Last month, European fans learned that Atlus' highly anticipated Persona 5 would be coming to Europe; and now, they know when that day will be: Feb. 14, 2017 — the same day as the United States.
The news comes courtesy of Deep Silver, the same company that became a hero in the eyes of many European gamers last month when it announced that it would be publishing Persona 5 (and several other Atlus games) now that Atlus and NIS America have broken ties.
In the announcement, made on Twitter, Deep Silver revealed that Persona 5 will release in Europe and PAL countries on Feb. 14, 2017. What's more, just like with the United States, fans in Europe will also be able to preorder the game in SteelBook and Premium Editions, though those will only be available for the PS4 version.
Persona 5 will release in Europe & PAL countries on...
~February 14, 2017~
SteelBook and Premium Editions? Check! pic.twitter.com/2xkPhQ1ecP— Official Deep Silver (@deepsilver) August 9, 2016
It's been quite the ride for Persona fans in the past few months. Everything began in April, when NIS America marketing director Takuro Yamashita announced that the company had decided to sever ties with Atlus in Europe, saying it became too difficult to work with Atlus ever since it was acquired by SEGA.
"Atlus became very picky about selecting the European publishing partner after it was bought by Sega," he said at the time. "It always cherry picked its EU publishing partner based on who offered the highest minimum guarantee on a title by title basis. I noticed that it was very difficult for NIS America to establish an equal partnership with Atlus."
The results of this were quite clear back then: Persona 5 and other Atlus games might not be coming to Europe since there was no one there that would publish it, meaning that fans there would have to resort to buying an imported copy (which costs extra) instead.
Later on, things looked like they could take a turn for the better in May, when SEGA Europe said it was "very interested" in publishing Atlus games in Europe. The declaration was a rare one as SEGA Europe rarely publishes its own games, meaning that fans wouldn't have to import the game if the company followed through. However, since SEGA Europe is known for having frequent release delays and suboptimal service, meaning that while European fans might get Persona 5, they would likely have to suffer through quite a lot before they finally got their hands on it.
Fortunately, things decidedly got better last month, when Deep Silver announced it would publish Persona 5 and other Atlus games in Europe, putting any fears about the games' futures to rest. At the time, the only thing fans didn't know was a concrete release date, and now, that matter has been settled as well.
No doubt, the best part of the announcement is that it will be coming on the same day as the U.S. version, as many fans had resigned themselves to being forced to wait a bit longer for the game to arrive in their region — even if they knew they were coming.
Of course, now that fans know when Persona 5 is coming to Europe, they too will have to suffer as they wait for the game arrive. How long, you ask? Six months and five days. In the meantime, we can collectively look on in envy when the game arrives in Japan on Sept. 15.
