Naoya Tsurumi – the chief operating officer at Japan-based holding company Sega Sammy – has confirmed that the computer and video game developer and publisher Atlus is allowed to develop games for Sega IPs, should it make such decision in the future. Index Corporation – the Atlus parent company – was acquired by Sega earlier in 2013 and the benefits of this move were discussed by Tsurumi in an interview.
Tsurumi emphasized the fact that Sega has never achieved massive success with RPGs and the association with Atlus will change this. He said, “I believe that the addition of genres is a crucial factor. Especially with regard to the fact that Sega have never excelled in RPG titles. With consideration towards Atlus’ strengths, Japanese RPGs would be a prime example [of an added benefit].”
He went on to say that Atlus is more than welcome to develop games for other Sega properties which are currently inoperative, such as Sakura Wars and Jet Set Radio, among many others. Tsurumi explained that, even though they have no intention of forcing this to happen, they would most certainly like to have them revitalize any of Sega’s inactive IPs.
Atlus is the developer behind the Shin Megami Tensei RPG series and it will release Persona 5 in 2014, in addition to three other titles for PlayStation 3, Vita and 3DS.
Photo Credits: BrightHand
