An open letter to ATLUS about coverage of Persona 5

Dear ATLUS,

Recently you issued a statement about the limitations imposed on those wishing to stream and share videos of Persona 5 online. While there is rationale to the decision you have made, I'd like to point out some of the follies of this approach and the direction you might be headed in.

Let's start with the problem: Persona 5 is a highly story-focused game and you're wary that people will feel satisfied watching the game online instead of playing it. This is amplified by the fact that the game has had a heavily extended development time and was therefore incredibly expensive to produce, meaning that you would likely need to make a lot of money in order to be able to continue operating. And at the same time, the trend of streaming games online and recording 'Let's Plays' has grown exponentially, with Youtube's most subscribed channel PewDiePie being devoted to games and Amazon acquiring game streaming site Twitch.tv for 970 million dollars.

So you're faced with a conundrum, how can you make money as a game developer when so many people are watching for free online? The answer is simple: Merchandise. Merchandising for games has become so popular that there are several websites and organizations devoted to it, such as Fangamer and iam8bit. Additionally some game developers create their own stores and merchandise which they sell to consumers directly, Bungie is an excellent example of this. Not only is merchandising a great stream of revenue that is extremely popular with internet-savvy millennials who would love Persona, but Persona itself is a property that is ripe with underutilized opportunities for merchandise. Things such as soundtracks, t-shirts, hats, bags, posters, even masks would all be beloved by all people who are interested in Persona, whether they've played it or not. Items like these could be sold online around the globe, as well as at popular conventions and other distribution sites.

But there's a larger issue here, and that's the viewpoint that a decision like this takes. In the world's ever-evolving media culture people love to share experiences and ideas, and to engage people. By preventing people from streaming Persona 5, you not only prevent them from expressing themselves and their interests, but you prevent them from sharing Persona with others, and therefore exclude it from the wider internet culture. This not only makes it hard to distribute merchandise, but also makes it harder to sell copies of the game. Sure people watch commercials and read written previews online, but now they often wait for a game to be released so they can see footage of the completed project. With your limitations, you have made showcasing Persona impossible for some, and have heavily demotivated others. If they can't stream the whole thing, they're likely to stream none of it. There's a greater concept here that's going to influence the future of marketing, and it's the power of Free, there's even a whole book about it. The gist of it is this: People no longer wish to pay up front for products, but instead are more likely to purchase things that are accessory to those products.

I'd like to say one final thing, and it's that this this situation is painted with a humorous layer of irony. Persona 5 is a game about thievery, deception, and changing the hearts of misguided adults, but it's being chained up behind streaming and sharing restrictions. ATLUS, it's time for a change of heart. Game streaming and sharing are not your enemy, instead they're something that can be used to your advantage, you just need to take the opportunity.

In short: If hold on life won't change.