Index, the company which just announced the dissolution of beloved RPG maker Atlus, recently unveiled the latest title in the Persona franchise – Persona 3 Social, a mobile phone game promising the latest in “social” gaming with the advanced graphical capabilities of a mobile phone handset, and with players nickelled and dimed for each item.
An actual screenshot of an exciting boss battle in progress:
The game itself is free, but players will have to pay for items and other elements.
Index Holdings, the parent company into which Atlus is being so ignominiously folded, have stated current development plans will be unaffected and that the Atlus name will continue to be used to publish its games – it is claimed the merger will allow the two companies to make better use of their respective strengths and IPs, a one-sided arrangement if ever there were one.
With the Index conglomerate dwarfing Atlus in size, and with its core business mostly concerned with mobile phone development, including such marvels as Persona 3 Social and “Bowlingual,” an iPhone application for talking to dogs, the scepticism of long time Atlus fans as to the future direction of Atlus is understandable.
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The fuck is this?
I know a masterpiece when I see one.
And this isn't one.
This is more like Pokemon: Facebook version.
Joey wants to add you to his friends list.
Accept or Ignore?
God saves those that actually accept that...
Icy-nee-san has appear! What do you do?
1. Attack
2. Defend
3. Magic
4. Item
5. Run away
More like:
*insert name* has appear! What do you do?
1. Attack
2. Defend
3. Magic
4. Item
5. Run away
6. Add as friend
7. Check his/hers wall
Atlus will be sorely missed... with a river of tears if this merger bombs the way I am thinking. I will support the Atlus name even if it means I have to import the Catherine game for an eye or a leg...
@Anonymous 16:28 31/08/2010
6.Genuflect
Worse comes to worse, just ignore the dipshit stuff they'll be forced to make, and focus on the good items.
Support the quality items and dismiss the shitty crap that they might be forced to dish out.
Fuck this
agree...fuck this shit!!!
i wish i'm rich so that i can buy atlus n let them do what they do best -- being awesome...
FUCKING SCRUBCUNT GAMES NOWADAYS!
The idea of playing games is to be antisocial and have fun by yourself but NO!! these idiots have to play some "social games". If its possible to dissolve a company that is already dissolved I wouldn't be surprised.
Oh, look, it's the shit game they were already talking about. Pay for each item? They'd have to pay me. lulz
The first movement by Index possibly. We still have Catherine, and the promised Persona 5 at the least.
As long as they deliver Catherine and give us Persona 5 that is >= Persona 4, they can make all of the crappy mobile games they want.
All the old geezer CEOs and producers who don't know anything about games read the news, see how Google is buying Farmville's creator for 100s of millions of dollars and think wow, this is where all the money is at!
So they decide to make a cell phone version of persona which no persona fans will buy and try to create a new market of casual gamers who likely has no interest whatsoever in persona to begin with. Idiot move that alienates persona fans.
Ideally, this title will flop and rather than scrapping atlus altogether, they will go back to making real games.
Or even if they fire all the good developers, at least they might be able to start a new studio or at least put their talent to use somewhere good...
P3S... The "S" stands for shit.
Wow, that's incredibly clever.
And Xbox 360S too...?
Eh...? P3S stands for Persona 3 Social, not Play 3 Station.
Butthurt anon is butthurt
Smells like capitalism and telco trouble.
So a moblie-platform of RPG with AP shops to siphon our money? Interesting...
This should get the kiddies hooked to their phones... =_=
" The game itself is free, but players will have to pay for items and other elements. " Typical of MMOs that promises free-to-play yet indulges in cutting out most of the necessary stuff and placed a tag price on them.
IE "My mommy won't let me buy a smartphone because of the data plan!"
A new mobile game based on a franchise you like. Gonna cry about it?
Atlus + Index = To Atlus no Index...
It's a Persona game for mobile phones, but that's not important right now.
I am still waiting for that "Persona 5" they're aiming for.
This is nice I guess, but it's still not the full experience Persona fans should expect out of the next big one.
I hope the next Persona is just as filled with good intentions (or bad, depending on choices) and maybe with more endings and more emotionally charged storylines. LOVED P4. IMO the best JRPG of the PS2 library, even if it came out WAY late in June 2008. lol
It's ugly. And I got no phone.
D not fear... because "it" won't leave Japan.
It better not. I don't want some stupid idiot raving into the Persona forums. It's already difficult trying to educate the mainstream audience who just don't get it yet sticks with it since they've been hooked.
I don't want to have to start educating middle class white twelve year olds who just got this new game on their app so that their mother and father can continue ignoring them to keep bringing in the bacon they so desperately need... so that they can buy that new couch he's been whining about.
Who saw this coming after that earlier announcement?
*timidly raises hand
Something that will never see the light of day outside of Japan.
I sincerely hope so.
GOD DAM IT!!!
It's the fucking future of all of fucking Atlus games, AKA, the fucking death of any good jRPGs
Good! Great! Amazing!!
Make the stupid god damn persona fans suffer! Glad they're making the other game and the unannounced PS3 title still has a chance at being SMT 4.
SMT4 was Strange Journey, n00b.
This is all in all is fine, but I really hope P5 appears at TGS. They've been bleeding P3 to Square Enix Final Fantasy VII.
Next one will be P4 Portable.
Look at that Exciting I-Phone Gaming, SO Intense!
Yea, looks like Index is just going to stick the Persona name on every shovelware title for the sake of sales.
Like they haven't been doing already?
NO NO NOOOOo fuck is this? it's no persona it's pure milking wtf rage!
I can see a bright future for "Atlus" indeed, I mean the flames coming from all the burning merchandise related to this "game" that angry fans will set on fire will be bright after all.
Boohoo, a company is making more games in the series i like!
Fuuuuuuuuuu!
Only reason I even considered buying a PS3 was the prospect of a Persona 5.
Looks like it ain't happening.
I wonder if they'll be releasing a new persona 3 for the PS3 next...
Er, haven't we known about the general fail of Persona 3 Social for a while now? I seem to recall similar news and commentary about it from quite a while ago.
It was only just released.
Recently released, but announced quite some while ago.
Those screenshots came out at least two weeks ago
That is recent.
Nice job. That kind of recent coverage is why I read Sankaku Complex, you guys publish the news just two weeks after it happens.