It appears that NIS America and Atlus have hit a rough patch in their relationship, with the former announcing it will no longer publish Atlus titles in Europe.
This unfortunate development was confirmed by NIS America MD Takuro Yamashita, who said the decision came after it became too difficult to work with Atlus ever since it was acquired by Sega.
"Around 10 days ago, we terminated our alliance with Atlus in Europe and the U.S.," Yamashita said in an interview.
"Atlus became very picky about selecting the European publishing partner after it was bought by Sega," he added. "It always cherry picked its EU publishing partner based on who offered the highest minimum guarantee on a title by title basis. I noticed that it was very difficult for NIS America to establish an equal partnership with Atlus.
"Atlus and its European games have contributed a lot to the expansion of NIS America in Europe. I would like to express my greatest appreciation to them for that," he concluded.
This means that Atlus titles no longer be published in Europe by NIS America. However, this also works in the opposite direction, as games from NIS America will no longer be published by Atlus in North America, which further complicates matters.
Fans in Europe have taken the news pretty hard as Sega Europe hardly publishes its own games. On the other hand, NIS America has done wonders for Atlus in Europe in the past, releasing titles such as "Persona 4 Golden," "Etrian Odyssey Untold 2: The Fafnir Knight" and "Persona Q."
This development also means that the highly anticipated "Persona 5" may now find itself in peril in Europe. An announcement regarding the game was slated for May 5 after the game's official website posted a countdown clock. An official release date is expected, but it may possibly not apply to the European launch now that the ties between Atlus and NIS America have been severed.
It's still possible that Sega Europe takes the initiative and publishes its own games, but that seems unlikely. There is also the possibility of another publisher stepping in, but there has been no word on that just yet.
In the end, it will still be possible for many to simply import games - albeit at an increased price. However that option won't apply to those who own a 3DS due to region locking.
