Well, well, well... How the tables turn.
For a long time now, Atlus, and by extension, parent company SEGA, have dabbled in re-releasing their games. Typically, these re-releases feature expanded and / or improved content, and are often labelled as 'definitive' versions of the original title.
Generally speaking, potential buyers have become more and more critical of this practice over the years. An increased focus on expansions, DLC, and updates has largely painted re-releases as an anti-consumer approach, as they're essentially asking fans to pay up for two versions of the same game.
And according to SEGA, this once fairly common strategy could now be having a negative impact on initial sales — because too many people are just deciding to wait on the eventual 'definitive' edition.
As part of the publisher's latest question and answers session with shareholders (as reported by GameBiz and translated by Automaton), the company was queried on "a sudden drop in sales of catalogue titles".
Games like Metaphor: ReFantazio — which launched in previous years — seem to be the driving force behind this topic. Reportedly, numbers for such titles have fallen off, despite them receiving critical acclaim and positive feedback from players.
In response, SEGA outlines a number of possible factors, including busy release schedules and competition from similar games.
However, it goes one step further in actually admitting that the possibility of future definitive editions may make customers "hesitant" when a new title hits the market.
Indeed, this is a sentiment that we often see expressed across social media and our own comments sections. For example, there were plenty of people around Metaphor's launch saying that they would simply hold out for the seemingly inevitable re-release.
Of course, the Metaphor re-release hasn't actually happened yet, and rumours have suggested that Atlus intends for it to be a singular entity. Which, if true, could be a direct reaction to what SEGA's alluding to in this report.
What do you make of this? Have you ever avoided an Atlus game while banking on a definitive edition to arrive later down the line? Don't miss out in the comments section below.
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