With long-awaited Japanese RPG sequel, Persona 5 now being available in Japan, and enjoying strong sales and reception in the region, the game’s primary publisher and developer, Atlus wants to make extra sure that Persona 5’s Western launch achieves equal acclaim and success. As a result, Persona 5 has been delayed slightly in international territories, and will now release in North America and Europe on April 4th next year, rather than February 14th.
In a statement issued by Atlus, the company claimed that Japanese sales and feedback on Persona 5 obliterated the company’s expectations, and the unprecedented success of the RPG follow-up in Japan has led to Atlus wanting to take extra time to double down on localization and QA efforts for the North American and European launches in 2017. The extra few weeks will be used for refinement of the localized text and storytelling, and even recording of new dialogue lines from the English-speaking voice actors. Atlus also stressed that they absolutely don’t want to rush Persona 5, and wish to make sure it’s as great as it can be for its Western release, even if that means taking a bit more development time than anticipated.
To help tide over fans, Atlus confirmed that the game will release in English-speaking territories with dual voiceover options, offering an optional Japanese voice track as free DLC for North American and European players, along with the default English voice track. They also revealed some updated art for Persona 5’s Collector’s Edition, dubbed the ‘Take Your Heart Premium Edition’, which you can check out below:
Persona 5 is being made available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, with both builds planned to be released in the West next year. The first playable English-spoken demo of Persona 5 will be available at the PlayStation Experience expo next month. PlayStation Experience will be held in Anaheim, California from December 3rd to December 4th.
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