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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."
Persona 4 Arena arcade-only update adds new fighters, moves, system changes
The Japan-only arcade version of Persona 4 Arena (known as Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena) is being updated with two new characters, significantly updated gameplay mechanics and new abilities for the existing fighters. Currently, there is no plan for any of these changes to come to the console versions, either here or in Japan: "It's an arcade-only update," Atlus' John Hardin told us. "No plans to bring it to the U.S. at this time." Yukari Takeba and Junpei Iori of Persona 3 fame return as new combatants, bringing the game's overall roster up to 15 selectable Persona users. The update also adds a new "Shadow Type" system, according to Shoryuken's translation of Famitsu's hands-on report. This gives players the option of replacing the game's "One More Burst" mechanic with an alternate Shadow form, which grants temporarily unlimited special meter and augmented/enhanced attack properties. Additionally, Shadow Type characters bring their special meters with them to the next round, whereas historically special meter resets at the beginning of each fight. An "S Hold System" is also being added, which allows players to charge up certain special attacks to achieve augmented effects, such as invulnerability. It will also now be possible to cancel normal moves into hops, which will add more utility for combo crafting. Furthermore, the game's existing cast is being outfitted with new moves and abilities, an ongoing list of which can be found here. Location testing is underway at Taito Hey in Akihabara and Taito Station Nipponbashi in Osaka, from now through this Sunday. We're keeping our ear to the ground for further information about when this update will be released, and whether it'll garner it's own name, ala Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, or Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R.
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 on sale for $20 at Gamestop
Looking to get in a fight with someone who just happens to be equipped with a demonic avatar representing his or her personality? You could either fly to Japan and get yourself thrown into a TV, or you can just buy Persona 4 Arena, which is currently on sale for $19.99 at GameStop.It's a lot cheaper than the trip, and you don't have to worry about potentially being killed by the personification of all the hidden feelings you don't want to admit to.
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 now beating up Xbox Live Games on Demand
Atlus and Arc System Works' Persona 4 Arena is now available on Xbox Live Games on Demand for a whole $60, which is $20 more than the physical version costs on Amazon.So, if you're wanting to get hella immersed in the intricacies of inter-personal television doppelganger relationship fighting, you need to ask yourself whether you'd rather have said experience immediately, or if you'd rather spend that $20 difference on DLC costume colors and adorable glasses. The choice is yours alone to make; just know that Chie looks pretty fly in her bookish frames.
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.
Persona 4 Arena patched, bugged Achievement now achievable
Persona 4 Arena has been touched up with a new patch on both PS3 and Xbox 360. "The patch fixes an assortment of general, game balance, and network issues," Atlus reports. It also addresses a bug that prevented some players from getting the "Serious Gamer" achievement, normally obtained by reaching level 30 in online matches.The "not being good enough at Persona 4 Arena to reach level 30" issue is not one that can be solved through software patches, we're afraid.
Stiq Flicks: Persona 4 Arena and The Raid: Redemption
Stiq Flicks – from film and video game industry freelance writer Kevin Kelly – examines video games and attempts to pair them with matching films. It's like wine and cheese, but with more aliens. The newly patched release of Persona 4 Arena has emerged from the tunnel of video games to steam past us with whistles and bells, heralding the fact that the holiday game onslaught is nearly upon us. In Persona 4 Arena – an RPG series transformed into a fighter – you have different characters battling it out in a televised tournament. There's a story in there somewhere that fans will appreciate, but the Persona games have a history that needs a Ken Burns documentary series to explain. Suffice it to say: despite the genre shift, there's still a lot of fighting going on. But Persona 4 Arena is about chaotic battles with avatars doing your dirty work for you, so we're pairing this with the dirty and gritty fistfights from the excellent The Raid: Redemption. If this movie doesn't inspire you to work out, or at least punch someone, then you might need to check your pulse. (Please don't punch each other – Ed.)
Persona 4 Arena patched on 360, XBL problems eradicated
Good news, everyone! The exceedingly laggy network play pervasive in the Xbox 360 version of Persona 4 Arena has been corrected in record time. The corrective patch is currently live and players will be prompted to update the game as soon as they load P4A up on a Live-enabled Xbox.Joystiq's preliminary testing indicates that the issue has indeed been solved, as all matches played synchronized quickly and were virtually indistinguishable from the game's offline framerate and performance. Unfortunately, this also means that we can no longer blame our devastating losses on performance issues.
Can RPG fans enjoy Persona 4 Arena too?
This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer. I've had Persona 4 Arena in my house for a week now, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around what a glorious oxymoron the game is. Has there ever been a more contradictory mash-up than fighting and role-playing?Fighting games, of all genres, have proven the most resistant to the "RPG elements" embraced by shooters, puzzlers, and even rhythm games. It's a genre predicated on the notion of a level playing field. Street Fighter and its ilk are hard enough to balance as it is without throwing in added variables like stat bonuses and special equipment.That's to say nothing of the fact that the play styles are oil and water. Fighting games are competitive, twitch-based affairs – not the best fit for the average RPG fan who enjoying whiling away the hours constructing an optimal party. Probably the closest thing we've had to a true fighting game/RPG hybrid is Dissidia Final Fantasy, which was definitely an interesting spinoff with some solid RPG elements, but couldn't really be called a traditional fighter. Persona 4 Arena, by contrast, is a classic 2D fighter that wholly embraces its setting and even adds to the overall lore. It's also more or less devoid of RPG mechanics though, which might be a tough sell for traditional fans of the series.So will fans of the Persona series find this unlikely spinoff to their liking? Here are a few thoughts from the perspective an RPG enthusiast who happens to be pretty bad at fighting games.%Gallery-160947%
Persona 4 Arena review: Scary monsters, nice sprites
As I've had an extensive history with Persona 4 Arena's older sisters BlazBlue and Guilty Gear XX #Reload, I felt I knew basically what kind of experience I had in store with Arc System Works' latest 2D anime fighter. I was wrong, as it turns out, in a surprising and endearing way.Now, while my knowledge of Arc System Works' back catalogue is virtually all-encompassing, my know-how of the Persona series is substantially less-than, which is to say "nonexistent." What a shock it was, then, to be thrown head-first into a developed, storied world with characters I've never known and places I've never seen, only to come out the other side deeply invested and hungry for more. Without a doubt, no fighting game has ever made me care about its characters like this.Persona 4 Arena gave me feelings.%Gallery-148152%
Persona 4 Arena videos display sick moves, goofy work environment
This latest quartet of trailers for Persona 4 Arena communicate two very important concepts: One, entering combinations of directional inputs and button presses result in impressive feats of daring do while playing, and two: Being a voice actor looks really, really fun.The behind the scenes video above gives a glimpse into the recording process for P4A's English dub, while the three other videos tucked beyond the veil break down Elizabeth, Labrys and Shadow Labrys' special move sets. Not only did we learn a bit more about the game's characters, but we also added the word "gesitantly" into our ever-growing vocabulary of portmanteau, which was a pleasant surprise. A "plurprise," if you will.
Persona 4 Arena screens take a break from fighting
These screens of Persona 4 Arena focus on things outside of the battlefield, like menus, the training room, dialogue and cutscenes. If you're tired of being inundated with fighting screens from this fighting game, this is ... the gallery you want, we guess.
Persona 4 Arena trailer is a spectator sport
For Persona 4 fans, Arena represents a new chapter in the storyline of the Atlus RPG universe. For everyone else, it's a bunch of stylish teens beating the elegantly appointed stuffing out of each other. Either way, it's a spectacle!
Atlus explains Persona 4 Arena's region lock, expresses surprise at 'force' of community disapproval
The unprecedented decision to region-lock the PS3 release of Persona 4 Arena will not lead to a "slippery slope," Atlus PR and sales manager Aram Jabbari said in a statement (available in full after the break)."This is NOT the beginning of a new ATLUS policy, nor do we view it as a precedent or a slippery slope," Jabbari said. "If anything, your determination and dedication to what you believe in has certainly stood in the face of that. This is an isolated case, a situation precipitated by a number of factors, some of which are simply out of our North American hands." He admits that Atlus was "completely unprepared for the force with which the community communicated their disapproval."Jabbari explained that the North American release contains both Japanese and English audio tracks, and will be released very close to the Japanese version (August 7 in North America and July 26 in Japan). "The unforeseen consequence in all of this was that we had a version of our biggest game of the year releasing within a couple weeks in two territories, both identical in content, but at radically different price points."Because of the difference between the yen and the dollar's values right now, this situation could lead to mass importing, which would "cannibalize the performance of a title in one territory to the benefit of another." For reference, the Japanese retail price of Persona 4 Arena is ¥7,329, roughly $92, versus $59.99 in North America."The decision to region-lock P4 Arena was a business one, one that has very clearly affected how many perceive the project," Jabbari concluded, "but we ask you to please not overlook the exceptional efforts of the people behind the game and to work with us through constructive dialogue."
Persona 4 Arena will be region locked on PS3
The PlayStation 3 version of Persona 4 Arena carries with it an unusual distinction: The Arc System Works-developed fighter will be region locked, meaning that North and South American copies of the game won't function on Japanese PS3s, and vice-versa."Yes, the PS3 version game will be region-locked. I certainly can't offer details as to why, but there might be an official response at some point," said an Atlus employee on the company's official forums."To reiterate, our version of the game works for the North and South America regions. Also keep in mind that both the NA and JP versions have both English and Japanese text/voice options, making them nearly identical. I'm unsure of what the case will be for the EU version."While Blu-ray film playback has been subject to regional limitations since the get go, PS3 games have only been limited by the differences between PAL and NTSC -- standards which have waned in relevance since HD televisions became more prevalent.
