Although previous Persona games have been mostly exclusive to PlayStation, the new releases of Persona 4 and its prequel are being made natively for the Xbox Series X/S. Persona titles 3 through 5 were announced for Xbox Series X/S during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase in June, but because the games are being made natively for the latest Xbox hardware, they’ll see a staggered release. Persona 5 has an Xbox Series X/S release date of October 21, while Persona 3 and 4 will arrive on the Microsoft platform on January 19, but PlayStation fans will be left waiting for a next-gen update to these titles.
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According to Gematsu’s Twitter account, Atlus was asked back in June whether Persona 3 and 4 would be native to Xbox Series X/S or running through backward compatibility, but they only received an answer yesterday. Gematsu has stated that Atlus confirmed these games will be brought to the Xbox Series X/S natively as a new release rather than porting existing versions of the titles to the console. Given that Persona 3 was first released back in 2006 and was subsequently upgraded for the PSP, and that Persona 4 came out in 2008 and then again as Persona 4 Golden, the native Xbox Series X/S release may give Xbox fans the optimal versions of the games as they debut.
Persona 4 Arena has been pushing the series forward on Xbox hardware since the 360, and it remains playable on the Xbox Series X/S through backward compatibility, but the mainline Persona games have never launched on Xbox before. Atlus has yet to confirm if the PS5 will get next-gen versions of Persona 3 or 4 or if both will remain the same, but the upgrades may at least be timed exclusives for Xbox. Persona 5 is expected to be brought to the Xbox soon, but it’s unlikely to have seen many changes beyond a simple port given that Persona 5 Royal only just came out in 2019.
Although some Persona fans have lamented that Persona 3 and 4 may not be getting next-gen upgrades to the PlayStation versions, others have anticipated that the franchise won’t be as successful on the Microsoft platform. Perhaps referencing the amount of money that could be made on both consoles, one Persona player simply pondered why Atlus hasn’t opted to release the next-gen Persona 3 and 4 on both platforms.
Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden release January 19, 2023 for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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