On Saturday night, after the live stream concluded smoothly and the voice actors had left, Ichin and the rest of the studio team didn't go home. Instead, they stayed right where they were.
The moment the stream ended, Ichin opened the pre-order portals on all three platforms.
Holding the yawning Mozuku in her arms, Eriri asked anxiously, "It's been ten minutes already. How are the pre-orders looking?"
Utaha, sitting nearby, shot back with a hint of annoyance, "It's only been ten minutes. Can't you just wait patiently for an hour? Look over there—you really can't sit still, can you?"
Following Utaha's gaze, Eriri saw Ichin playing Mario Kart with Aoba and the others, without even glancing at the pre-order backend data.
"They're really not nervous at all?"
Ichin overheard Eriri's comment and, without taking his eyes off the screen, replied, "Of course we're nervous. But at times like this, it's even more important to stay calm. You have to understand—at this point, no matter how you feel, the results aren't going to change. All you can do is believe in what you've accomplished over the past year. If I've got the time to worry, I'd rather spend it relaxing and having fun with everyone. I haven't played games in almost a week."
Ever since the school term started and the game's announcement started gaining traction, Ichin had deliberately put more pressure on himself and became more involved in the game's development.
And after going home at night, aside from spending time with Utaha, the rest of his evenings were spent drafting new game plans or keeping up with industry news and trends online.
Then, in the week leading up to the live stream, as one of the hosts, Ichin had to take care of all kinds of preparations to ensure nothing would go wrong during the broadcast. It wasn't until now that he finally had a chance to relax a little.
Seeing that even Ichin, the big boss himself, wasn't panicking, Eriri realized there was no point in her worrying either. So she stood up and walked over.
"Move over, move over! Let me show you what a real drifting master looks like!"
Then proceeded to finish last in three straight races.
"Stupid game!"
Ah, there it was—that familiar vibe.
Putting down the controller, Eriri accepted the reality that her Mario Kart skills were among the worst in the studio. So she simply joined the others as part of the cheer squad.
Even if it was just cheering, the atmosphere in the studio truly allowed her to unwind. She felt completely at ease.
Pre-orders had opened at 9 PM, and by 10 PM, the group finally paused their gaming session. Everyone crowded around Yagami Kō's computer from the art team—three rows deep.
Ichin placed his hand on the mouse. In the midst of the silent crowd, he opened the Steam backend.
One hour of pre-orders—over 180,000 copies sold!
After about five seconds of stunned silence, the entire studio erupted into thunderous cheers.
"We did it!!! 180,000 copies!!!"
Everyone hugged each other, celebrating the amazing news that had everyone on cloud nine.
Ichin happily hugged Utaha, then gestured for everyone to quiet down as he opened the Epic Games backend.
Compared to Steam, the numbers on Epic were notably lower—understandably so. After all, Epic still lagged behind Steam in both user base and platform features.
Still, with over 30,000 pre-orders on Epic, the results far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Finally, it was time to check the pre-orders on Nintendo's eShop.
Given the pricing on that platform, Ichin had assumed sales wouldn't be particularly high. But with the huge install base of the Switch and its hybrid console-handheld nature, perhaps it would surprise?
With mixed thoughts in mind, Ichin logged into the eShop backend—and everyone's eyes widened the moment they saw the number.
"100,000?"
Even Ichin hadn't anticipated this. That many copies sold in just one hour?
Standing behind him, Hazuki smiled and said, "Looks like showcasing the NS version's visuals and frame rate optimizations during the stream was the right call."
Though what they had shown was just a demo, Persona on the Switch ran at 1080p in TV mode, with a stable 40 FPS.
Of course, that wasn't the final build. Once all the remaining content was implemented, the frame rate would likely drop. Ichin's goal was to lock it at 30 FPS and then optimize from there—a point he'd clearly explained during the stream.
Judging by the reactions, viewers had taken note of Persona's optimization efforts, and that confidence translated directly into impressive pre-order numbers.
Across all three platforms, sales had already surpassed 300,000 in the first hour alone. And this was just the beginning—after 24 hours, a week, or even a month, especially with more PVs and demos on the way, the numbers would surely continue to climb.
Exhaling deeply, Ichin shut the computer and stood up to address the team: "We've achieved an incredible milestone in sales. It's already 10 PM, but if you're all up for it, how about we go out for a late-night feast to celebrate?"
"Yeah!!"
"Late-night food!!"
And so, the entire team left the studio in high spirits and took over a nearby barbecue place that was still open late into the night. They enjoyed a hearty late-night meal before finally dispersing.
—
By Sunday morning, gaming media outlets in both China and overseas were reporting the news: Persona had exceeded 300,000 pre-orders in just one hour.
And twelve hours later, the number had climbed further—to 500,000 copies.
Ichin, who lazily got out of bed a little after 9 AM, clapped his hands with satisfaction upon seeing the data from all three platforms. He opened up various social media platforms and posted an update:
> "Thank you to all the players for your support! Persona's pre-orders have now surpassed 500,000 copies. So, I've decided to add a special pre-order bonus. In addition to the original pre-order costume set for the main cast, we'll be adding a brand new outfit set as a bonus. The designs will be crafted with care, and once finalized, we'll announce them. Once again, thank you all!"
Art design was one of the studio's specialties, with several top-tier illustrators on the team. And for costume design specifically, they had the incredibly talented Hifumi. Players who had pre-ordered the game would definitely not be disappointed.
Although it was a Sunday, after posting the announcement, Ichin also informed the entire studio about the decision via the team chat—and immediately received full support from the art department.
Yagami Kō: No problem! Definitely a good call to add more pre-order rewards. Hifumi, Aoba, Momo—if you're free today, come over to my place and let's brainstorm together.
The three people Kō tagged responded instantly, saying they'd be there before noon.
Yagami Kō: Ichin, lunch is on you!
Ichin: Well, well… so it was all about freeloading lunch, huh?
...
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