When a video game that has been out for years goes to different platforms than before, the question is always, “will it sell well after all this time?” Of course, the answer depends on the titles that are being released. An excellent example is what went on with Sony and their desire to bring their IP to the PC for the first time. Their games with Spider-Man and Kratos did well on PC, while Nathan Drake’s adventures did less than expected. But a big port that was years in the making was Persona 5 Royal, which went from being a PS4 exclusive to being on PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, and the Xbox system.
The original game came out in 2016 and was an instant sensation, and then in 2019, it got the “upgraded” version with some new characters to play with, dungeons to partake in, and more. But it wasn’t until 2022 that things went multiplatform, and the results speak for themselves. You already likely know that within a month, the game sold a million units on those other platforms.
Now it’s been confirmed that Persona 5 Royal has sold over 3.3 million units. It’s unknown how many units were sold per platform and how many of those sales are from the 2019/2020 release, but the results are still rather impressive.
But why is it that these multiplatform versions are selling so well? Simply put, the game reached a high level of fame when it was originally released in 2016. The series had been out for a long time, but it was more of a “niche series” than a “worldy title.” What’s more, while people were interested in it, if you didn’t have a PS4, you couldn’t access it. So while everyone was talking about it, many were hoping that it would go multiplatform so they could finally try it out.
It took about six years from the original launch, but they got their wish, and it was a good move. It’s well known that the 5th mainline entry is the best-selling title in the line and makes up over half the sales of the series in its lifetime. This adds to that factoid.
Of course, now the pressure is on Atlus to top what they did with the game. Rumors about Persona 6 have been going on for a while now. Atlus has said that they are working on “unannounced games,” but fans want to know if it’s the 6th mainline entry in the beloved franchise.
Source: Siliconera
