Persona 3 Reload Producer Explains Why There's No Female Protagonist

gamerant.com:

Atlus producer Kazushi Wada has addressed why there's no option to play as a female protagonist in Persona 3 Reload, stating it was too expensive to implement. Persona 3 Reload launched this past February 2, which was a full remake of the original 2006 JRPG. Reload implements a number of mechanics and features from past re-releases of Persona 3, such as new scenes and mechanics that weren't in the original game. One feature that many fans wanted to make a return was the inclusion of the female protagonist.

Atlus introduced the option to play as a female protagonist in Persona 3 Portable, colloquially known as Minako Arisato or Kotone Shiomi. Playing as a female protagonist provides a different experience compared to the male protagonist, such as new social links, different romance options, and some changes in things like the cutscenes, music, and dialogue. Many fans believed Reload would have been a great place to include her, but were crestfallen when Atlus confirmed that no option would be included, even as post-launch DLC. Reload's producer, Kazushi Wada, recently discussed that a female protagonist option was considered, but was scrapped.

In an interview with Famitsu, Wada was asked about adding the female protagonist from Portable into Reload. Wada laments that there is no possibility for a female protagonist, apologizing to fans of the character. He notes they considered adding the female protagonist early on, but found that the time and cost dedicated to including it was too high. Wada says it would have been much costlier and would have taken more time to develop than the Episode Aigis: The Answer DLC that was announced earlier this week. «For a female protagonist, I am sorry to say that unfortunately, there is no possibility for a female protagonist,» said Wada. «Of course, we were considering a female protagonist as well, but the development time and cost would be several times longer than Episode Aigis, and the hurdles would be too high.»

While fans are