Despite Persona 3, 4, and 5 Royal ports, fans are losing hope of seeing Persona 2 again
Sin and punishment have been left behind.
For a long time, PlayStation was the only place to play the Persona series. That’s changing later this year, as multiple Persona games are coming to Xbox systems. Specifically, Persona 3 Portable, 4 Golden, and 5 Royal are on the way — and they’ll be on Nintendo Switch as well. You’ll notice that the list leaves out games that came before Persona 3. The fans have definitely noticed, and many believe Persona 2 won’t be getting the same treatment.
ResetEra user jman1954goat posted a poll on the popular gaming forum, asking if we “will ever see the Persona 2 duology on modern consoles.” As of the time of this writing, just over 60% of voters believe that we will “never” see such a port. About a quarter think we will eventually see one, “but not for a long time,” and the remainder thinks it’ll happen within the next few years. There are lots of wishes for Persona 2 to return to the spotlight in the comments under the poll, but many don’t expect it to actually happen. “I so doubt it,” says Pocky4Th3Win. “I’d be surprised if we ever even see a PC port,” says heathen earth. “Atlus does not seem interested in these games.” One of the few hopeful messages comes from diakyu, who believes that “it’s more likely we [will] get a full remake” instead.
What makes Persona 2 special is that it’s actually a pair of games: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. To date, this is the only example of a Persona game getting a direct sequel. The first of these released in 1999, with a PSP port launching in 2011. The 2000 sequel only came to PSP in Japan after that.
While Atlus has been mum about the Persona 2 pair of games, it has been prepping to bring 3, 4, and 5 to new platforms. As mentioned before, the definitive editions of those three games are re-releasing this fall. Specifically, Persona 5 Royal (along with its packed-in DLC content) will come to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on October 21. Persona 3 Portable and 4 Golden are expected to release around the same time.