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What is up with Atlus? (Regarding new Switch titles)

Elven_Star

Elven_Star

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,972
Specifically, where are the Switch games? By mid-2013, which was 3DS's second year, they already had six games out on that system:
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked
  • Sparkle Snapshots 3D
  • Etrian Odyssey IV
  • Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
  • Shin Megami Tensei IV
  • Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl
We are in the second year of Switch now, and all we have got is one game with no release date in sight, Shin Megami Tensei V. What's going on?
 
Weiss

Weiss

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
64,265
HD development is a lot harder than handheld.

Also they've been releasing games on other consoles.
 
Imran

Imran

Member
Oct 24, 2017
6,598
They have pretty much always struggled with HD development. Graphically, their games are a lot more complex than before, which is why their most of their games this generation have been smaller titles (like Dancing), outsourced, massively-delayed JRPGs, revisions of those JRPGs, and remasters of games from last generation that were not too terribly demanding in the fist place.
 
Jessie

Jessie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,921
I have a feeling UE4 had a bigger learning curve than they expected.

Once SMTV is done, the sky is the limit. We know how much they love to reuse engines and assets.
 
nsilvias

nsilvias

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,805
atlus is a small dev and ds/3ds games and ports are alot easier to make then hd games.
i feel like alot of people think atlus is some triple aaa dev with tons employees when they aren't
 
KtotheRoc

KtotheRoc

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,679
Atlus isn't a big studio, and game development is time consuming/expensive.
 
aiswyda

aiswyda

Member
Aug 11, 2018
3,093
I think it's just nothing has been as easy to change to switch as a lot of the early 3DS titles were (making the leap from ds to 3ds vs 3ds to switch I mean)

The switch isn't quite powerful enough to run P5 or Catherine's remake at their intended fidelity, but is different enough from the 3DS that it's probably a hassle to transfer PQ2 dev from 3ds to Switch given they had the entirety of the first game's system to work off.

I do wish P3D and P5D got ported to switch tho as the vita version works well and I'd assume it wouldn't be as much work as the other ports given the switch and vita have similar ish tech and shapes
 
bulletyen

bulletyen

Member
Nov 12, 2017
1,309
Project-Re-Fantasy-Concept-Art-696x392.jpg


Look how long Persona 5 took to release, and that was actually a last gen game. This is their next big thing, hold on to your seats, it's gonna be a while.
 
FluxWaveZ

FluxWaveZ

Persona Central
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
10,890
bulletyen said:
Hmm I thought they started working on this first. SMTV might release first but my gut tells me this is bigger.
Also I would say mainline SMT has never been their "big thing" at any point, especially for western audiences.
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SMT III: Nocturne was such a big deal that "Shin Megami Tensei" was aded as a label to Persona 3 and Persona 4 in the West.
 
Jessie

Jessie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,921
SMT was their big thing up until the great Persona 4 milkening tbh.

I still think SMTV can become a Fire Emblem tier hit if they really invest in their characters and gameplay.
 
SinCityAssassin

SinCityAssassin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,172
aiswyda said:
I think it's just nothing has been as easy to change to switch as a lot of the early 3DS titles were (making the leap from ds to 3ds vs 3ds to switch I mean)

The switch isn't quite powerful enough to run P5 or Catherine's remake at their intended fidelity, but is different enough from the 3DS that it's probably a hassle to transfer PQ2 dev from 3ds to Switch given they had the entirety of the first game's system to work off.

I do wish P3D and P5D got ported to switch tho as the vita version works well and I'd assume it wouldn't be as much work as the other ports given the switch and vita have similar ish tech and shapes
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Fullbody is a vita game, dude. P5 is a PS3 game, dude.
 
brambles13

brambles13

Member
Oct 27, 2017
546
Jessie said:
SMT was their big thing up until the great Persona 4 milkening tbh.

I still think SMTV can become a Fire Emblem tier hit if they really invest in their characters and gameplay.
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I really doubt this just based on the nature of SMT. The series is niche and doesn't have the romance elements that give FE its high sales. Unless they turn SMT into Persona I doubt this happens.

detuned radios said:
nonsense, p5 was on ps3 and catherine fullbody is on vita
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This. Switch is more than powerful enough to run both of these games, they aren't exactly cutting edge graphically either.
 
Lord Vatek

Lord Vatek

Avenger
Jan 18, 2018
21,518
There was a period where Atlus could have pulled a Falcom and went "screw graphics, put that money towards everything else" but they screwed that up with Persona 5. Now expectations are high.
 
Secretofmateria

Secretofmateria

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,424
Weiss said:
HD development is a lot harder than handheld.

Also they've been releasing games on other consoles.
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Yep thats pretty much it. They cant make games in sd anymore which they did for a long time. Most of their teams are probably still figuring out how to make assets that look okay under closer scrutiny
 
Jessie

Jessie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,921
brambles13 said:
I really doubt this just based on the nature of SMT. The series is niche and doesn't have the romance elements that give FE its high sales. Unless they turn SMT into Persona I doubt this happens.
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SMT has been turning into Persona for years. Apocalypse and Strange Journey Redux were both steps in that direction.
 
Mauricio_Magus

Mauricio_Magus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,035
I can't wait for Etrian Odyssey on Switch.

They are obviously using everything they got to make it the best game of all time.
 
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bulletyen

bulletyen

Member
Nov 12, 2017
1,309
FluxWaveZ said:
SMT III: Nocturne was such a big deal that "Shin Megami Tensei" was aded as a label to Persona 3 and Persona 4 in the West.
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That's the opposite of what I know. I thought Persona was one of the many spin offs of the SMT games from the start (the lore etc). It might not have had the branding at the beginning because SMT was never a big deal in the west, it would have made no difference.

I have no idea why they added it to P3 and later, but I find it hard to believe that it was for brand recognition. Persona became so popular beyond SMT fans I feel it's the other way around and now brings more attention to SMT to people who didn't care before. Also Nocturne couldn't have been a big deal, the game was so niche it became rare at one point until they reprinted it.
 
Sqrt

Sqrt

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,880
User Warned: Platform Warring and Trolling
Switch audience seems to be fine with SD graphics, though.
 
Linkura

Linkura

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,943
I mean it took them 84 years to develop and release Persona 5. So much so that the PS3 was already dead by the time it released. Can't really expect anything that isn't a cash-grab or remaster from them in a timely manner after that.
 
Wamb0wneD

Wamb0wneD

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
18,735
HD development.
And in general Atlus is just one of the weirdest companies out there. Their stance on SMTV and P5 will never make sense to me.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,932
Linkura said:
I mean it took them 84 years to develop and release Persona 5. So much so that the PS3 was already dead by the time it released. Can't really expect anything that isn't a cash-grab or remaster from them in a timely manner after that.
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TMS happened pretty quick but Nintendo runs a tighter ship I guess.
 
OP
OP
Elven_Star

Elven_Star

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,972
Linkura said:
I mean it took them 84 years to develop and release Persona 5. So much so that the PS3 was already dead by the time it released. Can't really expect anything that isn't a cash-grab or remaster from them in a timely manner after that.
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They had over 50 releases between Persona 4 and Persona 5 though.
 
Hoa

Hoa

Member
Jun 6, 2018
4,304
The games will start rolling once they release SMTV. Positive Etrian is going to start coming over.
 
FluxWaveZ

FluxWaveZ

Persona Central
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
10,890
bulletyen said:
That's the opposite of what I know. I thought Persona was one of the many spin offs of the SMT games from the start (the lore etc). It might not have had the branding at the beginning because SMT was never a big deal in the west, it would have made no difference.

I have no idea why they added it to P3 and later, but I find it hard to believe that it was for brand recognition. Persona became so popular beyond SMT fans I feel it's the other way around and now brings more attention to SMT to people who didn't care before. Also Nocturne couldn't have been a big deal, the game was so niche it became rare at one point until they reprinted it.
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You're thinking of Persona 4 onwards. There was a time before then, where Persona was very much niche.

Atlus project director Naoto Hiraoka has stated in the past that SMTIII: Nocturne signified a turning point for Atlus as a whole, because of its widely positive reception when, before, their games were crititcally mixed. This caused Atlus to shift their priorities and focus on game quality for development moving forward.

And while I can't seem to find it, it was explicitly stated by Atlus USA that "SMT" was added to the Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 1 PSP labels in the West because they had found it to be of a more known brand in the West thanks to SMTIII: Nocturne than Persona. I mean, there's a reason it was added when it wasn't in Japan, and subsequently removed as the series became popular.

Now, of course it's a different story regarding the popularity between Persona and SMT in the West, but saying that SMT was "never" a big thing compared to Persona is just wrong. For SMTV, it'll be the series' first fully fledged, mainline entry on a console in over 15 years. They're treating it as special as it seems.

Edit: Here, from an interview with localization director Yu Namba:
Kawashina: "A lot of other elements also added to the popular reception, right? For instance, the PS2's title was "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4", but the "Shin Megami Tensei" title wasn't in the Japanese version. Is there a reason for that?"

Namba: "I think that between around 2003 to 2004, the "Shin Megami Tensei" brand name had just been established in North America. Their first title was "Shin Megami Tensei III: NOCTURNE." Ever since, other Shin Megami Tensei series also came to use the "Shin Megami Tensei" name in English."

Kawashima: "And the official North American title for Persona 4: The Golden became Persona 4: Golden."

Namba: "Throughout the year of 2012, we were finishing up the North American releases of not only P4G, but also Persona 4: Mayonaka Arena, and we came to the opinion that if both games used "Shin Megami Tensei", their titles would be too long. Also, for reasons relevant to the original game's release, I wanted the titles to start with "Persona 4." We left the Japanese title for P4A as is, but for the North American version, we played with the title "Persona 4: Complete Edition (Ultimate)", but we figured that Persona 4: Arena would be much simpler to understand for a fighting game. P4G's title was also subject to this, as it also didn't feel right grammatically. So Persona 4: Golden lost the "The" from the Japanese edition."
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justiceiro

justiceiro

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
6,664
Why do people keep pretending that how long it takes for atlus games to come out is something new? Persona 5 took forever to come out. TMS#FE took forever to come out. All of them had years between announcment and the first footage.

I guess nino kuni 2 came out quickier, but that game was not atlus best output if i remember correctly.

And please op, you and us all know damm well the difference between a game we expect for 3ds and one for switch. Don't try to use this failed comparasion again.
 
KZXcellent

KZXcellent

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,969
justiceiro said:
Why do people keep pretending that how long it takes for atlus games to come out is something new? Persona 5 took forever to come out. TMS#FE took forever to come out. All of them had years between announcment and the first footage.

I guess nino kuni 2 came out quickier, but that game was not atlus best output if i remember correctly.

And please op, you and us all know damm well the difference between a game we expect for 3ds and one for switch. Don't try to use this failed comparasion again.
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NNK2 is Level 5
 
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