PlayStation a PS3 prototype (six months before the Japanese release?) of Persona 5 has suddenly surfaced online

[Krvavi Abadas]

(The XMB icon)​

no idea how the uploader (who only uploaded 1st-party “CD/DVD generator” software intended for PS2 developers previously.) managed to get it out of Atlus’s offices, but it looks to be legitimate from a quick glance at the files.

from what I can tell. this appears to be the first time any build of a Atlus developed game has gotten out. beyond a few localization protos with minor changes. (Persona 2: Eternal Punishment had a build that seems to have been dumped by a piracy group shortly after release, and a build of Maken X was in Project Deluge.)
edit: i forgot Persona 3 was in Deluge as well, but again. late localization build with only a few minor changes + a debug menu.

I’d suggest looking into it as soon as possible, considering how previously litigious Atlus has been with things like spoilers and emulators for their recent titles.

 

[robertman2]

I can't wait for people to dig through it.

Also that we get more Atlus betas in the future

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

while most of the disks were too damaged to read as noted, a build from December 2015 was able to be mostly (only 400MB of corrupted data) dumped. and it should be posted online fairly soon.

word is that it has far more changes even compared to the February 2016 build. so it should be interesting to dig through.

 

[AstroOhHey]

Would it be possible they'd be anything left from when Hifumi was meant to be a party member? Or did that concept never get past the pre-production stage?

EDIT:
Oh hey, scrapped Persona 4 cameos:
[twitter]

 

[ziggyrivers]

No wonder the game never came out after the proposed teaser release date: they changed a lot

 

[Zellia]

Beta Rivers in the Desert has this goofy synth placeholder in place of the vocals and it's kinda funny.

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

big win for fujoshis everywhere. (for reference, the voice acting for the scene was already in the final build and even dubbed despite being unused. These prototypes include the actual animation data.)

for those wondering what happened with the December 2015 build, the dumper was able to merge the inital bad 400MB dump with a second scratched disk containing a nearly identical build. which thankfully had the missing 400MB of data undamaged.

No wonder the game never came out after the proposed teaser release date: they changed a lot

yeah, they previously mentioned that the original storyline was going to be a trip around the world. But it was made more local as a result of the Tohoku earthquake.

Hashino:
At the start of development, the Phantom Thief concept was not something that we had yet considered. Because the past works in the series were stories centered around school and its surroundings, I had been thinking of backpacking: a game where you’re flying around to various places, with the theme similar to that of a journey of self-discovery.

4Gamer:
Backpacking? I was taken by surprise by the Phantom Thief concept, but that’s also pretty unexpected.

Hashino:
While working on Persona 4 Golden, I tested several different ideas, but in the midst of thinking a lot, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck (aka the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake). I felt that at once, my mood about Japan had changed as I rethought things.. I wanted to refocus on Japan rather than direct my feelings to the outside world.

I’d assume a good chunk of the more unusual assets (I.E. adult Nanako) were made during this phase.

 

[ziggyrivers]

big win for fujoshis everywhere. (for reference, the voice acting for the scene was already in the final build and even dubbed despite being unused. These prototypes include the actual animation data.)

for those wondering what happened with the December 2015 build, the dumper was able to merge the inital bad 400MB dump with a second scratched disk containing a nearly identical build. which thankfully had the missing 400MB of data undamaged.


yeah, they previously mentioned that the original storyline was going to be a trip around the world. But it was made more local as a result of the Tohoku earthquake.

I’d assume a good chunk of the more unusual assets (I.E. adult Nanako) were made during this phase.

Thanks for the tidbits! I wonder if the backpacking thing will be used for Persona 6

 

[robertman2]

Thanks for the tidbits! I wonder if the backpacking thing will be used for Persona 6

Probably not since Strikers more or less uses it

 

[ziggyrivers]

Probably not since Strikers more or less uses it

You’re right! It’s been so long I’ve played Strikers that I forgot xP

I’m glad they got to reutilizec that idea at least