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Sega wants Atlus games to move towards simultaneous worldwide releases

Games like Persona and Shin Megami Tensei have often seen delays between release in Japan and throughout the rest of the world.

TJ Denzer

May 12, 2021 7:26 AM

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For the longest time, Atlus games have often been stretched out between Japanese release dates and worldwide release dates. Most recently and noticeably, Persona 5 Strikers launched in February 2021, but it was out in Japan for an entire year before that. Sega apparently wants that to change and may push Atlus more towards simultaneous worldwide releases on multiple platforms at once.

This sentiment was expressed in a recent Famitsu interview with Sega Vice President Shuji Utsumi, as reported by Ryokutya. According to the conversation, Utsumi claims the success of the Yakuza series in its recent shift towards worldwide simultaneous release has been a big reason the company wants more developers under its wing to do the same – notably Atlus and the popular Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series.

“[Yakuza: Like a Dragon] was the biggest hit of the series because it was released multi-platform  with no delay,” Utsumi said, roughly translated. “Simultaneous worldwide release on multiple platforms has proven to be a tailwind for titles. Of course, we will still adjust titles for localization, but we also want to pursue the global expansion of Atlus titles.”

SEGA's Shuji Utsumi told Famitsu that Yakuza 7 was the most successful title in the franchise worldwide

He also stated that SEGA wants to "globally expand" ATLUS games by releasing them simultaneously worldwide and possibly on multiple platformshttps://t.co/NaEuCooXv7 pic.twitter.com/uF6YtLRTco

— Nibel (@Nibellion) May 12, 2021

Sega has every reason to want to put in the work to get Atlus to the same level that Yakuza studio Ryu Ga Gotoku has reached. Many of Atlus’ games have been popular worldwide for years, but it’s always quite the wait between when these games release in Japan and when they hit North America, Europe, and other markets. Persona 5 Strikers was the most recent notable example, but Persona 5 Royal also had a lengthy waiting period between when it landed in Japan in October 2019 and when it landed in Western markets in late March 2020.

With all of this in mind, it will be interesting to see if Sega’s plans come to fruition and we truly do see Atlus games like the next Shin Megami Tensei or a new Persona get simultaneous worldwide release dates.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.