Atlus' Shigenori Soejima is best known for being the man behind the Persona series' art direction. The characters we see and worlds we inhabit are in part thanks to his talent and imagination. We had the opportunity to chat with Soejima and he talked about his creative process, his favorite designs, and what lessons he's learned along the way.

His Creative Process

Soejima strives to make his designs as realistic as possible. He noted because the Persona series has traditionally been set somewhere in Japan, it already has a "root." The team first sits down and tries to talk about a theme color for each game. Persona 4 was more lighthearted and had livelier characters, and every time he envisioned its rural setting he kept thinking of the color yellow, "like the wildflower you see along the streets," he said. But he also liked yellow because it was a color of warning, so he felt that worked well for the murder-mystery premise. Persona 3 had a darker storyline and more serious characters, so blue worked well to represent that and its urban style.

Microsoft and its Xbox One have gone through a number of changes since the system was revealed in May of last year. From dropping Kinect and changing leadership, to recently shutting down its TV production plans and a report of cuts for its European staff, the console is being redefined seemingly every day. Amidst all this chaos, however, the Xbox One still has a core identity that it can hang its hat on and build off of for the future.

There's no doubt that events for the Xbox One haven't gone as Microsoft originally scripted them. However, this is a chance to re-focus what the system is all about and what it can do best.

Microsoft's online service was a key differentiator in the last generation, and will continue to be a strong foundation for the Xbox One. Monthly updates have not only popped in features that were not available at launch, but have allowed Microsoft to add new features – including fan requests. In the past, Microsoft has used Live to overhaul the Xbox 360's dashboard (and avatars), start the Games with Gold program, and host important apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and HBO Go. Microsoft has bet on online functionality since its first console, and the area will continue to be an important way to differentiate itself – especially as Sony and Nintendo grow their services.

Gearbox's new cooperative and competitive shooter, Battleborn, features so many playable characters that we've devoted an entire week of coverage to highlighting just a few of them. So far we've covered everything from a telekinetic rapier-wielding technocrat named Phoebe to the hulking goliath with a Gatling gun, Montana. We're ending the week with three more eclectic characters. Rath is an immortal samurai warrior that wields not one but three energy-infused blades; Marquis is a stylish robo-butler with a golden cane that doubles as a sniper rifle; and Caldarius is a shock trooper that sports a pistol, a chainsaw sword, and a jetpack. Read on to learn about their unique weapons and abilities, and for more of our hands-on impressions of the game.

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When the PlayStation 3 launched in November of 2006, some gamers wondered whether Sony's system would be able to catch up to the Xbox 360's one-year head start. However, even at a higher price point, the PS3 gained traction. Years later, it even overtook the 360 in worldwide sales. Of course, a console is nothing without great games, and the PlayStation 3's success can be attributed to a healthy portfolio of multiplatform hits alongside a broad selection of fun and innovative exclusives. We sorted through the entire library and picked the top 25 games on the PS3.

We've already covered the top 25 Wii games and the top 25 Xbox 360 games. As with our 360 list, we elected to choose only one game from a series for the PS3. Not filling up the list with Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty titles leaves more room to recognize other outstanding franchises and standalone games. Even then, the competition was fierce, and cutting the list down to only 25 entries caused plenty of arguments in the Game Informer office. 

You'll probably disagree with some of our choices, too. But that's all part of the fun.    

The current roster for Nintendo's premier character fighter already sits at over 30 characters. Nintendo has reached pretty deep into its well of icons (Wii Fit Trainer anyone?), but that doesn't mean it couldn't surprise us with one or two more character announcements before the full roster is finally revealed. We round up a wish list of some of gaming's most iconic faces and speculate on the likelihood that they'll be throwing down with Mario, Link, and Pikachu anytime soon.

For more stories like this check out our list of Namco Bandai characters ripe for Super Smash Bros., which correctly predicted Pac-Man as a playable Super Smash Bros. fighter.

Ryu Hayabusa – Ninja Gaiden’s star is possibly one of the most popular ninjas in all of gaming, and he would easily slice and dice his way through much of the Smash Bros. roster. An arsenal of shurikens would allow him to hit foes from a distance, but his swordsmanship would make him a dangerous up-close fighter. Just watch out for his Ninpo magic attacks, which let him summon fireballs and blistering hurricanes.

Editors Dan Tack and Tim Turi return to the land of Drangleic to face off with an old flame and throw themselves at the mercy of an undead king.

Magic: The Gathering's annual digital release is back with full deck customization and a smattering of fresh cards. Join PC Editor Daniel Tack and GI intern Dimitri Gedevanishvili in Magic 2015: Duels of the Planeswalkers as they walk and talk through one of the game's early matches in the plane of Innistrad. Check out our review here!

Magic 2015: Duels of the Planeswalkers is currently available on Xbox 360, PC, iPad, Kindle, and Android platforms. A Xbox One release is expected later this year.

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Now that you've seen the 35 developer lists chronicling their favorite games of the Xbox 360/Wii/PlayStation 3 console generation, it's time to crunch the numbers. Find out which game finished with the most votes, which games were snubbed, and which studio won over the most hearts last generation. 

After parsing through the numbers, here are a few discussion topics that stood out to us. 

You've dissected our picks for the best Wii and Xbox 360 games (and you'll see our PlayStation 3 list on Friday). But what do the developers think are the top games of the generation? We asked several prominent creators to share their top fives, and they obliged.

In the next several pages you can check out the lists from the creators of Call of Duty, Borderlands, Super Meat Boy, Halo, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, Journey, Uncharted, Dishonored, Gone Home, Bastion, Dragon Age, and more. A lot of the expected games show up, but there are also more than a few surprise selections. Whose list do you agree with the most? 

This week we're taking a look at just a few of the unique playable characters in Gearbox's new cooperative and competitive shooter, Battleborn. On Monday, we revealed the newcomer-friendly space marine, Oscar Mike; the poison-kunai wielding mushroom healer, Miko; and the floating, telekinetic swordswoman, Phoebe. Today we've got three more characters for you to learn about, and they're just as eclectic as the last bunch. Thorn is a slim and agile elf-like warrior who's deadly with a bow; Montana is a mountainous, Gatling-gun-wielding soldier with a zeal for battle; and Reyna is a tough rogue commander who sports some powerful support abilities. Read on to learn about each character's unique weapons and abilities, and for more of our hands-on impressions of the game.

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