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Persona 4 Arena digital rights in Europe back with Atlus
P-qube, partner company of Zen United, confirmed to Joystiq it's returned the European digital rights for Persona 4 Arena back to Atlus. Head of Marketing Geriant Evans explained that's why the game and its DLC disappeared from PSN two weeks ago, though curiously it remains available on Xbox Live. Persona 4 Arena was infamously the first retail game to be region-locked on PS3, a decision that came under scrutiny following the fighter's long delay in reaching Europe. We've reached out to Atlus for more information on the decision, as the company's yet to comment on the move. The transfer could be minor housekeeping, or it could speak to a change in Atlus' approach to publishing in Europe. Traditionally Atlus goes through third parties like Zen United, NIS America and Rising Star to distribute its games in Europe, with release dates often lagging behind North America. It's also possible the decision is tied to bringing follow-up Persona 4 Arena Ultimax to the continent. As things stand, there remain no European release details for Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Persona 5. [Image: Atlus]
Persona 4 Arena removed from Europe's PlayStation Store
Persona 4 Arena and all its DLC are no longer on the PlayStation Store in Europe, all of a sudden. When asked about the disappearance, Sony Europe's Jawad Ashraf could only note the fighter was removed by request of "the publisher." "I haven't been given any information as to why, just that we obliged with the request," Ashraf said in the PlayStation Blog comments. "Sorry I can't be more transparent."
Rune Factory 4 isn't coming to Europe after all
The European production line for Rune Factory 4 churned to a stop this morning, after publisher MarvelousAQL canceled the game for the continent. The first 3DS entry in the Harvest Moon spin-off series was due in Europe this spring, having already been released in Japan and North America. Of course, that announcement came before the bankruptcy and closure of RF4 developer Neverland. "We regret to inform you that the European release of Rune Factory 4 for Nintendo 3DS has been canceled," reads a MAQL Europe statement on distributor Zen United's Rice Digital site. "While MarvelousAQL has made every effort to secure the title's release for this territory, it is, unfortunately, not possible to do so at this time. MAQL and MAQL Europe would like to thank everyone for their support and enthusiasm for their European releases. Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months." We've reached out to MAQL Europe for more info. As for the Rune Factory series, there's been no news since Neverland's closure in November. Beforehand, MAQL series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto exclaimed RF4 performed well enough to greenlight RF5. After the closure, Hashimoto said (via Siliconera), "As of now, it'll still remain a secret as to what kind of title we'll be releasing next, but I can say that the staff members are still doing great."
Rune Factory 4 blueprints EU arrival for spring
Distributor Zen United and publisher Marvelous AQL confirmed Rune Factory 4 is coming to Europe, assembling a spring 2014 release window for the farming sim/RPG hybrid. The news comes on the day Rune Factory 4 is out in North America, courtesy of XSEED. The latest in the line of Harvest Moon spinoffs proved a hit in Japan last summer, selling 150,000 copies by the end of September and becoming the best-selling game in the series.
Rune Factory 4 is coming to Europe
Rune Factory 4 will start up a European production line thanks to Zen United, the same distributor that handled the continental carriage of Harvest Moon: A New Beginning and Persona 4 Arena. Zen director Geraint Evans didn't disclose any details in an interview with JPGames.de, but an official announcement in the "very near future" may produce more info. As for North America, the 3DS agricultural sim/RPG is due sometime this fall. In August publisher XSeed said it "could be looking at a late September or October release," although late September is nearly upon us and a release date hasn't cropped up yet.
Harvest Moon makes A New Beginning in Europe next month
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning rises in Europe on September 30, arriving with a pre-order goodie of the cutest order: beads! No, not bees, beads! Selected European retailers including GAME in the UK will bundle pre-orders of the game with a Hama bead set. The set lets players bead together recreations of the boy, cow, and probably a few other Harvest Moon folk. Adorable! Oh yeah, the game. Well, it's the second 3DS entry in the agricultural sim series, and one big change up this time around is the greater variety in customization. Players can pick their character's look, garb, furnishings, and a fair bit more too. Once they've done that, they can recreate their character with beads. Beads!
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning cropping up in Europe in Q3
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning embarks for Europe this Q3. As expected distributor Zen United is involved. while publishing is tied to Marvelous AQL Europe. The second 3DS entry after re-release The Tale of Two Towns offers greater customization, allowing players to pick their character's look and clothes, furnish their house how they want, and moves crops and barn around. So, a bit more like Animal Crossing, then, except on a farm - but not much like George Orwell's Animal Farm, because that'd be weird.
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning ratings point to PAL produce
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning may enter its European phase soon. The 3DS sim, which arrived in North America last October, cropped up on the Australian Classification Board and German ratings board USK over the weekend. Both ratings list Zen United as the publisher - Zen distributed Persona 4 Arena in Europe recently, and has a history of bringing BlazBlue and Arcana Hearts games to the region. We've reached out to Zen in the hopes of cultivating some comment.
Persona 4 Arena limited edition strikes victory pose in Europe
Persona 4 Arena will finally launch in Europe on May 10, and today a limited edition has been revealed, available exclusively through the Zen Store. £59.99 will reserve a limited edition bundle, which includes a tote bag, jigsaw puzzle, soundtrack, badge set, digital artwork, key ring and a copy of the game.It's been a difficult trek to Europe for Persona 4 Arena, which was originally slated to launch on the continent last August, only to be pushed back out of 2012 entirely. Importing was out of the question for some Europeans, thanks to the decision to region-lock the PS3 version. All Persona 4 Arena pre-orders will net the same soundtrack and "digital fan" artwork included in the limited edition set.
Persona 4 Arena bashes Europe May 10
Persona 4 Arena finally has a European release date of May 10. After last week saw the silhouette of a May window fizzling onto the Midnight Channel - or distributor Zen United's Facebook page - today's much clearer announcement means the brawling follow-up to Persona 4 reaches the continent just under a year after its release in Japan.Arena's much-delayed arrival on the continent is compounded by Atlus' decision to region-lock the game, including the recent PSN version in North America. Europe originally expected the PS3 and Xbox 360 game on August 31, and then before the end of 2012.Zen United says it doesn't expect to have to announce any further delays, the distributor instead cheerily revealing a pre-order bonus from all retailers, which includes the original P4A Arrange soundtrack, some exclusive artwork, and a "Digital Fan Pack."
Persona 4 Arena posts tentative European launch window of May
Persona 4 Arena is fighting its way to Europe, now expected to launch in May. Persona 4 Arena is in submission for Xbox 360, publisher Zen United writes on the game's European Facebook page."Though dependent on when it passes, of course – I think it's realistic for me to say we're looking at a May release," Zen says.Persona 4 Arena was originally scheduled to launch in Europe on August 31, 2012, but publisher Zen United delayed it past the year. Though it launched in North America and Japan last summer, Persona 4 Arena is region locked, meaning importing it is out of the question.
Persona 4 Arena inches toward EU release
Persona 4 Arena may finally be forthcoming in Europe after Zen United, its distributor across the continent, revealed today that it's taken delivery of the PS3 version, with the Xbox 360 version expected to arrive shortly.Posting on Facebook, Zen said once both versions of the fighter are in its possession, it can provide a "likely release window." Zen will then announce a release date once the game's been submitted to and approved by Sony and Microsoft.What today's news hopefully represents is the beginning to the end of a long saga for P4A in Europe. Originally scheduled for August 31 last year, the game was delayed before Zen announced it wasn't going to arrive in 2012. Those delays shone the spotlight further on publisher Atlus' decision to region-lock P4A, a decision preventing European fans from importing a game which has now been out in Japan and North America for around half a year.
Persona 4 Arena isn't taking the stage in Europe this year
Persona 4 Arena isn't coming to Europe this year, now leaving it without a release window. Zen United, the company distributing the fighter, announced the delay via the Persona 4 Europe Facebook page. Zen says it will announce a projected release date once it receives the EU build, but currently the distributor doesn't even know when that build will be ready.Europeans originally expected the game on August 31, in the same month as the North American launch. Following that delay and today's news, fans are now left uncertain when the game will actually be released. This further delay only adds to scrutiny over the decision to enforce the game's region lock, a decision Atlus claims it took to prevent the North American version 'cannibalizing' its Japanese counterpart. Maybe Atlus should've consulted Murphy's law before making Arena the first PS3 game to have such a constraint.The Persona 4 tie-in fighter may be beaten to European retail shelves by Vita re-release Golden. Publisher NIS America is projecting a tentative February 22 for the latter's release.
BlazBlue delayed one week in UK
Once scheduled for release in Q1 2010, or, more specifically, March 26, the UK version of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger has been pushed back to April 2. Retailer GAME posted an updated listing for the game, and publisher Zen United confirmed the date in response to an enquiry by Joystiq. According to Zen, the UK release of both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the fighter has been moved to April 2. In addition, the PS3 version of the game will hit stores elsewhere in Europe on that day, with the Xbox 360 version still scheduled for March 26. [Thanks, Shadowman!]
European BlazBlue pre-orders to be rewarded with limited edition
Pre-orders for the European release of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger will get an "upgrade" to a limited edition package at no extra cost. The LE contains a 100-page art book and a bonus DVD with two hours of "detailed tutorial guides." The LE is available for pre-order at Amazon, GAME, Gamestation, HMV, and Play.com with an official release date of "mid-March." The non-monetary cost for all these extras: the covering of the European box art with a plain slipcover. The art for the regular edition was painted by Daniel Lam, a fan who won an art contest held by Arc System Works. While that art will still be on the case, it'll be obscured by the outer box. A shame. %Gallery-85695%
