Okay, so it's going to be a while before this arrives stateside.
Fortunately, Atlus is bringing P3 over, but it's going to take a while.
The good news for you importers out there:
Persona 3 releases today : 07/12/06.
A few random price comparisons, for those interested:
YesAsia.com = $59.49 [Sale]
Play-Asia.com = $64.90
Special Edition w/ tarot cards, postcards, post card holder, & school pin = out of print KonamiStyle Special Edition w/ briefcase, sound cd, wallpaper, armband, & Thanatos crystal art = out of print
For the rest of us willing to wait until 2007(such as yours truly, as I'm sure the localization will be worth waiting for), here come the details.
C/O
Persona3.com & the Digital Devil Database
General Game Information
Persona 3 takes place in modern day Japan and focuses on an un-named 17 year old, male protagonist. He has just transferred to a new high school, in an area known as Minatoku. This consists of the harbor city of Iwatodai and a nearby, man-made island known as Port Island. His co-ed dormitory is located on Iwatodai and each day, he and his friends take the monorail to school on Port Island. For the Protagonist, day time in this area plays out like it may for any one his age: a day of school and then an afternoon of hanging out with his friends.
However, at the stroke of midnight, a period known as "Shadow Time" begins. During this time, creatures known as Shadows wander the streets hunting and looking for battle. Early on, the Protagonist is attacked by one such Shadow. Due to forces beyond his control, the protagonist gains the abilities of this creature when he is attacked by it: namely, the ability to summon Personas.
A vast majority of the city is unaware of the existance of Shadow Time or even the Shadow itself. This is largely thanks to the fact that those unable to summon Personas are crystalized into a shape resembling a coffin during the Shadow Time transition, awakening the next day with no knowledge of the previous night's happenings. The protagonist and his friends, however, are fully aware of this time and space anomaly. Unlike his friends, who are only able to summon a set Persona, the Protagonist finds that he is able to switch between many at will. Thanks to this newfound power, he is chosen as leader of a rag-tag group (which becomes known as "Special Extracuricular Execute Sector", or "S.E.E.S.") who plan to dispose of the Shadow once and for all. Two members of this group include his school friends, Junpei Iori and Yukari.
However, being 17 and living in the real world also means that these so-called heroes have more normal things to deal with. Persona 3, moreso than previous entries in the series, attempts to mimic a general school year for a student. Thanks to this, the game takes place over a full, 365 day year (which Atlus had stated should last about 50 hours of game play). During school time, weekdays are filled up with classes, tests and even sick days. After-school clubs and activities are available for the characters to participate in. You can make plans with others for weekends, vacations and holidays or just spend your time wandering about town shopping, participating in events (such as Sports Meets) or even just talking.
"Community"; Persona and Velvet Room Information
Your relationship with others in the game, referred to as "Community", affects your character's chances against the Shadow. A better Community level allows you to summon more powerful Personas. This is quite different from the more simple level requirements present in previous Persona games, seemingly allowing gameplay to focus more on character development as opposed to just plain level grinding. In a column on the Persona 3 website, the creators briefly discuss the idea that they wanted a realistic idea of what it is like to be a kid in school and as such decided that it was important to focus on these daily activities and characters beyond just fighting.
Personas are now summoned in battle utilizing a device that is eerily similar to a hand gun. The characters aim this device at their head and pull the trigger to begin the summoning. While this seems to symbolize the "death" or removal of one mask (aka "Persona") to reveal another, it can obviously be misconstrued for its more literal meaning of right out suicide. If the team manages to defeat a Shadow in battle, there is a random chance that they may receive Persona Cards. The creature imprinted on the Persona Card may then be summoned in battle (although it is currently unclear whether or not you must visit the Velvet Room first in order to make use of them).
Igor(with Elizabeth) : Persona veteran & Velvet Room aficionado
Similar to previous Persona titles, these cards can be brought to the Velvet Room in order to be fused together and sacrified to form new, more powerful Personas. This time around, up to six acquired cards may be fused together to form a new Persona. As always, the Velvet Room is headed by Igor, an odd hunchback in a nice suit. He is joined by a woman named Elizabeth, who may ask certain favors of you and reward you with special items upon their completion.
Battle System Information
As mentioned above, the game relies on the use of Personas to a similar level of the previous games. Battles remain turn based, as before. However, there are some changes that should be noted.
For one, at least in the E3 2006 build, the player does not have direct control over any characters aside from the Protagonist. They can be given orders, but it seems as though the available options are grouped somewhat like the optional character AI in Dragon Quest games (i.e., heavy magic use, all-out physical attacker, healer, etc.). It is currently unknown whether or not this AI may be turned off.
Characters can attack with their equipped weapon, which as of this writing include swords and bows. It is unclear whether or not the game allows you to equip a separate melee and projectile weapon like the first Persona, but it seems unlikely. Obviously Personas may also be summoned.
Something new to the series, however, is the use of weaknesses against enemies. The basic idea is pulled from the Press Turn system present within Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga. This time around it is referred to as the "One More Press" system. When the weakness of an enemy is taken advantage of, that particular enemy is knocked down and that player gains another turn. If all enemies in a battle are knocked down, the characters can perform a special attack against all enemies on screen. As expected, enemies also make use of this system and therefore can potentially be far more deadly than might initially be expected.
Presentation
Persona 3 is the first completely 3D entry into the series. The characters in-game closely mimic the original artwork to a degree previously impossible in the series. This is further emphasised by the use of far more dynamic camera work in the battles, which is now more similar Digital Devil Saga or Nocturne. Like Persona 2, this title also makes use of animated cutscenes. However, this time around they are far more impressive in overall quality. The official trailer from Famitsu drives this point home very quickly.
In terms of music, the game makes use of modern Japanese pop for its score. Current information suggests that it is not heavily guitar dependant like Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga, but rather more along the lines of the more electronic influenced music in previous Persona titles. A good example of this can also be heard within the official trailer.
In addition, the Japanese version features a good amount of voice work throughout the game. Various Japanese seiyuu (voice actors) are used, most of which are known for their roles in popular anime. For Western release, it is pretty much a given that the game will be completely dubbed in English. Thankfully, Atlus's track record in this field as of late has been extremely positive. It remains to be seen if the Japanese vocal track will remain as an option, but given the last few titles it's unlikely.
[/end P3.com/DDDB summary]
Atlus' official website,
http://p3.atlus.co.jp/, has a whole ton of character bios on some of the many characters appearing in Persona 3.
Sorry Revelations/Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment veterans : no returning people aside from Igor and perhaps Philemon yet.
The Other Self / Main Character 
Akihiko Sanada 
Mitsuri Kirijo 
Yukari Takeba 
Fuka Yamagishi 
Junpei Iori 
Ken Amada 
Koromaru 
Aegis (?)
I'd translate the details, but your guess is as good as mine. :?
Discuss, overhype, even import away if you can.
ESRB + Persona 3 = instant M Rating?
Sounds like a safe bet to me.
The 18:00 Famitsu Trailer : Anime Intro, gameplay, and voice acting galore
Persona 3 [JP] : School, Shadows, & Suicide 
