Atlus Has A Great Sense of Humor

[Gorvi]

Sent to Siliconera (http://www.siliconera.com/2008/12/05/atlus-has-a-sense-of-humor-about-esrb-leaks/) (and probably others):
ATLUS TO MAKE ALL FUTURE GAME ANNOUNCEMENTS THROUGH ESRB WEBSITE


Unprecedented move to revolutionize game reveals

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — DECEMBER 4, 2008 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc. today turned gaming PR on its head with the news that all future Atlus game announcements will be revealed first on the ESRB website.

“Our experiment has been a rousing success,” said Aram Jabbari, Manager of PR and Sales, beaming. “Allowing information about our upcoming titles to be silently posted on ESRB’s website has been a triumph, and we’ve decided to abandon all direct, overt disclosures of our future games in favor of quietly allowing the posting of new titles onto ESRB.org. Every other publisher puts their press releases out there in the same distribution channel, and sometimes the news gets overlooked. By sneaking all future game announcements onto the ESRB website for just a handful of passionate editors to find, we distance ourselves from industry conventions.”

Atlus will start this groundbreaking game launch tactic in 2009, and hopes to continue the practice as long as it remains effective.

“We’re sure we’ll have everyone doing this at some point, following in our footsteps. And maybe at some point it will force us to change direction. But in the mean time, we really feel that indirectly leaking all future game announcements and hoping a few people stumble upon them and tell everyone they know is the best way to go at this juncture.”

###

About Atlus U.S.A., Inc.

Located in Irvine, California and founded in 1991, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. is renowned for its proud tradition of publishing exceptional role-playing games with strong niche appeal. The Atlus library of critically acclaimed video games includes Odin Sphere, Trauma Center series, and the award-winning Shin Megami Tensei series. For more information, visit http://www.atlus.com.

For breaking news, special promotions, insider info, and more, visit http://www.atlus.com/faithful to join the ranks of the Atlus Faithful!



This press release was a joke.

That's great. :)

[Purple Santa]

Did I miss April 1st or something? Or is it April 1st in California?

[Hexxagonal]

ha ha I like it

[Ravenlock]

Brilliant. Well done, Atlus. :D

[frederec]

Fucking awesome.

[Gorvi]

Did I miss April 1st or something? Or is it April 1st in California?
Nah, they had a couple of game announcements leaked over the past couple of weeks via the ESRB that they weren't ready to announce yet.

[Froghourt]

I don't get why the ESRB is allowed to post those things before the games are even officially announced, just seems stupid.

[frederec]

Nah, they had a couple of game announcements leaked over the past couple of weeks via the ESRB that they weren't ready to announce yet.

Which ones were those? Have they since announced them officially? I missed those leaks...

edit: quick google makes it look like this was primarily about My World, My Way. (Silly me hoping I might have stumbled upon an early announcement of Devil Summoner 2.)

Atlus's sense of humor in this and many of their press releases the past year or so does a lot for keeping me a serious fan of theirs.

[Hemalin]

I'm not sure what they are complaining about, they can just tell the ESRB not to post the ratings until after a certain date.

[jpublic]

Heh, check this out - this is for signing up to their ML:

New Atlus Faitful Member (A New Member is You!),

Thank you for joining the Atlus Faithful! Your email address and information have been recorded onto 256-bit AES encrypted stone tablets by our crack team of trained capuchin monkeys. From time to time, possibly frequently, we will send you breaking news, game announcements, special promotions, and more.

Your privacy is important to us. We will never sell, rent, or give your name or information to anyone (even if they make us a really good offer). At any time, especially if we stop making sense, you can select the link at the bottom of every email to unsubscribe.

Thanks again for enlisting! We can't wait to spam--err- -communicate with you.

Sincerely,

AtlusA RAM

[Purple Santa]

Nah, they had a couple of game announcements leaked over the past couple of weeks via the ESRB that they weren't ready to announce yet.

Ah, that explains it. Thank you. I figured I was missing out on a joke somewhere...in that case...well done Atlus. Love the sarcasm...

[Variable Gear]

Atlus is awesome. We deserve more publishers like this.
I'm not sure what they are complaining about, they can just tell the ESRB not to post the ratings until after a certain date.
I'm not sure what you're talking about, because Atlus isn't complaining about anything.

[KingGorilla]

I also do not think Atlus could do much to the ESRB, if they work anything like the patent or copyright boards, there is a rather strict timeline from application to publication of products in their reporting.

Wasn't the DSI "broken" by the US patent office?

[Xerxes]

Nah, they had a couple of game announcements leaked over the past couple of weeks via the ESRB that they weren't ready to announce yet.

Then it IS funny.

[bean]

Funny stuff.

It's not like the press is going to go crazy over a press release for a DS title anyway.

[Gorvi]

Funny stuff.

It's not like the press is going to go crazy over a press release for a DS title anyway.
That all depends on what the game is, no game is less valid just because it's on the DS.

[NoName]

That all depends on what the game is, no game is less valid just because it's on the DS.

This is true. I don't think the next Dragon Quest game is less important (especially in Japan) just because it's on the DS...

[Gorvi]

This is true. I don't think the next Dragon Quest game is less important (especially in Japan) just because it's on the DS...
Damn straight! They just should have kept the style of the DQIV-VI remakes and not gone with that ugly 3D they've got DQIX in now. ;)

[Variable Gear]

Funny stuff.

It's not like the press is going to go crazy over a press release for a DS title anyway.
This is further proof that you're an idiot.

[J Arcane]

Damn straight! They just should have kept the style of the DQIV-VI remakes and not gone with that ugly 3D they've got DQIX in now. ;)
I'm inclined to agree, even though I'm not sure you're being serious. It's clear to me most companies don't seem to know how to make 3d look good on the DS, if it's even possible, so I'd rather more of them stick with 2d instead. Metroid Prime looked pretty good when I played it, but most stuff I've seen just looks like ass.

I'm a big DQ fan, and I'm very, very bummed by what I'm seeing of DQ9. It looks like the end of the series for me in all honesty, and I'll be sad to see it go.

[Gorvi]

I'm inclined to agree, even though I'm not sure you're being serious. It's clear to me most companies don't seem to know how to make 3d look good on the DS, if it's even possible, so I'd rather more of them stick with 2d instead. Metroid Prime looked pretty good when I played it, but most stuff I've seen just looks like ass.

I'm a big DQ fan, and I'm very, very bummed by what I'm seeing of DQ9. It looks like the end of the series for me in all honesty, and I'll be sad to see it go.
Oh, I'm being 100% serious. True full 3D rarely looks very good on the DS and I haven't been happy at all with the screens of DQIX. I like the look of the DQ remakes quite a bit, they look just like VII (I'm one of the few that liked the look of VII).

[J Arcane]

Oh, I'm being 100% serious. True full 3D rarely looks very good on the DS and I haven't been happy at all with the screens of DQIX. I like the look of the DQ remakes quite a bit, they look just like VII (I'm one of the few that liked the look of VII).
It would be nice if Nintendo would stop fucking around with endless DS remodels and actually work on a next generation of handheld. I couldn't care less about the DSi, and I wish that the amount of money and time spent on that crap would've instead been used to make a proper DS 2 that can at least pretend to compete on a hardware level with the PSP.

After all, didn't Nintendo claim the DS was just a sideline, and that there was still more Gameboys to be had on the horizon? Where's my next gen Gameboy already?

[Variable Gear]

It would be nice if Nintendo would stop fucking around with endless DS remodels and actually work on a next generation of handheld. I couldn't care less about the DSi, and I wish that the amount of money and time spent on that crap would've instead been used to make a proper DS 2 that can at least pretend to compete on a hardware level with the PSP.
The DS is cheaper to produce because it isn't as powerful as the PSP. Why mess with that? Why go into R&D to produce a high-power DS when the already-existing model is selling just fine? With the DSi, Nintendo has done what they always do, which is iterate on a handheld platform. They don't need to compete with the PSP to succeed, and therefore they have no legitimate reason to go down that path. Yet. The follow-up to the DS can't be more than three years off.
After all, didn't Nintendo claim the DS was just a sideline, and that there was still more Gameboys to be had on the horizon? Where's my next gen Gameboy already?
That line was just an escape rope. If the DS wasn't successful, Nintendo could trot it out and follow that up with a new model of Game Boy. However, the DS was successful. Very successful. So successful that any fiddling with that success would be a poor financial decision. Face it, your next-gen Game Boy comes with two screens. And, with the DSi, Nintendo has effectively killed the Game Boy brand forever. That is, unless they offer Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games for download via DSi Ware.

[bean]

That all depends on what the game is, no game is less valid just because it's on the DS.

Okay, first, I never said DS games are "less valid". I said that the game press doesn't get very excited about them. I'll assume that you are disagreeing with this statement and thus believe that the press DOES get excited and respond to that, because I believe you are wrong.

When was the last time you saw an announcement for a DS title get in the top 10 on Gametab. My guess is the lat time this happened "Pokemon" was in the title. I've NEVER seen a game site do a multi-page interview or feature on ANY DS title. The best I've seen is a full-page review of highly anticipated DS titles like Mario Kart and Pokemon.

Again, if you want to argue that DS titles are not crap, then just stfu because no one said that and you are preaching to the choir. If you believe that the press DOES get as excited about DS announcements as they do console and PC announcements, then by all means tell me how I'm wrong.

If you compare the best DS titles to the worst console titles, it is likely they get more coverage. I'm pretty sure that Mario Kart got more press coverage than Turning Point: Hour of Victory or Vampire Rain, but when you compare quality titles vs. quality titles (Pokemon vs. Fallout 3) and shit titles vs. shit titles (Space Invaders Revolution vs. Balls of Fury), I'm betting that you'll see the consoles get more press coverage 99.9% of the time.

[Hemalin]

When was the last time you saw an announcement for a DS title get in the top 10 on Gametab.

lol Gametab. Write 'boobs' in the title of your article and you're guaranteed to be in the top 10.

[Gorvi]

bean, we haven't had any major DS announcements for a while, but I'm pretty sure that when the Dragon Quest remakes were announced they got a pretty decent amount of coverage.

So far as GameTab, Hemalin makes a very valid point: that top ten stories part of GameTab is usually dominted by Kotaku and Destructiod stories, crap that's titled in such a way as to get as many clicks as possible. That is in no way a decent barometer to measure interest by.

Regardless of all of that, your original post doesn't have much context anyway: this is Atlus, the press probably isn't going to go crazy over any announcement they make. They just don't put out the titles that garner that kind of coverage.

[bean]

bean, we haven't had any major DS announcements for a while, but I'm pretty sure that when the Dragon Quest remakes were announced they got a pretty decent amount of coverage.
But would a major DS game like that get as much press coverage as an announcement for Halo 3 or MGS 4 on the console? Compare press coverage of AAA titles for handhelds vs. consoles and there is a huge difference.

So far as GameTab, Hemalin makes a very valid point:
Gametab is a news aggregation site, and there was a certain amount of that, but EvAv used to be the most clicked on site and thus usually had the most top 10 stories.

In any case, that is just one press source. Do you agree that they get less coverage in print and online gaming press?

Regardless of all of that, your original post doesn't have much context anyway: this is Atlus, the press probably isn't going to go crazy over any announcement they make. They just don't put out the titles that garner that kind of coverage.
And yet, I bet that their console games get more coverage than their DS titles. More magazine space for previews and reviews, more gameplay footage shown on gametrailers, and longer reviews.

It's cool that you love your DS, just don't assume that when I comment on the fact that the game press shows less attention to handheld titles that I'm attacking the DS. I've owned 3 of them and absolutely want to like it. I'm an RPG fan and have picked them up to buy RPGs people swear are great and then I find them abysmally boring and unsophisticated. Hearing about TWEWY has made me regret giving away my DS to my sister last year. . . but I'm sure on balance, she has gotten more joy out of it.

Sorry for flaming you man, I just get annoyed when I make a comment and it is misinterpreted that much. This is why I tend to write "walls of text". If I type a single sentence, every idiot on the site (not you or even Variable Gear - both of you usually make fewer assumptions) will purposefully not understand it.

[Hemalin]

Gametab is a news aggregation site, and there was a certain amount of that, but EvAv used to be the most clicked on site and thus usually had the most top 10 stories.
I hate to break it to you Mr. Bean, but often time Evil Avatar rivaled the likes of Kotaku.

Plus an amusing quote from the guy that used to run Gametab.
And one of the things that became apparent while running GameTab was that stories that somehow (and it doesn't matter how) include boobs trump all.

[bean]

I hate to break it to you Mr. Bean, but often time Evil Avatar rivaled the likes of Kotaku.

Plus an amusing quote from the guy that used to run Gametab.

1. Not consistently.
2. Gametab is one example, and the weakest one. Are you nitpicking this one thing or do you disagree with me and think that handheld games get as much attention by the game press as console titles?

[Gorvi]

bean, I get what you mean, console games (with few exceptions) will always get more coverage than handheld games, at least in the US for the forseeable future. Your original comment was that the press wouldn't go nuts for a DS announcement, which I still disagree with. It would, admittadly, have to be a fairly big announcement, but I don't see that as being too farfetched.

[Ravenlock]

There's certainly precedent for the press giving lots of attention to handheld announcements and releases. Animal Crossing: Wild World got a lot of press before it launched with the DS Lite. Ditto New Super Mario Brothers. Every handheld Castlevania title makes magazine covers now. God of War: Chains of Olympus was big news, as were the PSP GTA games. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is almost certainly going to be a feature article in plenty of publications, for better or worse.

No, I don't think handheld games get "as much" attention as their big brothers, but the big releases certainly get a decent amount of coverage and attention, both on and offline.

[divinechaos]

If FFVII was being remade for the DS I'm pretty sure some people would make a big deal out of it.