of work, making this happen, and having all of the translations and dubs ready for a worldwide release, so I wish Atlus the best of luck if Sega puts the squeeze on them to do this.

Sega [ryokutya2089 via ResetEra]