In what seems yet another questionable business move from Atlus (after the Persona 5 streaming debacle), the company has now tried to take down Nekotekina’s Patreon page for funding the development of RPCS3, an open-source PS3 emulator, via a DMCA takedown request. According to the team developing RPCS3, the reasoning Atlus put forward to Patreon was the following:
Atlus U.S.A. has released the E3 2017 trailer for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, the latest game from developer Vanillaware. Recently, they had already confirmed the game is heading West. The recently unveiled website for the game can be found here. You can view the trailer, along with a few screenshots, below!
Atlus has announced that they’ll be releasing a remake of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, which was originally released for the Nintendo DS. Titled Shin Megami Tensei: Deep Strange Journey, the game is an enhanced port of the original, scheduled to be released on the Nintendo 3DS this fall in Japan. The official website can be found here, and you can view the first trailer for the game below.
In their on-going Spring 2017 live stream, Atlus has announced that they’ll be collaborating with Spike Chunsoft again to release Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2. The game will be released on August August 31 in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS. They’ll also be releasing a limited 10th Anniversary Box edition for the game. You can view the first trailer for the game below, while the official website can be found here.
During their Spring 2017 live stream, Atlus has revealed the first trailer for their recently announced remake for the 3DS RPG Radiant Historia, titled Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology. The game is scheduled to be released on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on June 29th. Alongside a standard release, it will also receive a limited “Perfect edition”. You can view the trailer below!
2017 marks the 10th anniversary of Atlus’s dungeon crawling RPG series Etrian Odyssey. Series character designer Yuji Himukai tweeted a gorgeous illustration to commemorate the milestone featuring the many party classes found throughout the series. Originally released on January 18, 2007 on Nintendo DS, Etrian Odyssey provided a new twist on the dungeon crawler format with dual screen information display and map drawing with a touch screen. Powerful enemies roaming the labyrinths called F.O.E. add tension to the exploration, as these monsters can still walk around on the map and enter your on-going battle against a different enemy should you attempt to escape their pursuit. The series’ lead composer is Yuzo Koshiro, a name that might sound familiar to long-time SEGA fans, as he worked on the soundtrack for the Streets of Rage games and The Revenge of Shinobi.
Atlus and Deep Silver will be handling the localization of two Utawarerumono games – Mask of Deception, and Mask of Truth – to be released for both Playstation Vita and Playstation 4. Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception is slated for release in the Spring of 2017, while Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception is slated for release in the Fall of 2017. Notably, both releases of the Utawarerumono games will feature Japanese voice tracks with English subtitles.
Utawarerumono is a series of games developed by Aquaplus, which you may know for Aquapazza or Tears to Tiara. It combines SRPG and visual novel gameplay elements.
As far as I know, there wasn’t prior indication for the localization of these games, but it does allow more gamers access to this series of titles that they might not have otherwise had in the same manner.
Atlus USA does note that they had to edit out some content in Mask of Deception with regards to “physical discipline of minors”, but this editing was portrayed as one part of the collaborative relationship between Atlus USA as publisher and Aquaplus as developer.
In North America, both Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth will be available physically and digitally on both Vita and Playstation 4, while in Europe the Vita versions of the games will only be available digitally (both physical and digital still being an option on Playstation 4.)
Below, please find the announcement teaser trailer for Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception, accompanied by Atlus USA’s press statement announcing the game’s release. Full copy of the statement courtesy of Gematsu. Our article is closed by a batch of screenshots to promote Mask of Deception.
A preview video for a new game from the Shin Megami Tensei series was unveiled amidst the titles on display during the just-passed Nintendo Switch presentation. The video itself was rather short, mostly focused on showing off a dilapidated urban locale from the inside of a building. This world is shortly brought to life by the presence of many familiar Shin Megami Tensei demons, as seen in our featured image.
Development for the game has just begun, and Atlus is listed as the sole developer. The trailer notes that the game will be made with Unreal Engine 4. There isn’t an official title listed for this new Shin Megami Tensei series title right now, but the end of the preview video did display a work-in-progress title card, as shown below:
There is no word yet on release window. Toshihiro Nagoshi of SEGA was briefly present during the Nintendo Switch presentation to announce that SEGA is exploring game development ideas and will be working with the Nintendo Switch in the future, and it seems that Atlus’s new Shin Megami Tensei title would be leading the way in this regard.
This new game is likely the main game that will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Shin Megami Tensei series. A website for the 25th anniversary of the franchise was recently unveiled, but as of this article’s publishing it hasn’t been updated to reflect the announcement of a new Shin Megami Tensei game.
Will this be a spinoff title? Or a new mainline entry? What do you expect, or hope to see? Be sure to let us know!
(UPDATE)
For those who would like to view the preview trailer by itself, we have attached it below for your viewing (credited to GameSpot):
(UPDATE 2 – 1/13/2017)
Atlus of Japan’s Twitter account has announced that a Shin Megami Tensei game for the 3DS is also in development, alongside the new game for the Nintendo Switch. Nothing else is known, but we’ll keep you posted!
Recently Atlus asked prominent game directors around Japan to voice their support to the new “Studio Zero” development studio from Atlus. These included videos from Toshihiro Nagoshi (Yakuza series) and Satoshi Sakai (Phantasy Star Online 2), but the one that really stood out (and also got by far the most views) was the message from Yoko Taro, the director of NieR and Drakengard. Wearing his typical mask from the NieR games, Yoko delivered an unusual and humorous message. Instead of sending a formal message of support, he talked about the potential impact that Studio Zero’s new game may have on the NieR franchise.
Atlus U.S.A. has issued a press release today regarding the formation of Studio Zero, a new internal studio of Atlus in Japan. We wrote more about the studio in an earlier article, and the official press release below contains more information. At the same time, Atlus of Japan has updated the new website and also posted a concept video for the new game the studio will be working on, currently titled PROJECT Re FANTASY. The video features real-life footage and outlines Atlus’ vision for the game. It seems the reaction to the video isn’t entirely favorable, as some people apparently expected gameplay footage. Keep in mind the team was only just formed and PROJECT Re FANTASY is still in the concept phase.