Persona 4 Arena may lose some pre-orders after Atlus locks imports.
The Persona series is unique for a number of reasons, and the PlayStation 3 version of Persona 4 Arena adds one more distinction: it will be the first region-locked game on the console. An Atlus employee confirmed the news on the publisher’s forums, stating “yes, the PS3 version game will be region-locked. I certainly can’t offer details as to why, but there might be an official response at some point.”
The publisher explained that the North American version of the game would also work in South America, but would be locked out of other regions. Japanese and North American versions of Persona 4 Arena will be “nearly identical,” with text and voice options in both languages for both regions.
While this probably isn’t a deal-breaker for many gamers, Persona fans on the Atlus forum are considerably upset at the publisher’s decision. Many were disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to import their preferred version of the game, and a few even threatened to cancel their pre-orders. The Xbox 360 version will also be region-locked, though that doesn’t seem to be upsetting players as much as the previously region-free PlayStation 3 getting its first locked game.
Source: Atlus forums via EGM Now
