After the game's release date was confirmed and announced, it quickly caught the attention of online players and spread rapidly.
Everyone rushed to check platforms like the Nintendo Switch eShop, Steam, and Epic Games Store, and sure enough—the previously "TBD" release date had been officially updated to May 1st.
Instantly, players eagerly anticipating the release of Persona launched into a new wave of excitement.
As for concerns like, "What if the game ends up disappointing after all this hype?"—that wasn't something on the players' minds. As long as the final product delivered on what was shown in the trailers so far, there was no way it could be bad. At worst, it would just have a lower ceiling than expected.
Right after announcing the release date, Ichin followed up with the game's fourth promotional PV—also its final main trailer, a four-minute showcase.
Future promotional videos would be short, under a minute, each focusing on a single character.
From the very beginning, Ichin had developed Slay the Spire as a solo project. Then came Hollow Knight, made with a growing team. Both titles were critically acclaimed and sold extremely well—not just in the China region, but globally across Steam.
Since launch, both games had maintained a "Very Positive" rating, never dropping below a 95% approval rate—absolutely outstanding.
With a price tag of just 50 yuan (even cheaper during sales), the games had consistently attracted indie game enthusiasts and were regularly recommended to new players as must-plays.
But Persona, the game now approaching release, was in a completely different league.
While the company had grown to around 100 people—a number that only expanded once the Persona project began—the game's size and production value rivaled those of major AAA studios.
Initially, fans had assumed Ichin's next project after Hollow Knight would be another polished indie title. No one expected such a huge leap in ambition.
When word got out about what Ichin was aiming for, there was widespread discussion about whether he was in over his head—after all, his previous games were much smaller in scale.
But once Persona was revealed and its trailers began dropping, everyone realized the game was nearly complete, and the final product was looking just as Ichin had promised from the beginning.
Alongside the release date, preorder bonuses were expanded once again. There were now three unique sets of alternate outfits, all carefully designed.
In addition to preorder bonuses, the Deluxe Edition would include three more outfits and a set of early-game items to help players ease into the game's systems.
For the Nintendo Switch physical edition, developed in collaboration with Nintendo, there were three versions: the Standard, the Deluxe, and the Ultimate Deluxe.
- The Deluxe Edition would come with a soundtrack CD and a physical art book.
- The Ultimate Deluxe Edition would include everything from the Deluxe Edition, plus a figurine of the protagonist in his school uniform—a different sculpt from the previously announced Phantom Thief version. This version would also include Morgana in his cat form, tucked into the protagonist's backpack.
In addition, many physical retail stores in Japan were offering exclusive preorder bonuses, each different depending on the store.
Looking at a report listing all these in-store preorder bonuses, Ichin smiled and said, "They really went all out with the unique perks for physical sales. If I were just a regular player, I'd want to buy multiple copies myself just to collect these."
Also in the office, Yagami Kou took a sip of her cola and said, "That's all thanks to having such a big main cast. Every store gets a different heroine as the highlight. Posters, mousepads, keychains—you name it. Hey Ichin, are we getting a batch of these for internal distribution?"
"Of course. We'll keep some in-house. Everyone here poured their heart into this game. Besides the game itself, we should have something to remember it by."
"Oh! That's awesome!"
Kou nodded in approval and went to fetch Shinoda from her desk.
When she came in, Hajime asked curiously, "Did you need something?"
Ichin looked at her and asked, "Hajime, did you preorder our game from any store yet?"
"Not yet."
Shinoda Hajime shook her head. "Rin told me we'd be getting the preorder bonuses internally, so I figured I'd skip it for once. I still plan to buy a copy, but I'm not going to stress about the bonuses. By the way… are we really getting those bonuses?"
Hajime had always cared about store-specific bonuses. Back when they released Fairies Story 3, she ran all over town collecting preorder items from different stores with the team.
"Don't worry. We've got them."
Ichin grinned. "Also, we've got a small batch of the NS Ultimate Deluxe Edition—only six units total. I'll keep one as a company display copy. The remaining five will be used in a giveaway. But if you really want that figurine, I can ask ALT to send us an extra one."
The Persona figures weren't your average prize-tier merchandise—they were high-quality, collector-level items priced at nearly a thousand RMB. Ichin had high standards for merchandise and wouldn't accept the kind of low-effort figurines often included in physical game bundles.
Of course, because of that quality, the quantity was limited. After the game launched, it was inevitable that the Ultimate Deluxe Edition would spike in price.
Ichin couldn't do much about that—especially since domestic sales channels weren't yet fully established. Game software, in particular, required special licenses.
At most, the figurines and merchandise could be sold through their own storefront, where pricing could be better controlled.
"Figurine—yes please!!!"
Hajime raised both hands enthusiastically. "Ichin-kun, I want the figurine! Actually, I want all the character figurines!"
"You're way too greedy."
Ichin laughed. "The plan is to release about two figures per main character—Morgana will only have one. As for giving them out as perks, it won't just be for you, Hajime. But we can make it your birthday gift from the company. Hazuki, wasn't our birthday gift this year a shopping voucher?"
Hazuki pushed up her glasses. "That's right. And Hajime's birthday already passed—it was on New Year's Day. So if she wants one, she'll have to wait until next year. But no worries. These figures won't all release at once. They'll come out over time, well into next year. You can pick one as your gift then. But that means no shopping voucher."
"Forget the voucher! I want the figure!"
As a die-hard figure and merchandise collector, Shinoda Hajime couldn't care less about a shopping voucher.
*
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