Upcoming fighting game Persona 4 Arena Ultimax will have no region lock on American copies according to Atlus USA’s Twitter account.

The tweet is a little vague, leaving some people uncertain as to which versions of the game this announcement applies to. Atlus localization editor Nich Maragos clarified on NeoGAF that the announcement means “the US version will be region free”, not that US consoles will be able to play all versions of the game.

This news means that European players will be able to purchase American copies of the game for play on their European consoles. This is significant because the previous game in the series, Persona 4 Arena, was region locked on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – despite the fact that the vast majority of PS3 games have no region lock. This was not a popular decision with European fans, given that the European release date was almost a year after the Japanese and American ones.

In addition to this announcement, Atlus showed off the official cover art for the game as well as an updated image showing off the game’s pre-order bonuses:

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is set for a Fall release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

My Opinion:

This is definitely a great PR move on Atlus’ part – they haven’t exactly been timely with European releases as of late. At the very least, European gamers won’t have to wait a year to get their hands on this game. I have to wonder why the Japanese release hasn’t been confirmed region-free as well, but given these sweet pre-order bonuses for America (those tarot cards!), I can’t see it being a big deal if it isn’t. Last but not least… that cover art is badass.

Aaron Dobbe is an editor at MONG specializing in Nintendo but playing a bit of everything else too. Follow him on Facebook and pester him to get a Twitter.