Persona 5 Female Character Option ‘Not Worth It’ Says Director

J Station X: A Persona 5 female character option is 'not worth it' to develop, says director Katsura Hashino, as it would be a 'huge amount' of work.

[Activemessiah]

oh boy.. *grabs popcorn*

[NewMonday]

Persona 3's expansion had a female main charecter

[joab777]

Doesn't count. Every game should have a creator or a female lead, lol!

Honestly though, we've seen great female leads in Horizon and soon Hellblade. P5 is a game with a male lead and many great female characters. It's perfect!

[blitz0623]

Every game does not need a creator or female lead. They centered the plot around a male protagonist so it's not as simple as just turning him to a female, especially with the Social Links/Confidants.

[Quatron]

1. the female protag added nothing to the game except a more upbeat version.
2. the female route isn't even canon.

[Lynx0207]

Yep, and honestly for me playing female character in P3 was even more enjoyable. I'm a little disappointed there is no female lead in P5 but it is absolutely amazing game nonetheless.

[NecoTehSergal]

Everyone ignore Joab777, he's a known Cuck in N4G. He's probably comparable to Onision on Youtube where they're a 'Beta male feminist cuck'.

It's okay to be happy for female characters and 'some' diversity, but pandering and PC culture only sets everyone back a generation.

[RommyReigns]

Exactly what I was thinking when I read that headline

[DarkOcelet]

Why does every game have to feature a playable female character? If the developers wants a male character as a protagonist then so be it.

I don't see anyone saying why Nier or Horizon doesn't have a playable male character.

Let's just play the damn game and enjoy it as it is.

[Nitrowolf2]

SPOILERS: Nier does though :p

OT:

I do agree though not every game needs to have the option. Let developers make their games the way they want to

[_-EDMIX-_]

I agree it is the developers choice if the direct their feels they don't have any ideas for a female character then so be it though I might disagree, I'm playing his concept not the other way around.

He is not taking request.

As an artist I'm completely fine with that.

[_-EDMIX-_]

You don't see anyone saying that simply because we already have a crapload of male characters and games in the first place.

Nier being a spin off the drakengard already had male characters.

I simply want the creators to expand their Concepts.

Consider Final Fantasy series has had female main characters.

I at least want Persona to be that diverse in regards to trying to tell a different story.

[yarbie1000]

then go build you the game you wanna play.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@yar-that's not really relevant I'm not actually demanding they do that simply saying that it would be cool if they decided to.

I would definitely want them to be that diverse so we could have different stories and Social Links available.

You might be exaggerating and overreacting.

not that serious lol

You can't take every criticism towards a property as go build your own game lol

this is just simply a suggestion mind you I've said on several post I'm actually completely okay of developers having their own freedom.

[Kurdishcurse]

" I simply want the creators to expand their Concepts" except having a female character, or vice versa, has no relevance whatsoever with "expanding concepts". THE ONLY relevance in having a female or male protag is completely based on the creators vision for the character in the story.

thats it...thats how creating personal stories work. And this or these creators envisioned the main character of persona to be a guy. Just like the creator of horizon or metroid envisioned the character to be a girl. If someone told me they want a male samus, i would have the same reaction.

So basically, if the main character is supposed to be a blank slate for the player, like dark souls for example, then by all means. But akira, samus and alloy are not blank slates. So im afraid your suggestion is nonsensical on a creative level.

[CaptainObvious878]

I would like amazing, highly interactive environments in games including all physics based systems on kinetic energy (all games objects able to collide), fire, being able to dig anywhere and however deep I want, like tunnel under a wall, chop down trees, have sentient like AI I can have real conversations with on my head set.

But I know all of that would have a monumental developing budget and wouldn't be viable.

Just like this game's budget would grow a lot more proportionally to the small amount of people that would benefit from a female protagonist option.

[Lynx0207]

Not every. Max Payne and the Witcher for example - games that are about strong male protagonist are ok without female lead. Horizon is perfectly ok without male lead. But if the protagonist is the silent one and his story is so universal, I don't see the reason why there shouldn't be female option. I would love to play as female in P5.

[InTheZoneAC]

this article isn't for you

[Amplitude]

"...as Persona 4‘s protagonist moves from a big city to a small country farm “it seemed more natural for a male character to fulfill that role.”

LOL that explanation from the director. Can tell this isnt American.

[Cryptcuzz]

That is all you need to know right there under the article title: It won't be worth it to the developer, because it would be a huge undertaking to change texts, dialogue, conversation trees, design. Did you not think that there would have to be two versions of cut scenes, two versions of voice acting for how the cast would interact with the female version, etc. What you want and whether the developer seems it worth it or not is up to them.

[Cryptcuzz]

This is getting a little ridiculous IMHO.
What's next, a demand for a female Kratos?

I've played epic games with male and female lead characters and if there were an option to play as one version or the other, it simply wouldn't be the same!

Horizon Zero Dawn wouldn't be the same with a male version.

Tomb Raider wouldn't be the same with a male version.

Metal Gear Solid wouldn't be the same with a female version.

And God of War wouldn't be the same if there was a female version!

It is simple that the creative minds behind certain games create everything around either a male or a female lead and changing that would mean changing story elements, texts, conversation trees, etc etc to ensure it'll make sense the other way around.

[Lynx0207]

True, but GoW with female version of Kratos would be badass ;]

[TheColbertinator]

I'm all for a FemC if they had what P3P had. New music,social links,events and scripts.

[joab777]

So much work for a game like this. I'd prefer they pick one and spend time and money on the game.

[drizzom]

Exactly. The more resources you spend on a whole new character, events, etc. The lower the quality of the overall product. If they had done that, P5 would probably end up looking as dated as P3 with less events and social links because they would have had to spread the budget thin. The writing would take a hit because they would need events that work for both genders. This shit cost time and money. Persona is niche and they know their audience. They built a good relationship with them and so they are able to deliver a tailored quality product.

[ShadowWolf712]

P3P also had to cut content to fit the female MC stuff in there, and in the end it's basically pointless moving forward as the original P3 ending (Male MC route) is basically canonical to the events going forward.

Hence why he said it's not worth it.

[Relientk77]

The developers can do what they want

[SegaGamer]

Exactly. Why did they even feel the need to ask him this question ? Why does it matter if he has male or female lead character ?

When i play games, i don't even think about these things. It seems like gaming journalists have completely different views and opinions on games than the average gamer.

[zaherdab]

the main character is mainly character-less it's pointless to give him a sex option as he barely has any personality in the game. all the dialogue choices in the game are basically saying the same thing as a setup for the same answer ... the game is mostly about the supporting cast not the character you play

[_-EDMIX-_]

I agree if anything it would just allow at least some different scenarios and just have the ability to just play a different looking character.

It's actually why I think it's quite strange that they feel they would have a difficult time considering all the Persona main characters don't really have much personalities.

[zaherdab]

Yea i don't think it would've been that difficult but resources are better spent elsewhere, re recording dialogue ... having to deal with same sex relationships etc... would be a bit of work that won't really add much as it's not the point of the game

[Criti-Choco]

It could be argued that the intro of the plot would not have worked if the lead was a female, just saying. Theres a cultural layer to this and it isn't made for the western appeal. It is also easier for them to market later on, just take a look at persona 4 and the movie they launched, MC has a voice when you aren't the one picking the dialogue

[TheGamez100]

Have you played this or any other persona games? Dont wanna spoil but the game is very focused on the MC, which is you. You, the MC, transfer to a new school and live at a new place due to "events". Then the school really puts alot of attention on you, which you have to do something about. You must then work to overcome any problems you face. Without the MC in this game, there would be no game as he is pretty much the most important character, which again is YOU. Atlus even went ahead and gave the MC some voiced lines in the game too to give him some more "personality". The idea here is to have the MC represent you which you can decide yourself what choices you make. And no not all dailogue choices have the same results, there are differant reactions and benefits to diff options. I know for sure in p4, some of the dialogue options HUGELY affected how the game will progress.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@jm- ? Buddy I might argue if you've actually played any of them? Your character is based on the decisions you actually make , the character itself is not something that the developers specifically wrote with his own set of lines, the character so interchangeable that if you made it a female character you would pretty much have the same game.

The main character in all the Persona games is actually the lease flushed out character because there's not much specifically about that character.

If you took the main character in just made it a girl and altered some of the lines to fit a specific gender you don't really change as much as you might think.

I would actually say Personas main characters are only slightly above Elder Scrolls or Fallout.

So yes the decisions you make affect the game but the character itself is pretty Hollow and it's kind of meant to be that way because it's supposed to be you.

Those decisions are actions that you make it is not something the character does on its own to establish something.

[TheGamez100]

@_-EDMIX-_ My comment was to zahdab saying its pointless for a sex option and that he is characterless. LOL NO, its not just SOME lines...
Then tell me if you've played the game...

*******SPOILERSSSS*******
If you were able to choose a female character, would:
1. You have been accused of assualt by that one guy who was trying to rape the chick? He mostly likely would have even tried to do it to you too.
2. You be aproached by Ryuuji so easily and have him talking to you so easily?
3. Ann be so distant to you at first?
4. Sojiro, who love girls, as he does in the beginning treat you the same as a female?
5. Morgana, being a guy, treat you the same as a female?
6. Would Kamoshida JUST beat you instead of sexually harassing you? He abuses the guys but sexually harasses the females.
7. Yusuke asks ann to model nude, but there could be an option where you, the mc, could do that which Atlus again would have to do more work.
8. Lots of dialogue and scene changes for the Confidants too.
I could go on and on and on.
********END OF SPOILERSSS*******

So being a guy or girl has alot to do with the story. This means Atlus would have to change a TON of dialogue and story for the game. I would definately welcome an alternate game to this where you would be able to choose a differant gender. But that is alot of work for a small company as Atlus.

[zaherdab]

Yes Jmguy played 4 and quite far along in 5 ... yes the game is centered around the character but the character but the character can look like a chicken ( a bear or a cat ...) for all i care and the game would not change one bit... i am saing its pointless coz whatever the character looks like or what their gender is .... it doesnt add much to the experience of the game that character is emotionless, voiceless and choice less... yes you might get a first initial diffrent dialogue line but all subsquent dialogue converge towards the same thing ... if the game wants you to say yes ... the npcs ignore what you said and circle around and the game continues as if you said yes.

[rainslacker]

There was a visual novel game I played a while back where the gender of your character was indeterminate. You never saw your avatar, and the dialogue was written in such a way that it could go either way. You could "romance" either male or female characters, and how the characters treated you was all based on how you treated them.

I cant for the life of me think of the name of it right now. It was on Vita, although I believe it got a PS3 release. But it shows that it's possible to do without having to go through extraordinary effort.

I believe Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters was like this as well, although it was heavily implied you played as a male character

Not that I feel that would fit into Persona, based on it's narrative, but just something that came to mind based on your comment.

[TheGamez100]

Yes 100% agree. There shouldnt be optional genders in persona and most other story driven games. Having npcs treating you like a nongender all the time just irritates me in games that do this, making me feel like im some kinda nongender freak. P3p is an exception though since theyve already put all the focus in one gender in the original p3. Its like that where they would have to make a new game just for a different gender. Same discussions have been going for the zelda games which annoy me. Just look at some of the best singleplayer games ever out there and you can see most of them not having a gender option. (Metacritic) Gta4, gta5, Mario galaxy, Red dead Redemption, Last of us, Uncharted 2, Horizen, Ocarina of time, Botw, bioshock, mgs5, and INCLUDING Persona 5 etc etc.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Well technically speaking the main characters in The Persona games don't really have much personality and fact for the most part they don't even speak with the exception of what you allow them to convey so I actually feel that you could technically have a Persona that had a choice between both.

The only thing that would probably change would be the love interest.

Well the majority of those games are also not party based type RPGs, Persona seems to be one of the very few RPGs in which your character basically doesn't really do anything or contribute much to the concept of the game as it's your interpretation that doesn't really allow that most games that actually do that like the Elder Scroll series or Fallout give you the option of both because you are technically the character.

This is kind of similar to Bioshock where you play the character in regards to making those decisions but at the same time it is a set person.

Playing all the Persona games I would actually strongly disagree but they would have to change that much if they made it a female all you would have to do is just alter the options for the love interest in even that could simply be done by just making the love interest an opposite gender of The Supporting Cast.

ie Akihiko would be a love interest or something...

I mean if anything I actually believe they would be able to do an absolutely amazing job having both options you could have a story that's talking about alternate universes that basically has a second playthrough as a female character where the love interest or switched and different storylines are added to the game based on your character being a different gender.

It's not impossible and technically I don't even think you would have to change that much to achieve that.

Ie a social link might call you by a different surname or a social link might bring up different things to you. Etc

The more we talk about it the more I think a Persona game with both options that tied into the story would be absolutely brilliant!!!

Basically they could just make Persona 6 with a male character and then have another playthrough with a female character and changed all the Social Links to a slight degree to accommodate to the character's existence while also changing the dating Social Links,

The whole game could just be about slight alternate dimensions lol

Instead of being an option it could literally be part of the story in which playing a second playthrough gives you a completely different perspective, different cutscenes etc

[TheGamez100]

Yes the love options would change BUT theyd have to change quite a few of the story and dialogues to fit the gender which again, theyd have to make a new game OR waste a few more years just for the optional gender. On the initial game I prefer only one option, but if theyd decide they want to make an alternate game with a different gender, then I dont mind. But thats too much for a small company like atlus. They were able to do that without as much difficulty for p3p because its a portable with less power and as you can see it was basically turned into a visual novel which is waaay easier than a full 3d game.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@-Jm- hey would not need to change that much into the game all they would really have to do is change the love interest, I even gave a good example if you made Persona 3 character a girl instead of a guy the love interest would just be Akihiko or something. It would also allow for more Social Links but when you actually think about it the game development would not change that drastically because you're simply adding a couple lines to some characters in changing the character design of one character by choice.

I would argue that even when you speak to other characters it's actually very rare that even identify your gender...

I over all agree with you by the way if it's too much for the team to have a whole alternate universe with both genders to have different Social Links I'd rather they focus on one.

[Kurdishcurse]

Jmguy100 already rendered your points mute.

[opinionated]

Yes. Making games costs money 😲

Only jstation would try to turn that into something sexist lol. "This asshole said female charters aren't worth a damn, get him!"

[PaleMoonDeath]

You dont need to explain your work, one mans vision shouldn't be altered by the pussies of this generation, good stuff.

[Bathyj]

Exactly. Devs should make the game they want to make, 100% of the time. If that includes a female character, so be it. Who really cares. If it doesnt, so be it. Who really cares. Personally when I have the choice like in Ghost Recon, I usually pick the female because if Im going to be staring at an arse for 20 hours I prefer it to be a chicks. But Im not going to demand a game should include women (or men) just for the sake of diversity.

[senorfartcushion]

That's what the AC director said months before Evie Frye was shown.

That answer is reductive to the work.

[uth11]

Whats another five years development time?

[DragonDDark]

A lot

[drizzom]

I think that was the joke.

[bluefox755]

Who cares? It's their game, let them make it the way they want.

[_-EDMIX-_]

That is just very shameful and disappointing to hear especially since this is one of my favorite all-time series.

I don't really buy the excuse that they're not creative enough to do such a thing. Too much work? So It's easier to just take the safe route?

Some of the greatest roles in gaming were not created by taking the route that was the less amount of work. ie safe.

I hope it greatly reconsider and I actually hope they're just being coy and in reality already have something planned for a main female character especially if you consider the main character of most Persona games is pretty much voiceless and doesn't really have that much of a character to begin with.

If you look at even Persona 3 if you were placed a character with a female and just make the love interest male you actually still have the same game he doesn't really say or do as much as you might think.

I would say if anything The Supporting Cast members of Persona series are the real stars the main characters don't do as much.

[Kurdishcurse]

Its been a while sense ive read something so....thoughtless and ignorant. thanks for the laugh! Actually the amount of work it would take to redo many things are staggering if you change gender. Side character reactions alone is more than enough to completely ignore an opposite sex MC. As it would be dumb to have the same reactions, scenarios and conversations for both sexes. It doesnt work like that in real life nor in games. quite a dumb and silly thing to waste resources on or be disappointed by to be honest. Now come back to me when you convince people there should be a male samus or alloy. Maybe then your hypocrisy wont be so obvious. Byezeez!

[Kyizen]

So Tomb Raider should let me be a guy smh

[Cmv38]

I'm for more diverse games, but not to the point where concepts are being shoehorned in to make every single person happy.

[Razzer]

Uncharted as well. Natalie Drake?

lol

[jznrpg]

It is up to the developer. HZD doesnt have a male character and nobody is complaining. It is harder to add both sexes in games with well developed stories so I get it

[_-EDMIX-_]

Well Horizon zero Dawn is a set archetype of concept were Persona has always been open ended where every Persona is different similar to Final Fantasy or even Assassin's Creed.

I feel there's room to have one Persona where you have a female protagonist or even possibly both and some sort of alternate universe concept.

The character in Persona doesn't really say much for it to even matter that much to be honest.

Final Fantasy has been able to do this pretty well with several of their titles I think it would be cool if Persona had at least one. I always felt Maya in Persona 2 was an amazing character and easily could have carried that entire game.

I would only like them to have a female character if they actually have a whole idea of how they would implement it.

Maybe the point of their silent protagonist is to just give players some decision-making and they enjoy making female characters from a different perspective that allows them to interject more character.

I mean I don't think anybody could really argue that the supporting roles and Persona actually have a hundred times more character than the main characters that don't even speak.

[Furesis]

Persona 3 Portable

[starcatcher]

aww. :/

[EazyC]

Whatever the creative team thinks, I'm behind it. It's a work of art -- I wouldn't tell a band I wanted their next song to be in D major, I wouldn't tell a painter to make their next piece a still-life...I certainly wouldn't tell a game developer to work with my narrow view of what it should/shouldn't be.

I know he says it's a matter of effort -- but beyond that -- you didn't have a female protagonist and nor should you feel obliged to, or that it's a cause for concern

[ecchiless]

Ikr i hate when ppl "demand" this kind of shit, whats next? a female drake? a female master chief? ffs let the developer do the game they want or else we are gonna get a shitty game that is trying to pander to "all" the ppl.

[VersusDMC]

If there was a character creator or female option then they would not be able to do anime cutscenes with the main character present or have to do them twice. Maybe they'll put a female main in Persona 5 "Golden".

[Mr Marvel]

Ask any married man, women are a lot of work. ;)

[ecchiless]

xD

[just-joe]

How dare he do what he wants!

[enviable27]

SJWs Regroup!!!

[medman]

The more options players are given, the better, but for me personally I don't care whether the lead character is male, female, or "transitioning"....i f it's a good game, I'll enjoy it regardless.

[Prince_TFK]

The story would be a mess if they include it really. I am happy they have gone this route. Not every games need both genders as protagonists. Save that for games that really need it ala Mass Effect.

[CDbiggen]

Just once, I don't want this to be an issue. Although the yakuza series might get a free pass on this xD

[scark92]

That is fair enough, did not fit into the creators vision, if people are angry, they can make their own game.

[CrimsonWing69]

Why does it matter!? It's a story where the protagonist is s male. Dude, do people get mad when they watch a movie and the protagonist is a male.

*uck this stupid *ss PC society we live in. Let's be fair you selfish *ss whiners. Where's the tranny MC then, where's the different ethnicity MCs? I mean if we have to cater to one group we should cater to them all.

I'm sick of seeing these topics about SJW complaints in games or topics that fuel SJWs. Just shut the *uck up and enjoy the game or shut the *uck up and don't play it.

[Razzer]

Halo 6 should have an option for Missus Chief!

lol

[Scatpants]

Imagine if every book had to be written with both a male and a female version of the main character. It's stupid.

[S-Word]

I'm not surprised considering how bad Persona 5 was compared to the last 2 games. It sounds like the developers just wanted to put in the least amount of effort possible & it shows.

[DafunkyRebel]

you play as a high schooler in these series so if you want them to turn the next mc into a girl then they would have to do some teen girl research and it would be a hassle for them to deal with the legal troubles and such when using web browsers for such things.