Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Hey, Atlus USA: It's about time you made a few 3DS game announcements, don't you think?

Specifically, I'd love for you to announce North American release dates for Etrian Odyssey IVDevil Summoner: Soul Hackers and Shin Megami Tensei IV.

Of course, Shin Megami Tensei IV has yet to receive even a Japanese release date, so it's unlikely North American gamers are going to get a release date for our region anytime soon.

An announcement that the game will, indeed, be brought to our shores at some point (hopefully next year) shouldn't be out of the question, though, don't you think?

Speaking of Shin Megami Tensei IV, Atlus' Japanese arm released a new, rather gorgeous trailer of the game yesterday morning. Here it is:



Doesn't it look divine?

I have to say, the first thought that popped into my head while watching the trailer above was, "Man, this would look great on the 3DS XL."

As such, I really hope Nintendo of America lets it be known soon that it'll be bringing the PINKxWHITE 3DS LL to our shores later this year or early next.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

19 comments:

warp said...

You already know I love this, but I just wanted to say my favorite moments from the trailer are:

- pixelated old guy's head at 1:48

- beefy golden man torso at 1:52 (which is probably a closeup of the naked statue at :18)

Bryan Ochalla said...

I love the pixelated old man head, too, warp. As for the beefy golden man torso: I don't remember that! Oh, well, I won't mind watching it again :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

warp: Ah, I just watched it again, and I think you're right -- I'm pretty sure the beefy, golden man torso is a close-up of the same statue shown at the :18 mark :)

Retr0gamer said...

SMT IV is pretty much the only game I'm excited for. Can't wait for that. But yeah I really would like them to calm my fears and announce Soul Hackers and Etrian Odyssey IV for the west. Also I'd really like if they announced Persona 2 Eternal Punishment for PSP. It's a long shot but if they release it with PS Vita backwards compatibility I could still see it worth their effort localising it.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Wait, you're only excited for SMT IV, but you also want Atlus to announce Soul Hackers and Etrian Odyssey IV, Retr0gamer? Why's that?

I have a feeling all three will be released here eventually, by the way. Certainly SMT IV and EO IV will be released here, at any rate.

As for Persona 2: EP -- That one will be interesting, won't it? I mean, the ship sailed on the PSP a long time ago, so it's prospects can't be too good. Of course, I guess they could release it on PSN and then make it Vita compatible?

Retr0gamer said...

At least with Persona 2 EP we have a great PS1 version already but I would like to have both on the PSP rather than giving a lot of money to an ebay trader for a copy.

I do want Soul Hackers (which I own already on the saturn but that damned language barrier!) and Etrian Odyssey and will be picking them up day one if released. However I'm pretty jaded with new games at the moment and have no interest in most new releases that have been announced on the home consoles. Watching the two SMT IV trailers was the first time in a very long time when I got butterflies in my stomach and said to myself 'I really can't wait for that!'.

I'd probably be more excited for EO IV if not for the fact that I've only started the first game and have another 2 in the series to get through and they seem very long! Absolutely loving it though!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, I understand now, Retr0gamer. I also got butterflies in my stomach while viewing the SMT IV trailer. So many awesome scenes! I even rather like the looks of the battle scenes -- which some others seem to hate.

As for being a bit less excited about EO IV because you haven't finished the previous games: I understand that, too. I made it pretty far in the first EO before being distracted by something else, and that's my only real experience with the series thus far. (I haven't even bought EO 2 or 3!) Still, I'm planning to pick up EO IV on day one.

Retr0gamer said...

I think the battles look fantastic. I'll take gorgeous 2D art over polygons any day. There's a lot of moaning that it's not on a home console but a good games a good game no matter what system it's on. At the moment I much prefer portable gaming so it's a win-win for me! It's the logical choice as well for Atlus since 3DS commands the biggest market share at the moment in terms of games sold on each platform.

I'm also very interested in seeing what looks like a female protagonist. There's really not enough in videogames and I find they are more interesting than male ones, so much so that in western RPGs I usually pick the female option.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hello again! Oh, I'll take 2D art over polygons any day, too -- or nearly any day, I guess. Actually, I just like good art, so if you have to (or want to) use sprites to achieve that, fine by me.

I also agree with you about the moaning about SMT IV not being on a console. Like you, I prefer portable gaming to console gaming at the moment, so the more games that are released for handhelds the better, if you ask me.

As for SMT IV possibly featuring a female protagonist: I, too, am curious about that! Really can't wait to hear more about this game...

Melody (Lizzi) said...

°o° finally a good trailer!
I really have to buy this new Shin Megami Tensei-game.

diaglyph said...

Yea the game looks great :D
I can't wait! Tho I'm sure english version will likely come out late next year and add another 6-12 months after US release for PAL regions release (since Atlus can't be bothered releasing their games in PAL regions and us players need to rely on someone like Ghostlight to bring it over *shakes fist at Atlus* Devil Survivor Overclocked and #2 still dont have release date, just a vague later this year, but I think its ridiculous that it will probably be nearly 12 months after the US release that PAL regions will get it! I should also add I HATE REGION LOCKING).
As you can see I kinda have a love/hate for Atlus - love their games, but hate their distribution method.
I'm also looking forward to Soul Hackers - though I'm expecting same thing. Comes to US first, 6 to 12 months later may come out in PAL regions.

Bryan Ochalla said...

You and me both, Melody! And, yes, FINALLY a real trailer for this game. Can't wait until it's released :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, yes, Igor, I'm sure you're right about this not being released in the US until late next year. I'm sorry all of you non-North Americans have to wait even longer, by the way. I wonder why Atlus refuses to release their games themselves in Australia, Europe, etc.? Are they just too small of a company to do that?

As for hating region-locking: ME, TOO! Seriously, I'm actually looking forward to the day the 3DS is hacked, just so someone can figure out how to make the damn thing region-free. All I want to do is be able to play Japanese games (that I'll BUY, of course) on my US system. Is that so much to ask? I guess so...

diaglyph said...

I think I remember reading somewhere that someone emailed them and asked them and they got a response back saying it was too expensive or something.
Well I don't see NIS having any issues with releasing their niche-like games in PAL regions?!
I just think they can't be bothered or don't care (that's just how it comes across to me)

Bryan Ochalla said...

I can see how it could be too expensive to do themselves, of course, but that shouldn't preclude them from finding a partner who could help distribute the games in other regions. Maybe they just don't want to deal with the hassle?

Kaze said...

So excited for this!!! I love all the Megami Tensei games and spin-offs! Shin Megami Tensei III was one of my favorite PS2 games!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, that's great to hear, Kaze! Atlus needs to hurry up and release the game in Japan already so we can really start to think about the North American version :)

Retr0gamer said...

Atlus don't have a distribution center in Europe so don't distribute games here. It's unfortunate that Europeans have to wait months for Atlus games or never receive them but it's not really Atlus's fault. Region locking and Atlus games is the reason I forked out extra for a US 3DS rather than a PAL system.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yeah, I thought that was the case -- or something similar. Still, I wonder if they've ever explored partnering with someone in Europe to distribute their games?

Anyway, just another reason it sucks that Nintendo decided to region-lock its handhelds this gen :|