{"id":41996,"date":"2024-12-24T15:30:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T06:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=41996"},"modified":"2024-12-24T15:30:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T06:30:06","slug":"atlus-approach-to-making-persona-games-is-akin-to-giving-users-deadly-poison-wrapped-in-a-sweet-coating-according-to-producer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/atlus-approach-to-making-persona-games-is-akin-to-giving-users-deadly-poison-wrapped-in-a-sweet-coating-according-to-producer\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlus\u2019 approach to making Persona games is akin to \u201cgiving users deadly poison wrapped in a sweet coating,\u201d according to producer\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the CEDEC+KYUSHU 2024 developers\u2019 conference held in Japan on November 23, 2024, Persona <\/strong>series creative producer Kazuhisa Wada held a presentation about various aspects of the franchise, including how Atlus approaches making Persona games now compared to the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Persona<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to a detailed report on Wada\u2019s lecture by Game Makers,<\/a> the creator considers 2006\u2019s Persona 3 to be a turning point for the Persona series and Atlus\u2019 values as a game developer. Before the release of Persona 3, Atlus acted on a set of values Wada nicknames \u201cOnly One.\u201d This approach prioritized edginess, shock value and impact, and was characterized by the mindset of making niche games with a \u201cif they like it, they like it, if they don\u2019t, they don\u2019t\u201d kind of attitude.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Wada himself was attracted to Atlus precisely because of this uncompromising policy, he comments that the company culture<\/a> at the time basically made it \u201cuncool\u201d to even think about whether a game is going to sell or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Persona<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, Persona 3 transformed Atlus\u2019s values. As opposed to the previous \u201cOnly One\u201d policy, Wada dubs the post-Persona 3 policy \u201cUnique & Universal.\u201d This approach revolves around making content that is both unique and relatable. In other words, this is when Atlus started actively thinking about marketability, as well as making their games understandable and enjoyable for users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo put it more succinctly, it\u2019s like serving players deadly poison wrapped in a sweet coating,\u201d Wada explains. The poison he refers to is the old-school Atlus pursuit of impactful and striking content, while the sweet shell refers to stylish design choices and attractive and comical characters made to appeal to a wide target audience. According to Wada, this \u201cUnique & Universal\u201d approach is something Atlus intends to pursue in the Persona series\u2019 future as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Persona<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With Sega recently calling Atlus one of their most successful acquisitions to date<\/a> in the face of strong Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio sales, it seems this tactic is working well for the developer.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Persona series creative producer Kazuhisa Wada talks about how Atlus’s approach to making Persona games has transformed through the years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":41998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-41996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nAtlus\u2019 approach to making Persona games is akin to \u201cgiving users deadly poison wrapped in a sweet coating,\u201d according to producer\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Persona series creative producer Kazuhisa Wada talks about how Atlus's approach to making Persona games has transformed through the years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/atlus-approach-to-making-persona-games-is-akin-to-giving-users-deadly-poison-wrapped-in-a-sweet-coating-according-to-producer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Atlus\u2019 approach to making Persona games is akin to \u201cgiving users deadly poison wrapped in a sweet coating,\u201d according to producer\u00a0 - 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