You may have recently heard that Atlus is getting into the online game with their new portal, Atlus Online. Naturally, we had a lot of questions about one of our favorite publishers creating an online division. And even though it’s still a bit early, we were able to get some answers.
Thankfully, we were able to speak with Jamie Ortiz, head of business operations at Atlus Online, about some of what we can expect from this new venture. We chat about the launch, content, and overall goals for this portal. Hell, I even thrown out a daydream for an online game we’d like them to make. I think he shot my idea down, though.
Hit the jump to read our interview on Atlus Online.
Destructoid: Why has Atlus decided to expand online and create a portal?
Jamie Ortiz: Entering the online space has long been a dream of our president and CEO, Shinichi Suzuki. He set the vision to create a portal that would become the daily destination for a community of users seeking a new and exciting interactive entertainment experience, based on the foundation of great games and compelling content. We hope to build an active online community around a unique culture that is founded on our users’ interests and passions.
The idea of an online portal with Atlus-type titles sounds exciting to fans of your titles. Should they expect titles that compare with your console releases? Or are you springing something new on them?
We’re very proud of our console titles and are looking to use the portal as a global platform to reach a broader audience and introduce new users to the great content Atlus has to offer both on and offline. The content we’ll be providing on Atlus Online will have that distinctly unique Atlus flavor that will be recognizable to the hardcore fans of our console and portable titles, while still appealing to a broad range of users looking for fun and addictive entertainment content.
In the press release, a “hybrid subscription model” was mentioned. Can you give us more details on how this will work?
We have a lot of great content we’re going to be offering on the portal, much of which our fans will be able to enjoy absolutely free. However, they will also have the option of enhancing their gaming and entertainment experiences through our hybrid-subscription model which features tiered packages and micro-transaction payments, allowing them to spend as much or as little as they wish. We’ll also be encouraging user participation and community involvement with our Atlus Online loyalty program.
Exclusive screen of Neo Stream: The Shattered Continent
The portal is to receive a global launch, right? Is anything being done to facilitate communication between people of different regions?
Yes, we definitely envision Atlus Online as a destination for a global community of users, with games and digital content that will resonate with fans around the world, giving them a medium to connect and communicate with each other. That being said, the early phases of the portal, as well as our first title, Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent, will be geared to English-speaking domestic and international audiences. Depending on how we’re received in other non-English speaking regions, we will evaluate how to move forward on localizing for those markets.
Seeing the level of experience your online team has, we’re sure you could make just about anything happen online. Are you creating new, original going to come out of this division?
[laughter] Flattery will get you nowhere! All I can tell you is that we are currently looking for fun, compelling, and unique online games and digital content to license for the portal. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a few tricks up our sleeves for the future…
We couldn’t help but notice that in Atlus president Shinichi Suzuki’s press release quote that he said that Atlus Online would be a destination for “anime fans.” Is there anything you can tell us about that now?
Anime-aesthetics will play a major role in Atlus Online, not only in the design and look but also in the content we’re looking to service. Unfortunately, I can’t go into details just yet about the specific types of interactive entertainment we’ll be releasing, but we’re confident that everyone who visits the portal will be pleased, not just anime fans.
Finally, just for fun, how fun would a Trauma Center MMORPG be? Can you make that happen for us?
That would be great, wouldn’t it? Hundreds of thousands of Dereks, Markuses, Angies, and Valeries running around, trying to defeat a mutated strain of GUILT that’s claiming the lives of innocent NPCs–all the while spamming the chat box with, “Let’s start the operation!”
_____
[You think I was joking about the Trauma Center MMO, Atlus? Get on that, STAT. Also, thanks so much for your time. We’re looking forward to seeing what else comes out of Atlus Online. ]
