European fans of Atlus titles such as "Persona," "Etrian Odyssey" and "Shin Megami Tensei" found themselves in a dark place at the end of April when it was revealed that NIS America would no longer publish Atlus games in Europe.
The news came straight from NIS America President and CEO Takuro Yamashita, who cited various problems in working with SEGA after it had been purchased by Atlus in 2015, and, as such, opted to terminate the alliance between the two companies. Of course, this development was met with much anxiety by fans, as NIS America has done wonders for Atlus in Europe in the past, releasing "Persona 4 Golden," "Etrian Odyssey Untold 2: The Fafnir Knight" and "Persona Q."
The development meant the status of future releases such as "Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse," "Etrian Odyssey V" and "Persona 5" turned from a foregone conclusion to an unknown. Even worse is that while importing games is an option for PS3 or PS4 games was possible - albeit at an increased price - the region-locking for 3DS games meant that fans of SMT, for example, would need to not just import a copy of the game but also buy a brand-new North American 3DS.
Now, it seems that the worst has passed, and European Atlus fans may breathe a sigh of relief (a small one!) with the knowledge that Sega has allegedly expressed interest in handling the European releases of future releases (SEGA announced in March that it would be handling Atlus releases in Japan and North America, but Europe we curiously absent at the time).
In an interview, John Clark, SEGA senior vice president of commercial publishing, stated the company is "very interested" in taking over NIS America's role for Atlus in Europe.
“We’re very interested in bringing all of the group’s Japanese content not just to the West, but to Europe in particular," he said. "We are always trying to find a way. And that’s an ongoing process. That’s something we are continually assessing and talking to and if there are really strong opportunities to support the Japanese content in Europe, we’ll do it.”
While this is certainly good news for fans, it is also offset by the thought of SEGA Europe taking on publishing duties for Atlus games. Despite being under the same name, SEGA Europe and SEGA of America are vastly different if their past activities are any indication. Whereas SEGA of America is typically on point with its releases and service, SEGA Europe is quite the opposite and is known for having frequent release delays and suboptimal service.
So yes, the news does mean that those in Europe might not have to worry about importing all their Atlus games. However, it also means they'll have to suffer through shoddy service and delays in exchange.
