Atlus has just taken a major step! The company is known for creating and releasing games in Japan and North America, but now it has branched out into digital releases in other regions with the PSP version of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona. Atlus is publishing it on the European and Australian PlayStation Stores for €24.99.

Unfortunately, this means no UMD release in either region. I doubt this will bother people in Europe or Australia though…

Revelations: Persona orginally debuted in North America in 1996 on the PlayStation. At the time it was somewhat revolutionary. It was a dark RPG set in modern times, where high schoolers fought demons with personas that represented other aspects of themselves. The game was difficult to find. It also was noted for its less than stellar localization, which changed characters’ identities, altered the setting and totally removed an additional storyline called the Snow Queen quest.

Now, 13 years later, after the success of Persona 3 and 4, the original Persona getting is getting its due. Atlus has ported it to the PSP as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona and has gone to great lengths to fix all of the inaccuracies and faults of the original game. Finally, North American audiences get to experience this fantastic game the way it was meant to be played…

Good news for anyone who ever wanted to play the original Revelations: Persona (despite its flaws). There may be a chance to re-experience the game. A Hong Kong magazine called GameWave reported in its January 22, 2009 issue that the original Persona is headed to the PSP.

Supposedly the game, which will be of course handled by Atlus, is going to be released on April 30, 2009. It will cost 5,040 yen, or roughly $55. An official announcement, outside of this small blurb in GameWave, has not yet been released. Siliconera shows the actual image from GameWave where the game is mentioned…