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As long as we’re talking about Atlus, the company also announced that Persona 4 Arena Ultimax will hit the PS3 and 360 in North America on September 30. Famitsu also revealed that Margaret will be a playable character, though only available as paid downloadable content released after the launch. This DLC has only been confirmed for Japan at this time.

Source: Gematsu

Atlus announced that the Tohru Adachi DLC for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax will be freely available for the week following the game’s launch. Afterward the DLC will be priced normally, though the price has not yet been stated. Ultimax will launch this fall in North America.

Source: Gematsu

Persona 4‘s Tohru Adachi has joined the Persona 4 Arena Ultimax roster, available as DLC to those who buy first-run copies. The title itself is planned for a fall release on both PS3 and 360.

Source: Gematsu

Atlus has announced the titles they’ll be showcasing during E3 this year; and by this year, of course, we mean ‘starting Tuesday’. The list includes the expected Persona titles – Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth – alongside Abyss Odyssey, Citizens of Earth, and the newly-revealed pinball RPG Rollers of the Realm.

Regarding that last one, Rollers of the Realm comes courtesy of developer Phantom Compass, and indeed works RPG mechanics and dungeon crawling around a pinball interface. Enemy creatures server as the ‘bumpers’, which can attack the pinball flippers, while the pinballs themselves are your playable characters. The game will be playable at E3, and will launch on PS4, PS Vita, and PC. A release date has not been announced.

Source: Gematsu

Atlus announced plans to release a special edition of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in Japan. Priced at 8,315 yen, the “Premium Newcomer Package” focuses on downloadable content, and includes codes for the following items: the original Persona 4 Arena‘s story mode, the full character glasses set, 12 background music tracks (three from Persona 3, five from Persona 4, and four from Persona 4 Golden), and additional navigators (Teddie and Mitsuru). The package also includes a not-downloadable illustration from series artist Shigenori Soejima.

No word has been given as to whether the package will be available in other regions.

Source: Gematsu

As Persona 4 Arena Ultimax draws closer to its North American release, the steady drip of details continues. Atlus has set the price at $59.99 for PS3 and 360, with as-yet-unspecified preorder bonuses depending on the retailer. This week’s Famitsu also revealed that Persona 3‘s Ken Amada and Koromaru as a playable character – that is, the pair will fight together as a single character.

Friendly reminder: said North American release is this fall.

Source: Gematsu

As the title may have suggested, Atlus announced that an anime adaptation of Persona 4 Golden is in production. The show will be broadcast in Japan starting in July.

Source: Gematsu

Via Famitsu comes a flurry of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax news, starting with a release date of August 28 for Japan. Price is set at 6980 yen, with the first-run copies including extra scenario DLC. Rise will be playable, with her story occuring amidst her attempted idol comeback. In battle, she wields a mic and various music-based attacks.

Additionally, the game will feature a “Golden Arena” mode, which is essentially a battle tournament with RPG elements: players level up, customize their fighters, learn skills, and establish social links with partner characters.

Source: Gematsu

Sensing that fans have been kept in suspense long enough, Atlus has at last confirmed that the plethora of Persona games being discussed lately – Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and of course Persona 5 – will all be seeing a North American release. Shadow of the Labyrinth (3DS) and Arena Ultimax (PS3/360) are planned for Fall releases this year, while Dancing All Night (PS Vita) and Persona 5 are listed for 2015.

Source: Gematsu

As long as we’re talking Persona, Atlus also put out more information about Persona 4 spinoff Dancing All Night. Storywise, the game follows Rise’s idol group, who investigate an urban legend about a web video causing viewers to be taken to “The Other Side.” Said other side is apparently a place called the “Mayonaka Stage,” and when the phenomenon claims a fellow idol group, Rise and company willingly participate in order to free the captives. Cue dancing to defeat Shadows.

Apart from Rise, Atlus announced that the Protagonist of Persona 4 will also show up to help out. One of Rise’s junior idols, Kanami Mashita, is also a key character who gets stuck on the Other Side. The music will include remixes of prior Persona soundtracks along with new compositions: the former includes “Pursuing My True Self,” “Heaven,” “Reach Out to the Truth,” “Time to Make History,” and “True Story.”

Put on your red shoes and dance (in Japan, at least) starting Fall of 2014.

Source: Gematsu

Get in losers, we’re going idoling: Atlus has announced a rhythm game spinoff for Persona 4, titled Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Set after the events of Persona 4 Arena 2, the title follows Rise Kujikawa’s return to show business, which coincides with a string of disappearances linked to a strange web video. After losing some of her own group, Rise and pals take on the strange phenomena, apparently by engaging in a dance-off against shadows on the “Mayonaka Stage.”

I’ll just smile and nod. Anyway, developer Dingo – of Project Diva fame – will be working on P4:DAN, which is scheduled for a 2014 release on the PS Vita in Japan.

Source: Gematsu

The amusingly-titled Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold – better known as Persona 4 Arena 2 – will reportedly launch in the summer of 2014 for Japan.

Source: Gematsu

Persona 4 Arena will be getting a direct sequel, Atlus announced recently. So titled Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold, the game will add Yukari and Junpei from Persona 3 as fighters, and will hit Japanese arcades sometime in Winter. PS3 and 360 versions are also planned, though no dates have been given and no global release has yet been confirmed.

Source: Gematsu

After a weirdly long period of silence, Atlus has at last announced a European release date for Persona 4 Arena: May 10. Preorders will gain access to Limited Edition content, which includes the official arranged soundtrack with exclusive artwork and the Digital Fan Pack.

Source: Eurogamer

Over on Persona Europe’s Facebook page, it was announced that Persona 4 Arena will not see a 2012 release. An FAQ from the publisher explained that “For all EU games, there are a number of changes that need to be done to bring it in line with the regulations laid out by Sony and Microsoft in Europe. These regulations are to ensure the game will work correctly in each individual PAL territory, from individual EU countries to Australia and UK.” This, unfortunately, appears to be the delaying point.

While fans reacted angrily, citing the unpopular decision to region-lock the game, the FAQ did suggest a possible bonus as compensation for the delay. “We understand everyone’s frustration surrounding this,” it reads, “so we are preparing something – and we’ll announce that once the new schedule for release is in place.”

Check out the full FAQ and resulting rage here.

Atlus has released the latest patch for Persona 4 Arena, addressing various game balance and technical issues on both 360 and PS3. Among the items fixed is the “Serious Gamer” achievement – earned by reaching level 30 in online matches – which had been inaccessible for some players.

Source: Joystiq

I appreciate Persona 4: Arena including a lot of fourth wall jokes regarding Mitsuru and Akihiko’s outfits. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 08/11/12’ »

Persona 4: Arena hit the ground running with its console release. The Atlus/Arc System Works collaboration sold some 138,000 copies in its first week in Japan, roughly 90% of stock. This trumps the previous record set by a fighting game, 103,000 for Tekken 6 in 2009.

Of further interest for the series: Famitsu leaked an interview with Team Persona producer Katsura Hashino, stating that the next numbered Persona game is in development. While this likely means Persona 5, it was not explicitly stated thus, and a remake of a past game is not out of the question.

Sources: Andriasang, Joystiq

Among the stranger things I’ve learned today is that Persona 4 Arena will be region locked: Japanese copies won’t work on North American PS3s, and vice versa. An Atlus employee confirmed the news on the official forums, though there was no explanation available at this time. This is somewhat a moot point as Arena is being released internationally anyway, though it will be the first PS3 game ever to be region-locked. Puzzling, to say the least.

Source: Joystiq

Never watch Stephen King’s The Mist before bed. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 06/25/12’ »