A Persona art book book is on the way, as Udon is publishing the Atlus and Shigenori Soejima Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works outside Japan. Pre-orders are now already open on Amazon ahead of its November 26, 2024, with the hardcover book costing $73.40.

As the title notes, this art book covers both Persona 5 and the updated Royal release. The product listing noted that concept art and other types of illustrations of characters, enemies, and other game elements will be present. There will also be an interview with Soejima, the character designer for the entry. 

Here’s how the English cover art will look for this Official Design Works art book will look:

Udon’s been behind a number of Persona 5 book releases. It released three Persona 5: Mementos Mission manga volumes. It also handled the localization and publication duties for Persona 5: Comic a la Carte outside Japan. Its been behind some merchandise like pin sets too. Other entries in the series’ manga lines also are handled by the company, such as ones based on Persona 3 and 4.

The Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works art book will launch on November 26, 2024, according to the Amazon listing. Persona 5 is on the PS3 and PS4, while Royal is on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

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Atlus and Sanshee announced the Persona 5 plush and pin collection is growing, this time with Futaba Sakura joining the ranks. The stuffed toy is being shown as available now on the official site for $39.99, while the $12.99 pin has an August 2024 release window.

The design for the plush is by Jaime Ugarte, while Morton Wayman worked on the pin. Both feature a chibi version of Futaba Sakura in her casual clothing. She has big eyes, her glasses, and her headphones on. However, in the case of the stuffed doll, the headphones are magnetic and removable. 

Here is the full announcement, which included the official art for the Futaba Sakura plush and pin.

The Persona 5 Futaba Sakura plush and pin are both the most recent additions in an already existing line. Previously, some other members of the cast appeared. For example, Makoto Niijima is already around. Prior to that, Ryuji Sakamoto appeared as the first character in the collection.

Persona 5 is available on the PS3 and PS4, while Persona 5 Royal is available on the PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. The Futaba Sakura plush is now available at Sanshee, while pre-orders are open for the pin based on the character.

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A number of figmas showed up at Good Smile Company’s Smile Fest 2024, and one was an updated version of the Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid Snake figure. It is a new take on the item that first appeared back in August 2018. 

The Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid Snake figma wears his original uniform, just like the first version of the figure. His face plate is a stern, stoic expression in the example photo. He’s also holding the tranquilizer that he came with originally. It does seem like the bodysuit is a different shade than the original version of the figma. Also, the paint job on the face seems a bit different and more in line with other recent releases.

Here’s how that looks:

To compare, here’s how the original 2018 version of the Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid figure looked. The additional accessories also included an assault rifle and a cardboard box. Some of the hand parts would even allow the figma to be posed as though it is hanging from a shelf or table.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is available on the PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, Vita, Switch, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Series X, Windows PC via various collections, and the Solid Snake figma will return in the future.

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Square Enix started a 60% off sale for Final Fantasy XIV in preparation for the Dawntrail expansion. The sale will end on June 11, 2024.

It appears that this promotion is only for players who will play on a Windows PC or Mac. For example, Endwalker (which is part of the sale) is $15.99 from the Square Enix store, but $39.99 from the PlayStation Store. You can purchase the products on sale from the Square Enix Store or Mog Station. This sale is valid for the Complete Edition and Complete Collector’s Edition of Final Fantasy XIV. You can also use it to purchase the Standard Edition and Collector’s Edition of Endwalker. 

Square Enix first announced Dawntrail as the newest expansion of the long-running MMORPG back during Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2023. It will appear alongside update 7.0 on July 2, 2024. This expansion will feature new jobs (Viper and Pictomancer), a new location (Tural), and a new race (female Hrothgar). Other than that, there are updates like a higher level up, new dungeons, and new raids. The full list of new content is available via the Square Enix webpage for the expansion.

Final Fantasy XIV is readily available on the PS3, PS4, PS5, Windows PC, MacOS, and Xbox Series X. The Final Fantasy XIV sale will end on June 11, 2024.

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Since the launch of the origin PlayStation, Sony built up quite a catalog of game series based on original IP, with many revered as some of the best titles on their respective consoles. For example, if you’re going to recommend PlayStation 2 games to someone, the first-party game Shadow of the Colossus is going to come up. So today we’re celebrating everything Sony directly had a hand in, and hope everyone will also suggest other games they loved too.

It's going back a bit, but I loved the Jak and Daxter series as a kid. The jump from kid-friendly platformer to gun-toting, Sci-fantasy, GTA-clone is a hilariously edgy move by today's standards, but when i was 8 years old or so it was the coolest thing in the world. I don't know if i necessarily want to see a reboot or anything, but I do plan to revist the series at some point. -Elliot

No game series has done for me what the two Gravity Rush games did. For a hot minute there, I thought we would never see Gravity Rush 2, but when it came out it was everything I wanted it to be. Flying through the bizarre and enchanting environments accompanied by the amazing music of the series never gets old. Even if we never get another title in the series, I hope Sony can one day release both games on PC, as they have been doing with its recent catalogue. -- Daniel.

When it comes to the best Sony PlayStation IP or game series, it is going to come down to either The Legend of Dragoonor the Dark Cloud games. Trust me on this. Dark Cloud, specifically Dark Cloud 2, is so revolutionary and feels so different that other action RPGs, due to the fact that you’re rebuilding as a result of your dungeon crawling. As for The Legend of Dragoon, it is not only one of the best JRPGs on the PlayStation, it is one of the best games in the genre to come out of the 1990s. — Jenni

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Sanshee announced a new selection of Persona 5 merchandise, this time based on the teacher and maid character Sadayo “Becky” Kawakami. The new collection includes two t-shirts, a keychain, and a pin.

All three items play with the fact that while Ms. Sadayo Kawakami is a teacher at Shujin Academy during the day, she also works as a maid called Becky with the service Victoria in Persona 5 and its Royal update. Both of the shirts feature the full logo for the Victoria service the protagonist can call on the back and a smaller one on the front. The pin features the logo and a large strawberry, which is also part of the imagery for the maids. Finally, the keychain is of the maid uniform Kawakami wears at work.

Here’s the full list of new Sanshee Persona 5 merchandise with prices:

• Black T-Shirt - $27.99-$29.99, depending on size
• Enamel Pin - $12.99
• Keychain - $15.99
• Pink T-Shirt - $27.99-$29.99, depending on size

And here’s a full gallery that gives us a better idea of how all four items look.

While Sadayo Kawakami is only a minor supporting character and the Temperance social link in the game, merchandise inspired by her isn’t an uncommon find. For example, Amakuni released a figure based on her in 2023. That featured her in her Becky persona and work uniform.

Persona 5 Royal is available on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and Persona 5 is on the PS3 and PS4. 

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Konami and Tokyo MX will hold a live concert to mark Tokimeki Memorial's 30th anniversary. Titled "Tokimeki Memorial 30th Anniversary Live Emotional," the concert will run for two days on May 18-19, 2024.

The organizers have also started selling tickets for the concert, with prices ranging from 8,000 yen (~$53) to 18,500 yen (~$123). The first two waves in late February 2024 and March 2024 will involve lotteries. The third and final wave, which has a first-come-first-served system, will run from April 5, 2024.

The original voice actresses for all thirteen heroines from the first Tokimeki Memorial entry will perform in the concert. Yuji Ueda, the voice actor behind the protagonist's best friend Yoshio Saotome, will complete the roster.

The full cast list for the live concert will be as follows:

• Mami Kingetsu (Shiori Fujisaki)
• Akiko Sekine (Mio Kisaragi)
• Tomoko Naka (Yuina Himoo)
• Masayo Kawaguchi (Ayako Katagiri)
• Sachiko Sugawara (Saki Nijino)
• Ayako Kurosaki (Yukari Koshiki)
• Ayako Sasaki (Nozomi Kiyokawa)
• Rei Igarashi (Mira Kagami)
• Youko Teppouzuka (Yuuko Asahina)
• Mikiko Kurihara (Megumi Mikihara)
• Kurin Yoshiki (Yumi Saotome)
• Shiho Kikuchi (Miharu Tatebayashi)
• Narumi Tsunoda (Rei Ijuin)
• Yuji Ueda (Yoshio Saotome)

Konami first released the inaugural Tokimeki Memorial game for PC Engine on May 27, 1994. While its 1995 PlayStation release was the most well-known, Konami also released the high school dating simulation game for Super Famicom (SNES) in 1996, Sega Saturn in 1996, Windows 95 PC in 1997, and Game Boy in 1999. The company later ported the PlayStation build to the PSP in 2006 and the PS3 via Game Archives in 2009.

Konami has been spotted building up anticipation for the Tokimeki Memorial series' 30th anniversary since 2023, when it opened a new official account on Twitter (now X). It is also working with Good Smile Company to produce Shiori Fujisaki's Nendoroid.

The Tokimeki Memorial 30th Anniversary Live Emotional concert will take place at Tachikawa Stage Garden in Tokyo, Japan on May 18-19, 2024.

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Now that 2024 has begun, Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director for Final Fantasy XIV, shared details about the game's future in a New Year’s message. In his greeting, he explained how the current plans for future updates and preparations for the Tokyo 2024 Fan Festival on January 7, 2024 are faring.

Yoshida admitted that the Final Fantasy XIV development team in Japan has been hard at work preparing for the upcoming Fan Festival 2024 in Tokyo, as well as the 7.0 update and Dawntrail expansion. The team hopes to ensure the conclusion to the world tour is a success. Yoshida also noted that even though the event would take place in the large Tokyo Dome, the same Fan Festival shenanigans would ensue.

Yoshida teased that a note was "delivered" to his office. It reads as follows:

It seems that this note was sent to generate hype for the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail expansion.

Yoshida also included that the team is tasked with overhauling “ten years’ worth of graphic development,” and stated these changes may take some time to be fully implemented. He said that many may even go unnoticed considering the scope of the operation. These updates will be created with the idea of maintaining long-term service for Final Fantasy XIV in the future, with him noting that he hopes it will continue for another ten years.

Finally, he noted, “With ‘haste makes waste’ as our mantra, we intend to tackle the obstacles before us with a deliberate thoroughness."

Final Fantasy XIV is playable on the PS4, PS5, and PC. It will also come to the Xbox Series X in Spring 2024 and will support cross-play.

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People who still play Dark Souls II on the PS3 and Xbox 360 will no longer be able to access its online features after March 2024. FromSoftware has announced that it will terminate online services for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions on Sunday, March 31, 2024.

After this date, players on the legacy consoles will have to play the game entirely offline without any multiplayer features and asynchronous bloodstains, shades, and messages. The studio stated the aging and deterioration of game servers as the primary reason for the online shutdown.

As a reminder, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco released the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Dark Souls II worldwide in March 2014. Therefore, exactly ten years will have just passed by the time it shuts down servers for the consoles.

FromSoftware reiterates that the Dark Souls II online shutdown will only happen to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. It reassures players that they can still access the game's online features on the PS4, Xbox One, and Windows PC—both DirectX 9 and 11—versions for the foreseeable future.

This will not be the first time FromSoftware has deactivated online features due to aging servers. In October 2022, the studio abandoned online support for the PC version of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition due to "an aging system." Similarly, the 2012 PC release had run for ten years when FromSoftware pulled the online plug.

Dark Souls II is available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The game is also playable on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via the Scholar of the First Sin edition released in 2015.

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Nijisanji and Hololive Vtubers Selen Tatsuki and Regis Altare announced they will be part of Apex Rising Charity Pro-Am, an Apex Legends charity tournament running December 14-15, 2023. This charity event is designed to support (Red) and raise money for AIDS research. 

How this charity tournament works is that each team has a professionalplayer, with 40 teams total appearing. Evan Verhulst, who is part of TSM is the Apex Legends pro on Team Verhulst playing alongside the two Vtubers. They are one of the 40 teams that will be competing to be the last one standing. In addition to the main stream page, Selen confirmed she will be streaming from her perspective on YouTube. Altare didn’t mention if he will as well.

The donation page for the event is now live on Tiltify, and people can specifically support the Verhulst, Selen, and Altare team on their page at the site. The team’s goal is listed as $2,000. The goal for it is $5,000. 

Selen Tatsuki and Regis Altare have played Apex Legends together multiple times. The two were on Axel Syrios’ team during V-Saikyo 2023. Selen also recently organized the December 2023 HoloNiji Apex Custom Apex Legends tournament, which featured Hololive and Nijisanji Vtubers playing together. 

The Apex Rising Charity Pro-Am tournament will run December 14-15, 2023, and Apex Legends is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices.

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The eccentric Tiny Tina from the Borderlands series will appear as a Nendoroid figure in 2024. She is available to pre-order now from the Good Smile US online shop for the price of $43.99 and Japanese one for ¥6,900.

By pre-ordering the Tiny Tina Nendoroid directly from Good Smile Company’s online shop, customers will receive a special round base featuring the Borderlands logo. This figure is expected to ship out in the fourth quarter of 2024 in the US. In Japan, she'll appear in June 2024.

We can view the promotional video for the Tiny Tina Nendoroid from Good Smile Company’s announcement post below:

The Tiny Tina Nendoroid comes with various optional parts to put her in many recognizable poses. For starters, she comes with three different face plates: a smiling face, a grinning face, and an excited face. She also comes with a rabbit plushie to hold, as well as a plastic background featuring her two rabbits Mushy Snugglebites and Felicia Sexopants strapped to explosives.

View the poses of the Tiny Tina Nendoroid and the pre-order bonus base in the gallery below:

Borderlands 2 is available on the PS3, PS4, PS5, PSVita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Android devices. The Tiny Tina Nendoroid will come to Japan in June 2024 and to the US in Q4 2024. Pre-orders for her are open until January 18, 2024.

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Compile Heart opened up an official website, as well as uploaded a teaser trailer, for its new game Touhou Spell Carnival. The company had announced that this would be one of its new titles during October 2023. [Thanks, PR Times!]

Touhou Spell Carnival will be a combination between a tactical RPG and a bullet hell. There will be various stage gimmicks, and you’ll move your characters from square to square on a grid map. There are a lot of bullets emanating from each character, but it’s unclear how you’re supposed to navigate that if it’s going to have TRPG elements. There will also be an exploration segment in which you can run around Gensokyo as Reimu. The only other Touhou character that we know will be in Spell Carnival so far is Marisa.

You can watch the trailer here:

Mai Nakahara will voice Reimu and Yumi Uchiyama will voice Marisa. In the past, Nakahara portrayed Rena in When They Cry and Estelle in Tales of Vesperia. Meanwhile, some of Uchiyama’s previous roles include Arrow in Fire Force and Rudeus Greyrat in Mushoku Tensei. 

In early October 2023, Compile Heart announced five upcoming games that it’s working on. Touhou Spell Carnival was one of those games. During the same interview in which Compile Heart discussed these projects, it explained that it wanted to focus on developing multi-platform games for a niche audience rather than a mass market. It also wants to take on a quantity over quality approach, which will help it to gauge consumer interest. Other games that Compile Heart is working on include Madou Monogatari 4 and Death end re;Quest Code: Zion.

Touhou Spell Carnival will come out on the PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch some time in Spring 2024.

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The Amakuni Persona 5 Royal figure of Ann Takamaki wearing the Shujin Academy School Uniform will arrive between September and October 2024 in Japan. The figure costs 24,200 yen (or approximately $161). [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

The new P5R Ann Takamaki School Uniform figure is now available for pre-order from the Hobby Japan online store. The pre-order period will end on December 20, 2023. The figure displays Ann in a dynamic pose, while holding her signature “Panther” mask that she wears with her Phantom Thief outfit.

You can take a better look at the new P5R Ann Takamaki School Uniform figure in the gallery below.

The P5R figure of Ann was initially revealed during the MegaHobby Expo 2023 held on August of the same year, alongside a similar figure of Makoto Niijima in her school uniform, and a figure of Futaba Sakura wearing her Phantom Thief outfit.

The Persona 5 Royal Ann Takamaki School Uniform ver. figure costs 24,200 yen (~$161), and will appear in Japan sometime between September and October 2024. Pre-orders are available until December 20, 2023 from the Hobby Japan online store. Persona 5 Royal is now available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

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Atlus’ latest announcements regarding the new Persona 5 spin-off involve features tied to replaying the game. There will be both a Persona 5 Tactica New Game Plus feature, as well as an option to Replay past stages. The goal with New Game Plus is to offer a chance to play again, perhaps on a higher difficulty, with past items, while Replay allows the ability to earn more rewards.

Based on the latest reveal, there are two reasons to Replay a stage in Persona 5 Tactica. One is to get more of already earned rewards from the first time, like experience for characters, money, or additional Personas for equipping or fusions. The other is to try and complete bonus challenges for a stage to earn more rewards that perhaps weren’t met the previous time. 

As for the Persona 5 Tactica New Game Plus feature, it is tied to the Report feature’s Special Art and gaining access to a replay with past items. The confirmed carry-overs are the Persona compendium from the Velvet Room, including any fusions you found the first playthrough, as well as any money or weapons you earned. The Special Art involves art made to inspire or help create the game and becomes available to view in a gallery.

Persona 5 Tactica will appear on the Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Windows PC via Steam on November 17, 2023. There will also be Repaint Your Heart DLC with Goro Akechi and Kasumi Yoshizawa launching that day.

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Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes will come out on January 25, 2024. A new trailer, which you can see on Arc System Works’s official YouTube account, shows off some of the new moves and characters that you can play as. In total, there will be 24 characters at launch.

You can watch the new Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes trailer below:

Some changes and improvements that Arc System Works made to the original Under Night In-Birth include new animations and graphics. The arcade mode will also feature a new story, which seems to finish up the existing plot. For the first time, it will also have a rollback netcode, which will improve the experience of playing online. Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes will also implement casual matches into the game for the first time.

Three new characters in Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes include Kaguya, Tsurugi, and Kuon. Arc System Works will reveal more information on Tsurugi and Kuon at a future date. New skills for existing characters include Blaring Outrage (Hyde), Soaring Dragon (Linne), Reverie Obelisk (Orie), and Gloomy Invitation (Seth). The website will continue to update with new techniques as Arc System Works reveals them. 

Finally, there are two new battle mechanics: Creeping Edge and Celestial Vorpal. Creeping Edge allows you to approach an opponent while dodging their attacks. If you activate it at a close distance from your opponent, you can even appear behind them. If you have over six GRD gauges when you activate Vorpal, it’ll be Celestial Vorpal instead. All of the GRDs will become yours, and your attack will be greatly boosted for a set period of time.

Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes will come out on January 25, 2024, for the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

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