It's been an exciting week for Persona fans. On top of a bunch of details about the upcoming Persona 4: The Golden and Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena, series developer Atlus has finally let slip confirmation that Persona 5 is also in the works. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu sat down with Katsura Hashino, who has been working on the series since Persona 3, to talk about the new titles.

The+Golden+will+feature+all-new+animated+video.

Persona+characters+go+head+to+head+in+gorgeous+2D.

According to Hashino, the decision to remake Persona 4 for the Vita can be traced back to the success of Persona 3 Portable on the PSP. Originally there were no plans to release an upgraded version of the game. "We went into the development of Persona 4 enthusiastic about making a game where nothing would be left undone," he tells Famitsu. But when P3P was released the following year, fully 30% of players who bought it were newcomers to the Persona series. "We really felt the impact of releasing the game on a mobile platform."Naturally the question of whether a PSP version of Persona 4 would be feasible was soon raised, but Persona 3 had required a few adjustments to make things work on a mobile platform, and Hashino wasn't keen on doing that again. "For Persona 4, I wanted to leave the portable version 'as is' as much as possible, but there was no way that would be possible with the PSP's capabilities." Luckily, news of the Vita arrived just in time. "I realized that with the Vita, we could make something even better than 'as is'!"So will there be any big changes in The Golden? "This time we won't be doing anything as drastic as adding in a new female protagonist," Hashino laughs, referring to the new character who was added to P3P. But there will be new events, previously inaccessible places to visit, new animation, a new opening, a new character... most details are being kept secret for now, but it sounds like there'll be plenty for fans to look forward to. "The Vita is an all-new gaming system, so while keeping the good bits of the original game, we're putting in plenty of new, fun elements," Hashino promises.Next up for discussion is the upcoming 2D fighting game, Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena. Hashino tells Famitsu that the idea to make a 2D fighter out of the Persona series was his, and that he approached ARC System Works about the idea after being impressed by the quality of their BlazBlue series. "I got the impression that these were people who really love 2D fighting games, and have a lot of fun making them. We on the Persona Team love RPGs more than anything else in the world, so we can sympathize." So far it seems he hasn't been disappointed. He gushes over the quality of the graphics and animation, which he describes as "Truly the work of artisans."Meanwhile the Persona Team is taking charge of creating the plot. When asked what direction that plot will go in, Hashino says outright that Mayonaka Arena will not be a simple spin-off. "We're making part of a sequel to Persona 4. Story mode will also depict the background of how Aigis comes to Inaba and enters the P-1 Grand Prix."And what about the next numbered Persona sequel?Hashino says that while he was glad to see so many people enjoying Persona 3 and 4, he thought that if they'd gone straight on to the next game, it might have been hard to come up with more new ideas to please fans. "There was some fear of getting stuck in a rut," he explains, "So we decided to challenge ourselves to make something outside the RPG genre, and what we made was Catherine." Developing Catherine also helped the team gain some know-how about making games for HD systems.Now, though, he can confirm that Persona 5 is on its way. "Let's go ahead and declare it: preliminary preparation for the next numbered title is basically finished, and from here on out development will be going at full speed." Hashino will be directing the game himself, with Shigenori Soejima as character designer and Shoji Meguro as sound composer. "The theme is more or less set, and the staff are all even more enthusiastic about challenging themselves than they were after Persona 3." But don't get too excited just yet: Hashino warns that it will be quite some time yet before the game is released.Atlus and Team Persona remain dedicated to bringing players a fulfilling experience. "If I can offer players something that will have an influence on their worldview or values, some experience or enjoyment that will add to their motivation in life, I think that's something really fantastic," says Hashino. We look forward to seeing the fruits of his labor in the years to come.

Kiera McNeice is a freelance writer based in Japan.