Upon its release in 2016,Persona 5became the bestselling game in the series, launching it to the top of many Game of the Year lists, and, as withPersona 4, a few years after launch the game received an ultimate edition with bonus content.Persona 5 Royalintroduced a new party member called Kasumi, an explorable Kichijoji commercial district, new items, weapons, and two additional endings, among many other changes.
Unfortunately for players of the original game, there was no direct way to upgrade editions for a discounted price, forcing fans to shell out the full $59.99/£49.99 for afew more hours ofPersona 5content. Now, with an updated PS5 version of the game scheduled to release in October, it seems that ATLUS and Sony are heading down a similar path.
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In a FAQ on the Persona Channel website, the developers state that there isno way for owners of the PS4 version ofPersona 5 Royalto upgradetheir game to PlayStation 5, meaning that players will have to pay full price for the remastered version of the game. It’s worth noting that owners ofPersona 5on the seventh generation of consoles didn’t receive a discounted upgrade to PS4; therefore, withPersona 5 Remastered,PlayStation 5 owners who first bought the game on PS3 will have paid full price for the game four times had they upgraded with each new release.
Given that fans have yet to see anyPersona 5 Royal Remasteredgameplay, it’s difficult to know whether the price will be worth paying. Nevertheless,Persona 5first launched as a PlayStation-exclusive title, and it’s immensely disappointing that Sony isn’t offering fans any upgrades, while Microsoft, on the other hand, dominates the cross-generational market withXbox’s Smart Delivery systemwhich promises free upgrades for any Xbox One title that players own.
This news follows many complaints about the jump in price across the eighth and ninth generations, jumping from $59.99/£49.99 to $69.99/£69.99. Recently,The Last of Usfans were disappointed to see the full price tag listed onThe Last of Us Part Iremake, while other games likeLife is Strange Remasteredalso failed to deliver an upgrade. Meanwhile, games likeDeath Stranding Director’s CutandGhost of Tsushimagave fans a static priceto upgrade the last-gen game, while many others received entirely free updates.
This often times confusing, juxtaposing, and unreliable method of cross-gen gaming has put Sony at odds with many who seek to enjoy their favorite games on a new platform. While it’s possible that this decision was made toprevent players from gaming the upgrade systemby purchasing cheap last-gen copies, it continues to limit players’ enjoyment of games on their system and severely restricts the PlayStation 5’s already limited library of updated games in favor of profit.
Persona 5 Royalis exclusive to PS4.Persona 5 Royal Remasteredis currently in development for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
