Persona 4 Golden sold “much stronger than expected,” according to Sega. With the excellent showing on PC, players can expect more titles coming soon.
Sega saw how good Persona 4 Golden sold at launch, selling 500,000 copies in its first month. Since June, Sega further surprised itself with the game’s better performance. Now, the publisher is looking to keep the ball rolling with more games on PC.
Sega bosses promise more classic and new titles on PC
In a recent investor presentation, Sega Sammy bosses explained their future strategies. President and COO Haruki Satomi and SEVP and CFO Koichi Fukazawa led the way. According to them, P4G’s strong sales are encouraging them to more ported titles.
“We remastered ‘Persona 4 the Golden’, a title previously sold on the PlayStation Vita, and released it for sale on Steam this fiscal year,” says the team. “Because of the game’s critical acclaim and its low selling price, sales were much stronger than expected. We will continue to actively promote porting previously released titles to Steam and new platforms.”
“We are also negotiating with platform holders for new games in the future, and we’re considering ways to sell under favorable conditions for each title. Among them are measures such as preparing PC versions of the titles from the beginning, with multi-platform releases in mind.”
This initiative from Sega means more Atlus titles in the coming years. Fans in the West can also expect more anime games and Japan-exclusives going westward. Games that have stayed in Japan will now enjoy more love through a worldwide release.
Atlus success may mean more Japanese titles going West
Japanese studios are notorious for keeping games away from the West. Their perceived lack of understanding of the Western market keeps them at bay. Releasing for PC is also a broader issue for many devs in Japan.
PC gaming in Japan is an emerging platform. Much of gaming in Japan is mobile, with gacha titles and the Nintendo Switch. For example, the PS Vita was a hit in Japan while it fumbled out in the West.
Sega has now discovered that international releases rake a lot of money. The craving for Japanese market titles, when done right, can generate a ton of support. The PC as a platform is also more legitimate than it ever was.
Sega is making good on their promise of more titles to the West and PC. Yakuza Like A Dragon is a testament to that, with a multi-platform release on November 13. This international release comes only 10 months after it came out in Japan.
Persona 4 Golden created more than simple sales for Japanese devs. It also opened their minds to the potentially untapped western market for more game titles.
Images courtesy of Official ATLUS West, Playstation/Youtube Screenshot