Persona 5 just came out, and it was truly incredible- it is arguably the best game released this year, and indeed, all generation. But Atlus is looking ahead to the next mainline game in the series. In a recruitment page on their website, involving recruitment for the next game in the series, Persona 6 (via Persona Central), Atlus director Naoto Hiraoka discussed where the series can go from here.
“Unfortunately, the hurdles to overcome [in game development] increase every year,” Haraoka says. “Thanks to the large amount of support we received for Persona 5, we have gotten a sense of accomplishment. But we can’t stop there. When we created Persona 4, there was pressure that it had to exceed Persona 3. Now, we will have to create a 6 which exceeds 5. However, exceeding 5 will be difficult with the current staff. I would like to surpass this tall hurdle with everyone who joins us in this recruitment. The workplace is perfect for those who want a creative challenge when it comes to bringing games to the world.”
I think this is where Atlus has hit a wall- they are a pretty small developer, and they are probably incapable of actually being able to top Persona 5 with their current staff and manpower. It sounds like they are currently recruiting to fix that problem- but that also means that a Persona 6 is farther away than one would like.
Persona 5 launched earlier this month on PS3 and PS4, and sold 1.5 million units worldwide, becoming the first game in the series to break into the mainstream- the pressure on Atlus is therefore understandable. I have faith in them to not mess up, a mainline Persona game has not disappointed in a very long time. But I am hoping the wait for the next game is not as long as the wait for Persona 5 was.
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