For fear of players spreading spoilers, developer Atlus is blocking all screenshot and video capture of Persona 5 via the PS4 controller’s share button functionality.
In a statement to Polygon, Atlus confirmed the practice to have begun with the game’s already-released Japanese version to help protect that audience from having story moments ruined for them. The representative said, “This being a Japanese title with solely a single-playthrough story means Japan is very wary about it. Sharing is currently blocked through the native PS4 UI.” They went on to confirm the functionality will continue to be universally blocked after the game’s U.S. release next week.
Instead of being able to share typical hi-res screenshots, Persona 5’s American players have been forced to take photos of the screen itself, as is made clear by these tweets from Polygon’s Phil Kollar:
Took my date to the arcade ???? pic.twitter.com/VR7vYoZWiE
— philip kollar (@pkollar) March 21, 2017
???????????? pic.twitter.com/uG9WAx0LDW
— philip kollar (@pkollar) March 28, 2017
Since the game’s September release in Japan, Japanese players have been able to share a few images from their console, albeit only from the game’s title screen and introductory animation. Persona 5 officially releases in the U.S. on April 4. If you haven’t already, you can check out our glowing review of the game here.