Highlights
- Persona 3 Portable is receiving surprise physical editions by Limited Run Games for select platforms.
- The physical release includes three editions, with prices ranging from $34.99 to $199.99, offering various additional items such as a steelbook, character trading cards, and a 1:1 replica of the Persona 3 Evoker.
- Pre-orders for all three editions will be available from September 29 to November 12, but delivery is estimated to take between four to ten months, with the physical release not arriving before March 2024.
Persona 3 Portable is getting treated to several surprise physical editions for select platforms, with their pre-orders being set to begin later this week. The release—which also includes a collector's edition of the iconic JRPG—is being handled by Limited Run Games (LRG), the company that recently authored the comeback of some classic Jurassic Park games.
First launched for the PSP in late 2009, Persona 3 Portable reached PC and the last two console generations back in January, debuting alongside the ports of Persona 4 Golden for those same platforms. Both titles were also day-one releases on Xbox Game Pass.
Eight months later, LRG announced a physical release of Persona 3 Portable for the PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch. The run includes three editions in total, the most affordable of which is the base game in a standard box, priced at $34.99. There's also the $69.99 Grimoire Edition that includes a steelbook, a book-shaped box with an accompanying slipcover, and the physical version of the game itself for one's platform of choice.
Finally, the $199.99 S.E.E.S. Edition comes with all of the above, as well as an S.E.E.S. armband, 11 character trading cards, a 3D shadowbox featuring the game's all-out attack splash frame, and a school patch. A physical version of the RPG's soundtrack is also part of the package, as is another shadowbox containing a 1:1 replica of the Persona 3 Evoker. LRG will be shipping each S.E.E.S. Edition of the game with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity, as is customary for such pricey collector's items.
All three physical editions of Persona 3 Portable will be available for pre-orders from September 29 to November 12. LRG has yet to commit to a specific time frame for when those orders are planned to begin shipping. However, like most other publishers solely operating on a pre-order system, the company historically had fairly long lead times. Specifically, its FAQ page states that standard game editions can take between four and six months to reach customers following the end of their pre-order periods. Meanwhile, the wait for collector's editions is estimated to be between eight and ten months long.
The physical release of Persona 3 Portable hence won't reach any prospective buyers before March 2024, at the earliest. This means it will actually lag behind the upcoming Persona 3 Reload remake, which is scheduled to hit the market on February 2, 2024. The silver lining in LRG's fulfillment approach is that anyone wanting to add Persona 3 Portable to their physical game collection will be able to do so, as this release is only "limited" in respect to its pre-order period, not actual available quantities.
Persona 3 Portable is available now for PC, PS4, PSP, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
