Atelier producer says Atelier Ryza’s success saved the franchise
The Atelier RPG series has been going strong since the 90s, but if things had gone a little differently, we might not still be getting new entries today. Series producer Junzo Hosoi recently sat down for an interview with Noisy Pixel to explain what happened.
During their talk, Hosoi revealed that at one point there was a chance that the Atelier series might not continue. Fortunately, the Atelier Ryza line launched soon after and secured its place in the gaming world.
“When I stepped in as producer, the pressure was immense. If Ryza failed, it could have been the end of the Atelier series.”
[Junzo Hosoi, Noisy Pixel]
Luckily, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout was a huge success. It managed to sell over half a million copies in only a year. As of today, that number has soared to over 2 million units. Multiple sequels followed, including one that’s scheduled for release next month.
Hosoi added that when starting on Atelier Ryza, “the pressure was incredible, but it ended up opening new doors for the entire franchise”. We’ll see where some of those new doors take us when Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is released on March 21st, 2025.