<s>
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
NINE	I-Application
is	O
a	O
Japanese	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Atlus	O
and	O
NexTech	O
for	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
,	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Atlus	O
on	O
December	O
5	O
,	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Forming	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
series	O
,	O
Nine	O
takes	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
period	O
of	O
time	O
between	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
and	O
its	O
sequel	B-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
survivors	O
of	O
Tokyo	O
's	O
destruction	O
sheltering	O
in	O
underground	O
bunkers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
title	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
eighth	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
NINE	I-Application
began	O
development	O
in	O
2001	O
,	O
following	O
staff	O
discussions	O
about	O
how	O
to	O
make	O
an	O
online	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
title	O
for	O
Xbox	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
fully	O
utilize	O
3D	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Established	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
staff	O
worked	O
on	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
producer	O
Kouji	O
Okada	O
and	O
demon	O
designer	O
Kazuma	O
Kaneko	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
the	O
online	O
version	O
continued	O
as	O
a	O
port	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
which	O
would	O
eventually	O
become	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
:	I-Application
Imagine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
:	I-Application
Nine	I-Application
is	O
a	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
primarily	O
set	O
in	O
a	O
cyberspace	O
version	O
of	O
1990s	O
Tokyo	O
,	O
with	O
players	O
taking	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
silent	O
main	O
protagonist	O
to	O
explore	O
various	O
environments	O
within	O
Tokyo	O
's	O
districts	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
switching	O
between	O
different	O
districts	O
with	O
a	O
dedicated	O
fast-travel	O
menu	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Battles	O
do	O
not	O
reward	O
experience	O
points	O
as	O
in	O
other	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
games	O
:	O
instead	O
,	O
equipped	O
jewels	O
affect	O
the	O
protagonist	O
's	O
strengths	O
and	O
stats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
previous	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
games	O
,	O
players	O
can	O
negotiate	O
with	O
demons	O
and	O
get	O
them	O
to	O
join	O
their	O
party	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nine	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
"	O
202X	O
"	O
,	O
taking	O
place	O
during	O
the	O
latter	O
half	O
of	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
and	O
in	O
the	O
time	O
leading	O
up	O
to	O
its	O
sequel	B-Application
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
going	O
through	O
their	O
duty	O
as	O
a	O
Debugger	O
,	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
the	O
latter	O
half	O
of	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
take	O
place	O
,	O
which	O
culminate	O
in	O
all	O
parts	O
of	O
Tokyo	O
being	O
destroyed	O
in	O
a	O
Great	O
Flood	O
triggered	O
by	O
the	O
God-worshipping	O
Order	O
of	O
Messiah	O
:	O
Azuma	O
survives	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
body	O
being	O
in	O
cold	O
storage	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
their	O
mind	O
becomes	O
linked	O
to	O
Idea	O
Space	O
along	O
with	O
their	O
Law	O
and	O
Chaos	O
allies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
:	I-Application
Nine	I-Application
was	O
primarily	O
developed	O
by	O
Atlus	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
developer	O
for	O
the	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
additional	O
development	O
help	O
from	O
NexTech	O
,	O
a	O
company	O
that	O
would	O
later	O
be	O
rebranded	O
as	O
Nex	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
work	O
on	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Shining	B-Application
Soul	I-Application
and	O
Children	B-Application
of	I-Application
Mana	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nine	O
was	O
produced	O
by	O
long-time	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
producer	O
Kouji	O
Okada	O
,	O
directed	O
by	O
Kazunori	O
Sakai	O
,	O
and	O
written	O
by	O
Nobutaka	O
Shimizu	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
distinguish	O
Nine	O
from	O
previous	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
for	O
Nine	O
originated	O
during	O
staff	O
discussions	O
about	O
how	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
would	O
work	O
as	O
an	O
online	O
title	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
its	O
early	O
stages	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
Online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nine	O
is	O
not	O
the	O
ninth	O
game	O
in	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
series	O
;	O
the	O
title	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
moral	O
alignments	O
that	O
are	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
reason	O
why	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
set	O
between	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
and	O
its	O
sequel	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
title	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
;	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
switch	O
over	O
to	O
a	O
third-person	O
camera	O
perspective	O
from	O
the	O
first-person	O
perspectives	O
of	O
earlier	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
titles	O
;	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
feature	O
a	O
customizable	O
player	O
avatar	O
;	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
game	O
to	O
feature	O
fully	O
3D	O
graphics	O
,	O
something	O
previously	O
accomplished	O
with	O
Maken	B-Application
X	I-Application
,	O
a	O
1999	O
standalone	O
game	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Dreamcast	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
improvement	O
enabled	O
by	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
was	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
5.1	O
surround	O
sound	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
enable	O
richer	O
use	O
of	O
both	O
music	O
and	O
in-game	O
sound	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Maken	B-Application
X	I-Application
had	O
already	O
given	O
the	O
team	O
a	O
chance	O
to	O
use	O
3D	O
sound	O
,	O
but	O
Nine	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
title	O
to	O
make	O
major	O
use	O
of	O
5.1	O
,	O
and	O
implementing	O
it	O
alongside	O
all	O
the	O
other	O
features	O
proved	O
a	O
challenge	O
for	O
the	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nine	O
was	O
originally	O
announced	O
in	O
August	O
2001	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
Online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
,	O
Atlus	O
stated	O
that	O
there	O
were	O
no	O
plans	O
to	O
bring	O
Nine	O
overseas	O
,	O
with	O
their	O
focus	O
being	O
on	O
newer	O
Megami	B-Application
Tensei	I-Application
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2003	O
,	O
they	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
no	O
longer	O
had	O
any	O
plans	O
to	O
publish	O
the	O
online	O
version	O
for	O
Xbox	B-Application
,	O
due	O
to	O
problems	O
relating	O
to	O
network-based	O
development	O
and	O
the	O
profitability	O
of	O
online	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
cancellation	O
of	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
Live	O
version	O
,	O
development	O
continued	O
on	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
Nine	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
(	O
PCs	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
formed	O
the	O
base	O
for	O
what	O
would	O
become	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
:	I-Application
Imagine	I-Application
,	O
a	O
massively	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
for	O
PCs	B-Device
developed	O
by	O
Cave	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
and	O
Western	O
regions	O
across	O
2007	O
and	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
,	O
Atlus	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
development	O
costs	O
and	O
poor	O
sales	O
of	O
Xbox	B-Application
games	O
,	O
including	O
Nine	O
,	O
had	O
resulted	O
in	O
a	O
financial	O
loss	O
for	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
reviewer	O
also	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
geared	O
towards	O
those	O
who	O
had	O
already	O
played	O
Shin	B-Application
Megami	I-Application
Tensei	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
RPGFan	O
's	O
John	O
McCarrol	O
was	O
positive	O
in	O
his	O
early	O
preview	O
despite	O
not	O
knowing	O
much	O
about	O
the	O
promised	O
online	O
functions	O
,	O
saying	O
that	O
despite	O
some	O
bland	O
visuals	O
Nine	O
promised	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
Xbox	B-Application
games	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
and	O
possibly	O
North	O
America	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
