In an earlier article, we speculated that Deep Silver could be a potential candidate to bring Atlus and SEGA games to Europe, following the news that they would be publishing The King of Fighters XIV. Today that became a reality as Atlus, SEGA of America and Deep Silver have announced that they have entered a publishing deal for Europe. As part of the deal, 7th Dragon III Code: VFD, Persona 5 and SMT IV: Apocalypse will be releasing in Europe with both physical and digital versions! And the deal includes other, as of yet unannounced, games as well.
So what about SEGA Europe? While the European branch of SEGA confirmed they would be releasing Yakuza 0 and the SEGA 3D Classics Collection, and recent information suggests that Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X will also be published by them, fans had lamented the fact that it took so long for these games to be confirmed, let alone released in Europe. In a new post on the SEGA of America Blog, SEGA of America clarifies that SEGA Europe is very much its own business, and that they focus more on games from their Western IP. Since they also release these games mostly on PC, their focus is more on the digital market, whereas SEGA of America’s localized console games typically receive a physical release. As such, the partnership with Deep Silver made sense.
Personally, I do find it unfortunate that this means SEGA Europe is unlikely to be involved with bringing any new Japanese SEGA games to Europe anymore. Over the past year they’ve expanded their presence on social media, and as such had also started to interact more with the fans of Japanese SEGA titles. But with this news, it’s natural to expect that European fans of Japanese SEGA titles will be interacting more with Deep Silver and SEGA of America from now on. It remains to be seen what this means for the relationship between SEGA Europe and part of the SEGA fanbase in Europe.
But of course, the good news is that things are finally looking up for EU SEGA and Atlus fans. This appears to be a good deal for everyone involved. Deep Silver gets access to a number of interesting games, not in the least Persona 5, to publish in Europe. And SEGA of America and Atlus now have a partner that specializes in releasing games digitally, but also physically, in Europe. While no release dates have been announced yet for the upcoming games, we hope this deal will mean more timely releases of SEGA and Atlus games in Europe. Below you can find the official press release from Atlus.
Deep Silver Enters European Publishing Agreement for Multiple ATLUS and SEGA Titles – Including Persona 5
Munich, Germany, July 6 – Deep Silver, SEGA® of America, Inc., and Atlus U.S.A., Inc.are entering a collaboration to publish multiple ATLUS- and SEGA-brand titles on consoles and handheld devices across all European & PAL territories.
The publishing deal will cover the wide array of future titles for both physical and digital versions across PAL territories, including the SEGA title 7th Dragon III Code: VFD, and the ATLUS titles Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, and the hotly anticipated Persona 5.
“We are delighted to have signed this publishing partnership and look forward to using all our pan-European publishing network to maximize the potential of the ATLUS and SEGA games” said Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Koch Media/Deep Silver.
“In entering this partnership with Deep Silver, I am truly delighted we will be able to release our titles in the European regions,” said Naoto Hiraoka, CEO, Atlus U.S.A., Inc., and senior vice president of publishing, Sega of America, Inc. “Not only does the deal span multiple titles, but Deep Silver has a strong presence in European and PAL retailers. They have a strong passion for being able to deliver physical games to our fans in those territories, which we hold in high regard.”
More news to follow shortly on these exciting titles!
Logistics and marketing, everything in which sega has always sucked, it’s great Atlus USA is now in charge in america, and europe getting this deal can’t be bad at all.
Waiting for amazon to list 7th Dragon xdd