Persona 6is set to be the next major title in the long-running JRPGPersonaseries, but its release may also be a crucial event for the new console generation. Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S are set to go up against Sony’s PlayStation 5 next month, and as with every generation, exclusives matter.
ThoughPersona 6won’t be among the opening salvos, it still has the potential to score abig hit for the PlayStation 5. Over the last few years, Microsoft has been rapidly acquiring games studios, building up a strong fleet of potential exclusives, particularly in the RPG genre. To stand a chance of competing, Sony will need to hold on to its own exclusives, including thePersonaseries.
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Microsoft’s Acquisitions
While Microsoft has snapped up plenty of development studios over the past few years, it seems to have taken a special interest in RPG developers. Back in 2018, the gaming giant acquired Playground Games, which is now working on a newFabletitle; inXile Entertainment, maker of theWastelandseries; and Obsidian Entertainment, the developer behindFallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and upcoming first-person RPG,Avowed. To put the cherry on its rapidly growing RPG cake,Microsoft also recently acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of eight game studios, including RPG-legend Bethesda.
The end result of these acquisitions her is that Microsoft is in a very comfortable position with western RPGs, and focusing on exclusive RPGs has been something that has worked well for Microsoft in the past. For example, console players needed an Xbox or Xbox 360 to play the following games at release:Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire,The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Mass EffectandMass Effect 2, Deus Ex: Invisible War, The Witcher 2,and theFabletrilogy.
The Importance of Persona 6
WhilePersona 6is likely a year or two away yet, it has been unofficially confirmed to be in development at the studio. As it looks set to arrive relatively early in the next console generation, anexclusivePersona 6could be just what PlayStation need to draw RPG fans back from Microsoft’s western heavy-hitters. The universal acclaim thatPersona 5received from critics and fans has made a big splash in the gaming community, and many are now putting the series on a level with other greats in the RPG genre. If PlayStation could maintain its exclusivity deal with Atlus, thenPersona 6is set to become one of the most sought-after RPG exclusives of all time.
WhilePersona 5is still a PlayStation exclusive, there’s some evidence to suggest thatPersona 6might not be.A recent survey from Atlusasked Japanese players whether they’d play previous Atlus games if they were ported to the Nintendo Switch. This wouldn’t be the first time the developer has worked with Nintendo.Persona 5 Scramble, the action-RPG spin-off, released for the PS4 and Switch earlier this year. In addition,Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, a dungeon crawler, was launched in 2018 exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.
There are also a handful ofPersonatitles that have seen PC ports, includingPersona 4 Golden, the extended version ofPersona 4. However, Switch has always been seen as the good guy in the middle between the battle of PlayStation and Xbox, so even if it weren’t exclusive in this sense, it still not being on Xbox would go a long way. If this is the case, then the upcomingPersonatitle could be vital for the PlayStation’s ability to stand up to the Xbox’s new RPG dominance.
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