School Was Never This Much Fun

Hertfordshire, UK- JANUARY 29, 2008 - KOEI today announced the release of Persona 3 on PlayStation 2 this February. Widely renowned as one of the freshest and most captivating RPGs of recent years, European gamers finally get the chance to experience life in a Japanese high school plagued by creatures of the night. Already bestowed with numerous awards after its US release, Persona 3 has now been awarded the rare honour of a 10/10 review in this month's Official PlayStation Magazine UK. Persona 3 is scheduled for release on PS2 across Europe on February 29.

About PERSONA 3

It's gonna take a lot more than a fountain pen and a compass to survive a full year in Persona 3. Not only will players have to contend with the day to day challenges of life in a Japanese high school but there's also the matter of the demons who lurk within the hidden hour that lies between one day and the next.

Although part of the Shin Megami Tensei series, Persona 3 is a standalone entry in the series requiring no previous knowledge of Shin Megami Tensei games and has no connection to previous scenarios or characters. Set in a completely new fictitious city Persona 3 recreates an authentic Japanese school setting right down to the relationships that the player can make and break throughout an entire school year.

During the day players get to experience high school life whilst also getting the chance to enhance their character's abilities with the choices they make throughout the school day. By spending their time wisely during the day players will get the opportunity to enhance their abilities in battle and expand the variety of Personas which they can summon.

Personas come into play during the night when they can be summoned to fight the demons and protect you from an untimely death. As your relationships with fellow students grow so will your mastery over your Personas. Different Personas can even be combined to produce even more powerful creations that await your command.

Commenting on the release of Persona 3 on PS2, Naoki Katashima, Executive Vice President of KOEI Europe and KOEI US, said, "Persona 3 is one of the most highly regarded RPGs of recent times and we are delighted to be able to bring this renowned title to European gamers. We look forward to continuing to work with Atlus to bring the very best Japanese RPGs to Europe."

Having already received widespread critical acclaim for releases such as Disgaea Afternoon of Darkness, Atelier Iris and Phantom Brave, KOEI have now bolstered their line up of RPGs even further with this latest release and are fast becoming one of the foremost European publishers of quality Japanese RPGs. Already renowned as the leading name in the tactical action arena with their Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series having sold over 15 million worldwide, KOEI continues to look for opportunities to bring many more diverse titles to European gamers and add to the success of titles such as Colosseum: Road to Freedom, Devil Summoner and the hugely popular G1 Jockey series.

Persona 3 is the latest installment from Atlus in the Megami Tensei series that has entertained gamers in Japan for many years. The previous three Persona games have sold over 1 million units in Japan. The various games throughout the series have taken gamers from present day Japan to unique periods in history, and have given players incredible abilities and remarkable moments of excitement, shock and breathtaking entertainment.

About Atlus

Located in Irvine, California and founded in 1991, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. is a publisher of compelling video games for a variety of platforms, including the Nintendo DSTM, Game Boy® Advance, WiiTM , Xbox 360TM, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Atlus USA's library of critically acclaimed video games includes Trauma Center: Under the Knife, Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, and the award-winning Shin Megami Tensei series. For more information, visit http://www.atlus.com.

®ATLUS Co., Ltd. 1995.2007 All Rights Reserved. SMT, SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI, Devil Summoner are registered trademarks of Atlus USA.

About Koei Ltd.

KOEI Ltd. is a subsidiary of Japanese company KOEI Co., Ltd. and has had offices in Hertfordshire, UK since 2003. KOEI maintains operations in Japan, the US, UK, Canada, China, Korea, France, Taiwan, Singapore, and Lithuania. KOEI employs over 900 people worldwide with sales exceeding $250 million. The company constantly seeks to achieve a fine balance between entertainment, technology, art and education and provides games that will mesmerize gamers globally.