The teams behind Persona 6 and Persona 4 Revival have apparently never made games with the goal of appealing to "the global market." The fact that Atlus' RPG series about Japanese high-schoolers has traveled across the world is only a happy accident.
That's according to Kazuhisa Wada - the general producer of the entire franchise, including the upcoming Persona 6 and Persona 4 Revival - who recently spoke to the official Xbox Podcast about how he views the series' growing success in overseas markets.
"To see it [Persona] grow into a franchise embraced by players all over the world fills me with both pride and gratitude," Wada says. "We've been fortunate to receive an incredible response to each new announcement, not only from fans in Japan, but from players around the globe. It's something that reminds me every day that Persona has reached people across countries and cultures."
Despite Persona seeping into corners of the world Atlus might not have dreamed of three decades ago, Wada explains the team's "philosophy for making these games has never changed." The developers behind Persona have apparently always stuck to their guns and haven't tried to pander to particular audiences.
"Our goal has never been simply to make games for the global market," he continues. "Instead, we've always believed in creating the games that we ourselves genuinely find exciting. The fact that this approach has resonated with players around the world is what makes us happiest" - even if it wasn't always intentional.
Of course, Atlus definitely takes steps to ensure its games are playable worldwide, especially these days. Wada explains that the studio now puts a "greater emphasis than ever on localization, quality assurance, and our overall development structure."
But when making the meat of their games, the devs are instead focused on "carefully crafting stories that stay with players."
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