title: 401(k)

text: For pre-tax contributions, the employee does not pay federal income tax on the amount of current income he or she defers to a 401(k) account, but does still pay the total 7.65% payroll taxes (social security and medicare). For example, a worker who otherwise earns $50,000 in a particular year and defers $3,000 into a 401(k) account that year only reports $47,000 in income on that year's tax return. Currently, this would represent a near-term $660 saving in taxes for a single worker, assuming the worker remained in the 22% marginal tax bracket and there were no other adjustments (like deductions). The employee ultimately pays taxes on the money as he or she withdraws the funds, generally during retirement. The character of any gains (including tax-favored capital gains) is transformed into "ordinary income" at the time the money is withdrawn.


title: 401(k)

text: If the employee made after-tax contributions to the 401(k) account, these amounts are commingled with the pre-tax funds and simply add to the 401(k) basis. When distributions are made the taxable portion of the distribution will be calculated as the ratio of the after-tax contributions to the total 401(k) basis. The remainder of the distribution is tax-free and not included in gross income for the year.


title: 401(k)

text: Beginning in the 2006 tax year, employees have been allowed to designate contributions as a Roth 401(k) deferral. Similar to the provisions of a Roth IRA, these contributions are made on an after-tax basis.


title: 401(k)

text: For accumulated after-tax contributions and earnings in a designated Roth account (Roth 401(k)), "qualified distributions" can be made tax-free. To qualify, distributions must be made more than 5 years after the first designated Roth contributions "and" not before the year in which the account owner turns age , unless an exception applies as detailed in IRS code section 72(t). In the case of designated Roth contributions, the contributions being made on an after-tax basis means that the taxable income in the year of contribution is not decreased as it is with pre-tax contributions. Roth contributions are irrevocable and cannot be converted to pre-tax contributions at a later date. (In contrast to Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs), where Roth contributions may be recharacterized as pre-tax contributions.) Administratively, Roth contributions must be made to a separate account, and records must be kept that distinguish the amount of contribution and the corresponding earnings that are to receive Roth treatment.


title: 401(k)

text: Unlike the Roth IRA, there is no upper-income limit capping eligibility for Roth 401(k) contributions. Individuals who find themselves disqualified from a Roth IRA may contribute to their Roth 401(k). Individuals who qualify for both can contribute the maximum statutory amounts into either or a combination of the two plans (including both catch-up contributions if applicable). Aggregate statutory annual limits set by the IRS will apply.


title: 401(k)

text: Generally, a 401(k) participant may begin to withdraw money from his or her plan after reaching the age of without penalty. The Internal Revenue Code imposes severe restrictions on withdrawals of tax-deferred or Roth contributions while a person remains in service with the company and is under the age of . Any withdrawal that is permitted before the age of is subject to an excise tax equal to ten percent of the amount distributed (on top of the ordinary income tax that has to be paid), including withdrawals to pay expenses due to a hardship, except to the extent the distribution does not exceed the amount allowable as a deduction under Internal Revenue Code section 213 to the employee for amounts paid during the taxable year for medical care (determined without regard to whether the employee itemizes deductions for such taxable year). Amounts withdrawn are subject to ordinary income taxes to the participant.


title: 401(k)

text: Some employers may disallow one, several, or all of the previous hardship causes. To maintain the tax advantage for income deferred into a 401(k), the law stipulates the restriction that unless an exception applies, money must be kept in the plan or an equivalent tax deferred plan until the employee reaches years of age. Money that is withdrawn prior to the age of typically incurs a 10% penalty tax unless a further exception applies. This penalty is on top of the "ordinary income" tax that has to be paid on such a withdrawal. The exceptions to the 10% penalty include: the employee's death, the employee's total and permanent disability, separation from service in or after the year the employee reached age 55, substantially equal periodic payments under section 72(t), a qualified domestic relations order, and for deductible medical expenses (exceeding the 7.5% floor). This does not apply to the similar 457 plan.


title: 401(k)

text: As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CARES Act allowed people to withdraw funds before the age of up to $100,000 without the 10% penalty due for 2020.


title: 401(k)

text: Many plans also allow participants to take loans from their 401(k). The "interest" on the loan is paid not to the financial institution, but is instead paid into the 401(k) plan itself, essentially becoming additional after-tax contributions to the 401(k). The movement of the principal portion of the loan is tax-neutral as long as it is properly paid back. However, the interest portion of the loan repayments are made with after-tax funds but do not increase the after-tax basis in the 401(k). Therefore, upon distribution/conversion of those funds, the owner will have to pay taxes on (only) the interest funds a second time.


title: 401(k)

text: The loan principal is not taxable income nor subject to the 10% penalty as long as it is paid back in accordance with section 72(p) of the Internal Revenue Code. This section requires, among other things, that the loan is for a term no longer than 5 years (except for the purchase of a primary residence), that a "reasonable" rate of interest be charged, and that substantially equal payments (with payments made at least every calendar quarter) be made over the life of the loan. Employers, of course, have the option to make their plan's loan provisions more restrictive. When an employee does not make payments in accordance with the plan or IRS regulations, the outstanding loan balance will be declared in "default". A defaulted loan, and possibly accrued interest on the loan balance, becomes a taxable distribution to the employee in the year of default with all the same tax penalties and implications of a withdrawal.


title: 401(k)

text: Account owners must begin making distributions from their accounts by April 1 of the calendar year after turning age or April 1 of the calendar year after retiring, whichever is later. The amount of distributions is based on life expectancy according to the relevant factors from the appropriate IRS tables. For individuals who attain age after December 31, 2019, distributions are required by April 1 of the calendar year after turning age 72 or April 1 of the calendar year after retiring, whichever is later.


title: 401(k)

text: The required minimum distribution is "not" required for a particular calendar year if the account owner is employed by the employer during the entire calendar year "and" the account owner does not own more than 5% of the employer's business at any point during the calendar year. Required minimum distributions apply to both traditional contributions and Roth contributions to a 401(k) plan.


title: 401(k)

text: A person who is required to make a required minimum distribution, but does not do so, is subject to a penalty of 50% of the amount that should have been distributed.


title: 401(k)

text: In response to the United States economic crisis of 2007–2009, Congress suspended the RMD requirement for 2009.


title: 401(k)

text: A 401(k) plan may have a provision in its plan documents to close the account of former employees who have low account balances. Almost 90% of 401(k) plans have such a provision. As of March 2005, a 401(k) plan may require the closing of a former employee's account if and only if the former employee's account has less than $1,000 of vested assets.


title: 401(k)

text: When a former employee's account is closed, the former employee can either roll over the funds to an individual retirement account, roll over the funds to another 401(k) plan, or receive a cash distribution, less required income taxes and possibly a penalty for a cash withdrawal before the age of .


title: 401(k)

text: Rollovers between eligible retirement plans are accomplished in one of two ways: by a distribution to the participant and a subsequent rollover to another plan or by a direct rollover from plan to plan. Rollovers after a distribution to the participant must generally be accomplished within 60 days of the distribution. If the 60-day limit is not met, the rollover will be disallowed and the distribution will be taxed as ordinary income and the 10% penalty will apply, if applicable. The same rules and restrictions apply to rollovers from plans to IRAs.


title: 401(k)

text: A direct rollover from an eligible retirement plan to another eligible retirement plan is not taxable, regardless of the age of the participant.


title: 401(k)

text: In 2013, the IRS began allowing conversions of existing Traditional 401(k) contributions to Roth 401(k). In order to do so, an employee's company plan must offer both a Traditional and Roth option and explicitly permit such a conversion.


title: 401(k)

text: There is a maximum limit on the total yearly "employee" pre-tax or Roth salary deferral into the plan. This limit, known as the "402(g) limit", was $19,000 for 2019, $19,500 for 2020–2021, and $20,500 for 2022. For future years, the limit may be indexed for inflation, increasing in increments of $500. Employees who are at least 50 years old at any time during the year are now allowed additional pre-tax "catch up" contributions of up to $6,000 for 2015–2019, and $6,500 for 2020–2021. The limit for future "catch up" contributions may also be adjusted for inflation in increments of $500. In eligible plans, employees can elect to contribute on a pre-tax basis or as a Roth 401(k) contribution, or a combination of the two, but the total of those two contributions amounts must not exceed the contribution limit in a single calendar year. This limit does not apply to post-tax non-Roth elections.


title: 401(k)

text: If the employee contributes more than the maximum pre-tax/Roth limit to 401(k) accounts in a given year, the excess, as well as the deemed earnings for those contributions, must be withdrawn or corrected by April 15 of the following year. This violation most commonly occurs when a person switches employers mid-year and the latest employer does not know to enforce the contribution limits on behalf of their employee. If this violation is noticed too late, the employee will not only be required to pay tax on the excess contribution amount the year was earned, the tax will effectively be doubled as the late corrective distribution is required to be reported again as income along with the earnings on such excess in the year the late correction is made.


title: 401(k)

text: Plans which are set up under section 401(k) can also have employer contributions that cannot exceed other regulatory limits. Employer matching contributions can be made on behalf of designated Roth contributions, but the employer match must be made on a pre-tax basis.


title: 401(k)

text: Some plans also have a profit-sharing provision where employers make additional contributions to the account and may or may not require matching contributions by the employee. These additional contributions may or may not require a matching employee contribution to earn them. As with the matching funds, these contributions are also made on a pre-tax basis.


title: 401(k)

text: There is also a maximum 401(k) contribution limit that applies to all employee and employer 401(k) contributions in a calendar year. This limit is the section 415 limit, which is the lesser of 100% of the employee's total pre-tax compensation or $56,000 for 2019, or $57,000 in 2020. For employees over 50, the catch-up contribution limit is also added to the section 415 limit.


title: 401(k)

text: Governmental employers in the United States (that is, federal, state, county, and city governments) are currently barred from offering 401(k) retirement plans unless the retirement plan was established before May 1986. Governmental organizations may set up a section 457(b) retirement plan instead. IRS Raises 2022 401(k) Contribution Limit to $20,500, a $1,000 boost from 2021 contribution limits.


title: 401(k)

text: For a corporation, or LLC taxed as a corporation, contributions must be made by the end of a calendar year. For a sole proprietorship, partnership, or an LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship, the deadline for depositing contributions is generally the personal tax filing deadline (April 15, or September 15 if an extension was filed).


title: 401(k)

text: To help ensure that companies extend their 401(k) plans to low-paid employees, an IRS rule limits the maximum deferral by the company's highly compensated employees (HCEs) based on the average deferral by the company's non-highly compensated employees (NHCEs). If the less compensated employees save more for retirement, then the HCEs are allowed to save more for retirement. This provision is enforced via "non-discrimination testing". Non-discrimination testing takes the deferral rates of HCEs and compares them to NHCEs. In 2008, an HCE was defined as an employee with compensation greater than $100,000 in 2007, or as an employee that owned more than 5% of the business at any time during the year or the preceding year. In addition to the $100,000 limit for determining HCEs, employers can elect to limit the top-paid group of employees to the top 20% of employees ranked by compensation. That is, for plans with the first day of the plan-year in the 2007 calendar year, HCEs are employees who earned more than $100,000 in gross compensation (also known as 'Medicare wages') in the prior year. For example, most testing done in 2009 was for the 2008 plan-year, which compared 2007 plan-year gross compensation to the $100,000 threshold in order to determine who was an HCE and who was an NHCE. The threshold was $125,000 for 2019, and is $130,000 for 2020.


title: 401(k)

text: The actual deferral percentage (ADP) of all HCEs as a group cannot exceed 2 percentage points greater than all NHCEs as a group. This is known as the ADP test. When a plan fails the ADP test, it essentially has two options to come into compliance. A return of excess can be given to the HCEs to lower the HCE ADP to a passing level, or it can process a "qualified non-elective contribution" (QNEC) to some or all of the NHCEs in order to raise the NHCE ADP to a passing level. A return of excess requires the plan to send a taxable distribution to the HCEs (or reclassify regular contributions as catch-up contributions subject to the annual catch-up limit for those HCEs over 50) by March 15 of the year following the failed test. A QNEC must be vested immediately.


title: 401(k)

text: The annual contribution percentage (ACP) test is similarly performed but also includes employer matching and employee after-tax contributions. ACPs do not use the simple 2% threshold, and include other provisions which can allow the plan to "shift" excess passing rates from the ADP over to the ACP. A failed ACP test is likewise addressed through return of excess, or a QNEC or qualified match (QMAC).


title: 401(k)

text: There are a number of "safe harbor" provisions that can allow a company to be exempted from the ADP test. This includes making a "safe harbor" employer contribution to employees' accounts. Safe harbor contributions can take the form of a match (generally totaling 4% of pay) or a non-elective profit sharing (totaling 3% of pay). Safe harbor 401(k) contributions must be 100% vested at all times with immediate eligibility for employees. There are other administrative requirements within the safe harbor, such as requiring the employer to notify all eligible employees of the opportunity to participate in the plan, and restricting the employer from suspending participants for any reason other than due to a hardship withdrawal.


title: 401(k)

text: Employers are allowed to automatically enroll their employees in 401(k) plans, requiring employees to actively opt out if they do not want to participate (traditionally, 401(k)s required employees to opt in). Companies offering such automatic 401(k)s must choose a default investment fund and saving rate. Employees who are enrolled automatically will become investors in the default fund at the default rate, although they may select different funds and rates if they choose, or even opt out completely.


title: 401(k)

text: Automatic 401(k)s are designed to encourage high participation rates among employees. Therefore, employers can attempt to enroll non-participants as often as once per year, requiring those non-participants to opt out each time if they do not want to participate. Employers can also choose to escalate participants' default contribution rate, encouraging them to save more.


title: 401(k)

text: The Pension Protection Act of 2006 made automatic enrollment a safer option for employers. Prior to the Pension Protection Act, employers were held responsible for investment losses as a result of such automatic enrollments. The Pension Protection Act established a safe harbor for employers in the form of a "Qualified Default Investment Alternative", an investment plan that, if chosen by the employer as the default plan for automatically enrolled participants, relieves the employer of financial liability. Under Department of Labor regulations, three main types of investments qualify as QDIAs: lifecycle funds, balanced funds, and managed accounts. QDIAs provide sponsors with fiduciary relief similar to the relief that applies when participants affirmatively elect their investments.


title: 401(k)

text: 401(k) plans charge fees for administrative services, record-keeping services, investment management services, and sometimes outside consulting services. They can be charged to the employer, the plan participants or to the plan itself and the fees can be allocated on a per participant basis, per plan, or as a percentage of the plan's assets. For 2011, the average total administrative and management fees on a 401(k) plan was 0.78 percent or approximately $250 per participant. However small businesses can suffer especially higher plan fees. The United States Supreme Court ruled, in 2015, that plan administrators could be sued for excessive plan fees and expenses, in Tibble v. Edison International. In the Tibble case, the Supreme Court took strong issue with a large company placing plan investments in "retail" mutual fund shares as opposed to "institutional" class shares.


title: 401(k)

text: The IRS monitors defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s to determine if they are top-heavy, or weighted too heavily in providing benefits to key employees. If the plans are too top-heavy, the company must remedy this by allocating funds to the other employees' (known as non-key employees) benefit plans.


title: 401(k)

text: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) made 401(k) plans more beneficial to the self-employed. The two key changes enacted related to the allowable "Employer" deductible contribution, and the "Individual" IRC-415 contribution limit.


title: 401(k)

text: Prior to EGTRRA, the maximum tax-deductible contribution to a 401(k) plan was 15% of eligible pay (reduced by the amount of salary deferrals). Without EGTRRA, an incorporated business person taking $100,000 in salary would have been limited in Y2004 to a maximum contribution of $15,000. EGTRRA raised the deductible limit to 25% of eligible pay without reduction for salary deferrals. Therefore, that same businessperson in Y2008 can make an "elective deferral" of $15,500 plus a profit sharing contribution of $25,000 (i.e. 25%), and—if this person is over age 50—make a catch-up contribution of $5,000 for a total of $45,500. For those eligible to make "catch-up" contribution, and with salary of $122,000 or higher, the maximum possible total contribution in 2008 would be $51,000. To take advantage of these higher contributions, many vendors now offer Solo 401(k) plans or Individual(k) plans, which can be administered as a Self-Directed 401(k), permitting investment in real estate, mortgage notes, tax liens, private companies, and virtually any other investment.


title: 401(k)

text: Note: an unincorporated business person is subject to slightly different calculation. The government mandates calculation of profit sharing contribution as 25% of "net self-employment (Schedule C) income". Thus on $100,000 of self-employment income, the contribution would be 20% of the gross self-employment income, 25% of the net after the contribution of $20,000.


title: 401(k)

text: ROBS is an arrangement in which prospective business owners use their 401(k) retirement funds to pay for new business start-up costs. ROBS is an acronym from the United States Internal Revenue Service for the IRS ROBS Rollovers as Business Start-Ups Compliance Project.


title: 401(k)

text: ROBS plans, while not considered an abusive tax avoidance transaction, are questionable because they may solely benefit one individual – the individual who rolls over his or her existing retirement 401(k) withdrawal funds to the ROBS plan in a tax-free transaction. The ROBS plan then uses the rollover assets to purchase the stock of the new business. A C corporation must be set up in order to roll the 401(k) withdrawal.


title: 401(k)

text: Even though the term "401(k)" is a reference to a specific provision of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code section 401, it has become so well known that it has been used elsewhere as a generic term to describe analogous legislation. For example, in October 2001, Japan adopted legislation allowing the creation of "Japan-version 401(k)" accounts even though no provision of the relevant Japanese codes is in fact called "section 401(k)".


title: 401(k)

text: Similar pension schemes exist in other nations as well. The term is not used in the UK, where analogous pension arrangements are known as personal pension schemes. In Australia, they are known as superannuation funds. New Zealand has a scheme called KiwiSaver. In Canada RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) play a similar role although they don't have to be employer sponsored and have different contribution limits.


title: 401(k)

text: Similarly, India has a scheme called National Pension System (NPS), mandatory for all Central Government employees from January 2004, which is similar to 401(k) in terms of investment options, restriction on withdrawals and tax exemption on contribution, return earned and also withdrawals at retirement age(generally 60). It is also adopted by most state governments for their employees and also opened for the corporate sector. It's regulated by PFRDA Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Some old pension schemes like EPF for private or public sector employees and PPF for self-employed, practicing professionals, small business owners, exist but they offer a lower rate of return that is fixed by Government every quarter.The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a statutory body of the Government of India under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It administers a compulsory contributory Provident Fund Scheme, Pension Scheme, and an Insurance Scheme. The schemes cover both Indian and international workers (for countries with which bilateral agreements have been signed; 14 such social security agreements are active). It is one of the largest social security organisations in India in terms of the number of covered beneficiaries and the volume of financial transactions undertaken. The EPFO's apex decision-making body is the Central Board of Trustees.


title: 401(k)

text: Nepal and Sri Lanka have similar employees provident fund schemes. In Malaysia, The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was established in 1951 upon the Employees Provident Fund Ordinance 1951. The EPF is intended to help employees from the private sector save a fraction of their salary in a lifetime banking scheme, to be used primarily as a retirement fund but also in the event that the employee is temporarily or no longer fit to work. As of March 31, 2014, the size of the EPF asset size stood at RM597 billion (US$184 billion), making it the fourth-largest pension fund in Asia and seventh-largest in the world.


title: 401(k)

text: Unlike defined benefit ERISA plans or banking institution saving accounts, there is no government insurance for assets held in 401(k) accounts. Plans of sponsors experiencing financial difficulties sometimes have funding problems. However, the bankruptcy laws give a high priority to sponsor funding liability. In moving between jobs, this should be a consideration by a plan participant in whether to leave assets in the old plan or roll over the assets to a new employer plan or to an individual retirement arrangement (an IRA). Fees charged by IRA providers can be substantially less than fees charged by employer plans and typically offer a far wider selection of investment vehicles than employer plans.


title: Persona 4

text: The plot of "Persona 4" was inspired by the work of mystery novelists owing to its murder mystery premise. The rural setting was based on a town on the outskirts of Mount Fuji and intended as a "'nowhere' place" and is the central setting to have players sympathize with the daily life of the characters. The developers added many in-game events to prevent the game from becoming stale. During localization, numerous alterations to Japanese cultural references were made to preserve the effect as much as possible. The release of "Persona 4" in Japan was accompanied by merchandise such as character costumes and accessories. The game's music was primarily composed by Shoji Meguro, with vocals performed by Shihoko Hirata. The North American and European releases came with a soundtrack CD with selected music from the game.


title: Persona 4

text: With praise given towards the gameplay, story, characters, and music, "Persona 4" received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest games of all time. An enhanced version of the game, "Persona 4 Golden", was released for PlayStation Vita in 2012 and Windows in 2020, selling copies worldwide; ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S are scheduled for release in 2023. Various other manga and light novel adaptations and spin-offs have been produced. An anime adaptation by AIC ASTA, "", began airing in Japan in October 2011, with an anime of "Persona 4 Golden" airing in July 2014. The game also spawned two fighting game sequels, "Persona 4 Arena" and "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax", as well as a rhythm game, "". Party members from "Persona 4" are prominently featured as playable characters in "" (2014) and "" (2018).


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4" blends traditional RPG gameplay with simulation elements. The player controls the game's protagonist, a teenage boy who is named by the player, who comes to the town of Inaba for a year. Gameplay is divided between the real world of Inaba, where the protagonist carries out his daily life, and the mysterious "TV World", where various dungeons filled with monsters known as Shadows await. With the exception of scripted events, such as plot progression or special events, players can choose to spend their day how they like, be it participating in various real world activities, such as joining school clubs, taking part-time jobs, or reading books, or exploring the TV World's dungeons to gain experience and items. Days are broken up into various times of day, the most frequently recurring being "After School/Daytime" and "Evening", with most activities causing time to move on. Certain activities are limited depending on the time of day, days of the week, and the weather, with most evening activities unavailable if the player visits the TV World that day. Furthermore, some activities and dialogue choices may be limited by the protagonist's five attributes; Understanding, Diligence, Courage, Knowledge, and Expression, which can be increased by performing certain activities that build them. Whilst the player is free to choose how to spend their time, if they fail to rescue someone who is trapped in the TV World by the time fog appears in town, which takes place after several days of consecutive rain, that person will get killed by the shadows and the game will end, forcing the player to return to a week prior. As the game progresses, the protagonist forms friendships with other characters known as "Social Links", which are each represented by one of the Major Arcana. As these bonds strengthen, the Social Links increase in Rank, which grant bonuses when creating new Personas in the Velvet Room. Additionally, strengthening Social Links with the main party members grant them additional abilities, such as the ability to perform a follow-up attack or an additional ability for their Persona.


title: Persona 4

text: The main focus of the game revolves around Personas, avatars projected from one's inner self that resemble mythological figures and represent the façades worn by individuals to face life's hardships. Each Persona possesses its own skills, as well as strengths and weaknesses to certain attributes. As Personas gain experience from battle and level up, that Persona can learn new skills, which include offensive or support abilities used in battle, or passive skills that grant the character benefits. Each Persona can carry up to eight skills at a time, with older skills needing to be forgotten in order to learn new ones. Whilst each of the main party members have their own unique Persona, which transforms into a stronger form after maxing out their Social Link, the protagonist has the "Wild Card" ability to wield multiple Personas, which he can switch between during battle to access different movesets. The player can earn new Personas from Shuffle Time, with the protagonist able to carry more Personas as he levels up. Outside of the dungeons, the player can visit the Velvet Room, where players can create new Personas, or summon previously acquired Personas for a fee. New Personas are created by fusing two or more monsters to create a new one, which receives some of the skills passed down from its material monsters. The level of Personas that can be created are limited by the protagonist's current level. If the player has built up a Social Link relating to a particular Arcana, then a Persona relating to that Arcana will receive a bonus upon creation.


title: Persona 4

text: Inside the TV World, the player assembles a party, consisting of the protagonist and up to three other characters, to explore randomly generated dungeons, each tailored around a victim who had been kidnapped. On each floor of a dungeon, the player may find roaming Shadows, as well as treasure chests containing items and equipment. Players progress through the dungeon by finding the stairs somewhere on each floor to progress to the next, eventually reaching the final floor where a boss enemy awaits. The player enters battle upon coming into contact with a Shadow. The player can gain an advantage by attacking the Shadow from behind, whilst being attacked from behind themselves will give the enemy an advantage. Similar to the "Press Turn" system used in other "Shin Megami Tensei" games, battles are turn-based with characters fighting enemies using their equipped weapons, items, or the special skills of their Personas. Aside from the protagonist, who is controlled directly, the other characters can either be given direct commands or be assigned 'Tactics' which alter their battle AI. If the protagonist loses all of his HP, the game ends, returning players to the title screen.


title: Persona 4

text: Offensive abilities carry several attributes, including Physical, Fire, Ice, Wind, Electricity, Light, Dark and Almighty. As well as various enemies carrying different attributes, player characters may also have strengths or weaknesses against certain attacks depending on their Persona or equipment. By exploiting an enemy's weakness or performing a critical attack, the player can knock them over, granting the attacking character an additional move, whilst the enemy may also be granted an additional move if they target a player character's weakness. If the player knocks all of the enemies down, they may be granted the opportunity to perform an "All-Out Attack", in which all the players rush the downed enemies to inflict heavy damage. Following a battle, players gain experience points, money, and items from their battle. Sometimes after a battle, the player may participate in a mini-game known as "Shuffle: Time" and "Arcana Chance", which can grant player new Personas or various bonuses respectively.


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4" takes place in the fictional, rural Japanese town of , which lies among floodplains and has its own high school and shopping districts. Unexplained murders have taken place in the small town, where bodies are found dangling from television antennas and their cause of death being unknown. At the same time, rumor has begun to spread that watching a switched-off television set on rainy midnights will reveal a person's soulmate. The game also follows the main characters into the TV World, a fog-shrouded realm filled with monsters called Shadows, which can only be accessed through TV sets.


title: Persona 4

text: The protagonist is a high school student, named Yu Narukami in later media, who has recently moved from the city to attend school at Inaba. At school, he quickly becomes friends with Yosuke Hanamura, the somewhat-clumsy son of the manager of the local Junes megastore; Chie Satonaka, an energetic girl with a strong interest in martial arts; and Yukiko Amagi, a calm and refined girl who helps out at her family's inn. A few days into the game, the protagonist, Yosuke, and Chie follow the "Midnight Channel" rumor, which leads them to discover the TV World and meet Teddie, a friendly creature that appears as a hollow bear costume. Using Personas, the students form an Investigation Team to investigate the connection between the TV world and the murders, and possibly capture the culprit. As the game progresses, the group gains new members, including: Kanji Tatsumi, a male delinquent who has a talent for feminine hobbies; Rise Kujikawa, a former teen idol trying to find her identity who moves to Inaba as a transfer student; and Naoto Shirogane, a young female detective investigating the case with the local police who wears masculine clothing and presents herself as male due to fear of rejection.


title: Persona 4

text: On April 11, 2011, Yu Narukami arrives in Inaba to live with the Dojimas, consisting of his uncle Ryotaro and his cousin Nanako, for one year, as his parents are working abroad. Just after his arrival, a TV announcer is found dead, her body hanging from an antenna; Saki Konishi, the high school student who had discovered the body, is later found dead herself, hung upside-down from a telephone pole. After Yu and his friends accidentally enter the TV world, they encounter Teddie, who helps them travel freely between the TV and real worlds. They awaken their Persona abilities, realizing that the murders stem from attacks by Shadows, beings native to the TV world created from repressed emotions, and are able to rescue several would-be victims. Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, and Teddie one by one come to accept the parts of their psyches they rejected, which manifest as giant Shadows in the TV world, allowing them to wield Personas whilst each joins the group in turn. Mitsuo Kubo, a student from another high school who disappears following the death of Kinshiro Morooka, Yu's foul-mouthed homeroom teacher, claims credit for the murders; it is eventually learned that Kubo only killed Morooka and played no part in the other murders, having murdered Morooka simply to gain credit for the other murders. Naoto Shirogane, a nationally renowned "Detective Prince" investigating the case, is also rescued and gains a Persona, and joins the group who learn that "he" is actually a girl who assumed a male identity to avoid the police's sexism.


title: Persona 4

text: Events come to a head when Ryotaro Dojima mistakenly accuses Yu of being involved in the murders after seeing Yu reading a threatening letter from the killer. Nanako is kidnapped during Yu's interrogation, leading Ryotaro to engage in a vehicular pursuit with the culprit. The chase ends as they both crash; the kidnapper escapes with Nanako through a television set in his truck, and the gravely-injured Ryotaro entrusts her rescue to the group. The group tracks them down within the TV world; the culprit, Taro Namatame, becomes Kunino-Sagiri which attacks them but is defeated, and both he and Nanako are taken to the Inaba hospital. During Nanako's stay at the hospital, the fog persists in the real world beyond the deadline, causing increasing panic among Inaba's inhabitants. When Nanako appears to die, the group furiously confronts Namatame, and a pseudo-Shadow Namatame appears on the Midnight Channel to goad the devastated and emotionally vulnerable group into throwing him in; as Yu, the player must help the others realize that Namatame is not the killer by pointing out the lack of a proper motive. Deciding to throw Namatame into the TV results in Nanako remaining dead, while sparing him will result in her being miraculously revived. Failure to deduce the real killer's identity results in the mystery going unsolved. Killing Namatame or failing to solve the mystery results in the recurring fog permanently setting in, which will eventually lead to humanity's demise.


title: Persona 4

text: Upon being questioned by the Investigation Team, Namatame explains that his kidnappings were an attempt to protect those who appeared on the Midnight Channel from the killer, not realizing that the TV world was dangerous and that trapping them within was how the murder victims were killed; he also denies sending Yu any letters. Upon looking over all of the evidence they have gathered, the Investigation Team determines that the real killer, and the writer of the threat letters, is none other than Ryotaro's assistant, Tohru Adachi.


title: Persona 4

text: Having identified the culprit as Adachi, the party chases and locates him within the TV world. Adachi explains that his actions were out of both boredom and the belief that humanity is better off believing what it wants, revealing that he tricked Namatame into throwing people into the TV world and observed the Investigation Teams subsequent rescues for his own amusement, and that he additionally threw Mitsuo into the TV world himself in order to ensure the "game" did not end prematurely; his claims are dismissed by the party as the rantings of a madman. After fighting Adachi, he is controlled by Ameno-sagiri, who reveals that the fog is harmful to people and will eventually cause humanity to fall into a permanent state of ignorance and transform into Shadows. Upon his defeat, he agrees to lift the fog, congratulating the party on their resolve. Defeated, the wounded Adachi agrees to assume responsibility for his actions and turns himself in. The game moves forward to the day before Yu must travel home. If the player returns to the Dojima residence, the game ends with the party sending Yu off as he departs Inaba. Alternatively, should the player be able to identify the unexplained cause of the Midnight Channel and attempt to resolve this plot element, Yu meets with the party, and together they decide to end the case for good.


title: Persona 4

text: Yu confronts the gas station attendant encountered at the start of the game, who reveals herself to be Izanami, the "conductor" behind the game's events. The cause of the recurring fog is established as an attempt to create a world of illusion by merging the TV world with the human world, all for the "sake" of humanity. The group tracks Izanami down within the TV world and battle her, but is at first unable to win; the defeated Yu is given strength by the bonds he has forged with those around him, and with this power awakens a new Persona—Izanagi-no-Okami—which he uses to defeat Izanami. In doing so, the fog in each world is lifted, and the TV world is restored to its original form. The party sends Yu off the following day, and the game concludes with a post-credits scene depicting the group resolving to remain friends forever, as Yu examines a group photo of himself and the rest of the Team.


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4 Golden" adds two new Social Links to the game; Adachi and Marie, a mysterious girl who becomes an assistant in the Velvet Room and wishes to uncover her lost memories. If the player advances Adachi's Social Link to a certain level, they are given the choice to withhold his identity as the killer from the rest of the Investigation Team, thus leaving the mystery unsolved. On Yu's final day in Inaba, he may choose to visit Adachi and destroy a crucial piece of evidence related to the case. Adachi then blackmails Yu, threatening to have him arrested for destroying evidence if he does not answer his calls. The game's ending then plays out the same, after the credits, Yu passes by Adachi at a level crossing. He clutches his phone in his hand as a smirk forms on Adachi's face.


title: Persona 4

text: After the Investigation Team defeats Ameno-sagiri, Marie disappears from the Velvet Room, and Margaret promises to find her for Yu. The Investigation Team decide to take a skiing trip together, during which time they stumble upon a cabin with a TV inside. The TV turns out to be a portal to the Hollow Forest, where Marie has fled to. With the Hollow Forest on the verge of collapsing, the Investigation Team rushes to save her; if they fail to do so, Marie disappears from their memories. They find Marie, who reveals that she is Kusumi-no-Okami, created to act as a spy for Ameno-sagiri in order to learn what humanity wished for; with Ameno-sagiri defeated, the fog has now been absorbed into her body. Marie's plan is to kill herself so that the fog will not spread over the world again, but the Investigation Team refuses to allow her to die, defeating her and freeing her from the fog's control.


title: Persona 4

text: After defeating Izanami-no-Okami, Marie reveals that she is actually Izanami-no-Mikoto, who originally wished to both protect humanity and grant its wishes, but as people changed and stopped wishing for truth, her wishes splintered into her and Izanami-no-Okami. With Kunino-sagiri, Ameno-sagiri, and Izanami-no-Okami fused with her, she becomes whole again and disappears from the Velvet Room. Should the true ending play out, the game will skip to late August, five months after the last scene of the true ending and two months after the events of "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax", where Yu returns to Inaba for the summer. Upon exiting the train station, he discovers that Namatame is running for mayor in order to atone for his previous actions. Yu eventually meets up with his friends, who have all changed since the last time they all met, and heads to the Dojima household, where a surprise party was set up earlier by Dojima.


title: Persona 4

text: While eating, Yu learns about the recent changes in the neighborhood, is informed that Adachi has become a model prisoner, and sees Marie on the news as the popular new weather girl. Depending on the player's choices, she may also declare her love for Yu while the main group watches on, much to their disbelief. Nanako will then whisper something into everyone's ear before they all welcome Yu "home". As the rest of the Investigation Team starts to criticize Kanji for saying something different than everyone else, Yu responds by smiling brightly, and a new post-credits scene shows another group picture of Yu and his friends including Marie all smiling together.


title: Persona 4

text: According to the game director Katsura Hashino, while "ideas [had been] thrown around earlier", development on "Persona 4" in Japan did not begin until after the release of "Persona 3". The development team consisted of the team from "Persona 3" and new hires which included fans of "Persona 3". Atlus intended to improve both the gameplay and story elements of "Persona 3" for the new game, to ensure it was not seen as a "retread" of its predecessor. Hashino said that "to accomplish that, we tried to give the players of Persona 4 a definite goal and a sense of purpose that would keep motivating them as they played through the game. The murder mystery plot was our way of doing that." The plot of "Persona 4" was "greatly inspired", according to Hashino, by mystery novelists such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Seishi Yokomizo. "Persona 4" was officially unveiled in the Japanese gaming magazine "Famitsu" in March 2008. An article in the issue detailed the game's murder mystery premise, rural setting, and new weather forecast system. The game's North American release date was announced at the 2008 Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California. Atlus would not make an add-on disc or epilogue for "Persona 4", as had been done with the "Persona 3 FES". "Persona 4" allowed players full control of characters in battle. This was due to negative comments from players about most of the player team in "Persona 3" being controlled by the game's AI. The amount of data the team ended up incorporating around school life, character relationships and spoken character dialogue was so large that there were fears it would not fit onto a single disc. The anime cutscenes were produced by Studio Hibari.


title: Persona 4

text: The design of Inaba is based on a town on the outskirts of Mount Fuji. Its rural design was a source of conflict between "Persona 4"s developers, as "each staff member had their own image of a rural town", according to director Katsura Hashino. The entire staff went "location hunting" to determine Inaba's design. Inaba does not represent "a country town that has tourist attractions", but rather a non-notable, "'nowhere' place". Hashino described the town as being "for better or for worse... a run-of-the-mill town". Unlike other role-playing games, which may have large worlds for the player to explore, "Persona 4" mostly takes place in Inaba. This reduced development costs, and enabled Atlus "to expand other portions of the game" in return. A central setting also allows players to "sympathize with the daily life that passes in the game". To prevent the setting from becoming stale, the development team established a set number of in-game events to be created to "keep the game exciting". The choice of Japanese mythical figures for the characters' Personas as opposed to the Graeco-Roman deities used in earlier games was directly inspired by the new setting. The appearances of Personas were based on the characters' personalities. The design team had a good deal of creative freedom while creating Personas, because although Japanese deities have well-defined character traits, their appearances are traditionally unspecified. The Shadows were created by Hashino without much outside consultation, although he had help from female staff for female Shadow selves.


title: Persona 4

text: Despite living in the countryside, "Persona 4" characters were designed to look and sound "normal" and like "modern high-schoolers", according to lead localization editor Nich Maragos. Initially, he wrote the game's cast as being "more rural than was really called for". "The characters aren't really hicks... They just happen to live in a place that's not a major metropolitan area." While interviewing members of "Persona 4"s development team, 1UP.com editor Andrew Fitch noted that the characters from the city — Yosuke and the protagonist — have "more stylish" hair than the other characters. Art director Shigenori Soejima used hair styles to differentiate between characters from the city versus the country. "With Yosuke in particular, I gave him accessories, such as headphones and a bicycle, to make it more obvious that he was from the city."


title: Persona 4

text: As with "Persona 3", the localization of "Persona 4" was handled by Yu Namba and Nich Maragos of Atlus USA. In addition, there were four translators and two further editors. The Social Links were divided equally between the translators and editors. During localization of the game, character's names were altered for the international audience for familiarity, including Kuma being renamed Teddie. A similar change was done for Rise Kujikawa's stage name, in Japan, to "Risette". Nanba also explained the change from "Community" to "Social Link", regarding the gameplay mechanic, as "community" has a different meaning in English, whereas Igor in his speeches often refers to "society" and "bonds". Names were also altered for pun and other linguistic effect including dungeon items' names, such as the "Kae Rail" becoming the "Goho-M", as the item's use of returning the player to the entrance was taken to be "go home". Some Japanese cultural references that would not transfer were also removed, such as references to Kosuke Kindaichi. There were also some issues regarding the translation of the names of Yukiko, Kanji and Rise's dungeons, as the English names were made to fit the original Japanese graphics, and the "Void Quest" dungeon's graphics were specifically made to harken back to the Famicom. He also remarked on how popular the interpretations of Kanji's Shadow were in the west, and how it did not change how the character was seen by the other audience. A different change was the fact the main characters in the English dub referred to others members of the cast on a first-name basis, while the Japanese version differed in this regard. For the dub, the editors sometimes switched between first-name and last-name referral for dramatic effect.


title: Persona 4

text: Atlus's senior project manager Masaru Nanba commented it was decided that "Shin Megami Tensei" was to be kept in the title of "Persona 3" and "Persona 4", as it was believed that they were part of the same series as ""; however, the "Shin Megami Tensei" title was omitted from both "Persona 4 Golden" and "Persona 4 Arena", as it would have been much too long. Similarly, "Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena" and "Persona 4: The Golden" were shortened to the previously stated titles. As with "Persona 3", the honorifics used in the Japanese voice track were retained in the English dub, despite proving contentious among series fans. This was done as part of an intended trend to remain faithful to the original source material. The pronunciations of honorifics, along with the sounds of names, were a point that was carefully considered by the localization team and it took a while for the English cast to get used to them. A member of the English dub that also appeared in "Persona 3" was Yuri Lowenthal. Though he had dubbed characters in "Persona 3", Namba wanted him to have a larger part. His role as Yosuke ended up featuring 1000 more lines of dialogue than the other major characters. Important roles for the localization team were Teddie and Rise, as they would be the party's supports. Another element in the English script was that the use of swear words was increased over "Persona 3": the first draft featured very strong language which was cut as it did not seem suited. The character Kanji was given a lot of swearing in his dialogue, due to his volatile nature. The use of swearing was carefully considered depending on the emotional situation.


title: Persona 4

text: The game's original score was primarily composed, arranged, and produced by Shoji Meguro. The soundtrack features songs with vocals by Shihoko Hirata, whom Meguro felt was able to meet the range of emotion needed for the soundtrack, with the lyrics being written by Reiko Tanaka. Meguro was given a rough outline of the game's plot and worked on the music in the same manner and simultaneously with the development of the story and spoken dialog, starting with the overall shape of the songs and eventually working on the finer details. According to Meguro, the songs "Pursuing My True Self" and "Reach Out to the Truth" were composed to reflect the inner conflicts of the game's main characters; the former song, used as the opening theme, helped to set an understanding of the characters' conflicts, while the latter, used in battle sequences, emphasized the "strength of these characters to work through their internal struggles." The "Aria of the Soul" theme used in the Velvet Room, a concept common to all the "Persona" games, remained relatively unchanged, with Meguro believing "the shape of the song had been well-defined" from previous games. Composers Atsushi Kitajoh and Ryota Kozuka also contributed music for the game. Kitajoh, who had previously written music for Atlus with "Growlanser VI" and "", contributed four themes to "Persona 4", while Kozuka wrote the "Theme of Junes".


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4"s two-disc soundtrack was released in Japan by Aniplex on July 23, 2008. The soundtrack was also released in North America. The side A of the soundtrack is the bonus disc packaged with each game, while side B of the soundtrack was part of Amazon.com's exclusive "Persona 4 Social Link Expansion Pack". Similarly to "Persona 3", a "Reincarnation" album, titled "Never More", was released in Japan on October 26, 2011, featuring full length cuts of the game's vocal tracks and extended mixes of some of the instrumental tracks. "Never More" made it to the top of both the Oricon Weekly Album Charts and "Billboard"s Japan Top Albums chart for the week of its release, selling nearly 27,000 copies.


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4" received critical acclaim from game critics upon release. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb described it as "one of the best times I've had with video games, whether I was playing by myself or watching someone else play it." "Famitsu" pointed out that while "there isn't much new from the last game", it favored the changes over the battle system, where the pacing "is quick so it doesn't get to be a pain", and the ability to control party members "makes play that much easier". IGN on the other hand noted that "the pacing can be somewhat off", and "some things feel repurposed or unaffected from previous games", while praising the game as an "evolution of the RPG series, and an instant classic". It also noted that the soundtrack can be "a bit repetitive". RPGFan's Ryan Mattich recommended "Persona 4" as "one of the best RPG experiences of the year", noting that "among the cookie-cutter sequels and half-hearted remakes", the game is "a near flawless example of the perfect balance between 'falling back on what works' and 'pushing the genre forward'." 1UP.com's Andrew Fitch summarized "Persona 4" as "some of this decade's finest RPG epics", although the reviewer criticized its "slight loading issues" and the time spent "waiting for the plot to advance". GameTrailers gave the game a score of 9.3, stating it's an exception to the rule of the Japanese role-playing genre, and that it stands out of any other JRPG, including its predecessor, "Persona 3". "Wired" pointed out that while the graphics are not up to par with those of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, "the clever art style makes up for that". It also praised the game's soundtrack as "excellent, especially the battle music".


title: Persona 4

text: The game's setting garnered mixed reactions. IGN labeled "Persona 4" as "a murder mystery set against the backdrop of familiar "Persona 3" elements", and while this element adds "an interesting twist" to the dungeon crawl and social simulation gameplay, it also causes the plot to "slow down or suffer". "Hyper"'s Tim Henderson commended the game for "willfully embellish[ing] absurd urban legends and other ideas with such assured consistency that the resulting whole is unshakabl[y] coherent". However, he criticized it for the narrative's sluggish pace and for how he felt the game is "lacking in elaborate set-pieces". 1UP.com called "Persona 4" a "stylish murder mystery", the comparison given being a "small-town Scooby-Doo" adventure.


title: Persona 4

text: The game is also noted for a portion of its story revolving around sexual themes. One of the playable characters given attention by reviewers is Kanji, who is considered to be one of the first characters in a mainstream video game to struggle with their sexual orientation, and Atlus has been commended for the inclusion of that character. Atlus USA has stated that they left Kanji's sexual preferences ambiguous and up to the player; however, there has been no word from developer Atlus Japan concerning the matter. According to Dr. Antonia Levi, author of "", the questioning of Kanji's sexuality in the script is a "comment on homosexuality in a greater Japanese social context", in which "the notion of 'coming out' is seen as undesirable ... as it necessarily involves adopting a confrontational stance against mainstream lifestyles and values". Brenda Brathwaite, author of "Sex in Video Games", thought it "would have been amazing if they would have made a concrete statement that [Kanji] is gay", but was otherwise "thrilled" with the treatment of the character and the game's representation of his "inner struggles and interactions with friends".


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4" was praised by critics and remained on top of sales charts on its initial release in Japan, selling 193,000 copies within a week. The PS2 version went on to sell 358,899 copies in Japan. In North America, "Persona 4" was the highest-selling PlayStation 2 game on Amazon.com for two consecutive weeks. A soundtrack disc was included in the North American and European releases of "Persona 4", containing a selection of tracks from the full soundtrack released in Japan. Amazon exclusively sold the "Persona 4" "Social Link Expansion Pack", which included an additional soundtrack disc, a t-shirt, a 2009 calendar, and a plush doll of the character Teddie.


title: Persona 4

text: The Japanese release of "Persona 4 Golden" on the PS Vita sold 324,357 physical copies and 21,020 digital copies, adding up to copies sold for the PS2 and "Golden" (Vita) versions in Japan. The 2020 Windows release of "Persona 4 Golden" on Steam also became a success, having sold over 500,000 units worldwide in less than a month. Sega stated that its sales were much stronger than expected and that they would continue to promote porting older games of theirs to PC. On June 30, 2021, Atlus announced that the PC version of "Persona 4 Golden" had reached 1 million units sold, bringing "Persona 4 Golden" sales to copies sold worldwide for the Vita and PC platforms.


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4" was awarded the "PlayStation 2 Game Prize" in the "Famitsu" Awards 2008, voted by readers of "Famitsu". It was also recognized by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association as one of the recipients for the "Games of the Year Award of Excellence" in the Japan Game Awards 2009. The game was given the award for its "high quality of work", "excellent story, automatically generated dungeons and impressive background music". In 2013, GamesRadar ranked it fifth "best videogame stories ever", saying its "greatest strength comes from pacing". In 2015, GamesRadar named "Persona 4 Golden" the 53rd best game ever on its "The 100 best games ever" list. In that same year, "USgamer" placed the game fifth on its "The 15 Best Games Since 2000" list.


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4 Golden", released in Japan as "Persona 4: The Golden", was announced in August 2011 as a port of "Persona 4" for the portable PlayStation Vita. It was originally planned by Atlus to be a PlayStation Portable title, similar to "Persona 3 Portable", which would have required removing some of the features of the PlayStation 2 game. However, the Vita provided sufficient resources that allowed Atlus to expand the game. It is an expanded version of the PlayStation 2 title, adding new features and story elements to the game. A new character named Marie was added to the story. Additional Personas, character outfits, and expanded spoken lines and anime cutscenes are included as well as two new Social Links for Marie and Tohru Adachi. The game supports the wireless networking features of the Vita, allowing a player to call in help from other players to help in dungeon battles. Another new feature is a garden that produces items the player can use in the various dungeons. The game was released in Japan on June 14, 2012. "Persona 4 Golden" was also the first game in the series to be released in traditional Chinese.


title: Persona 4

text: The release of "Persona 4 Golden" resulted in the surge of sales of PlayStation Vitas. During its debut week, the game sold 137,076 units in Japan. Media Create stated that the game's outstanding sales that surpassed the debuts of other titles from "Persona" series may be due to the exposure the "Persona 4" game has had in other forms of media. As of mid-July 2012, the game had sold 193,412 units in Japan. The game was the eighth most purchased digital Vita game on the Japanese PlayStation Network in 2013. As of April 2014, the game shipped 350,000 copies in Japan, and over 700,000 copies were shipped worldwide as of December 2013. A soundtrack was released in Japan on June 27, 2012, consisting of a single disc of 15 tracks composed by Meguro and Atsushi Kitajoh.


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4 Golden" was released in North America on November 20, 2012. A special 10,000 copies were also released on November 20, 2012, as the "Solid Gold Premium Edition". NIS America released the game in Europe on February 22, 2013. It was also released for Windows on June 13, 2020. It included some additional features, such as the Japanese voiceovers and minor graphical enhancements. Ports of "Golden" for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S are scheduled for release on January 19, 2023.


title: Persona 4

text: A fighting game sequel, "Persona 4 Arena", known in Japan as "Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena", was developed by Arc System Works, the company known for creating the "Guilty Gear" and "BlazBlue" series, and released in 2012 for arcades, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. As with the anime, the protagonist is named Yu Narukami. , Mitsuru, Elizabeth, and Akihiko from "Persona 3" are also featured in the game. Set two months following the True Ending of the original game, the members of the Investigation Team are pulled back into the television and forced into a fighting tournament called the "P-1 Grand Prix" hosted by General Teddie.


title: Persona 4

text: A sequel, "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax", was released in Japanese arcades in November 2013, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in late 2014, and for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2022. Taking place a day after the events of "Arena", the Investigation Team must defeat their Shadows in a new tournament, the "P-1 Climax", in order to rescue the captive Shadow Operatives and stop the spread of a mysterious red fog engulfing Inaba. The game adds seven playable characters from "Persona 3" and "Persona 4 Golden", as well as a new playable antagonist, Sho Minazuki.


title: Persona 4

text: "" is a dungeon-crawler RPG developed for the Nintendo 3DS, which features characters from both "Persona 3" and "Persona 4", as well as gameplay elements from the "Etrian Odyssey" series. Set midway through the events of "Persona 4", the Investigation Team is pulled into an alternate version of Yasogami High and must work with the members of SEES to find a means of escape. The game was released in Japan on June 5, 2014, North America on November 25, 2014 and Europe on November 28, 2014.


title: Persona 4

text: "" is a rhythm game developed by Atlus for the PlayStation Vita, featuring music from the "Persona" series. The game takes place half a year following the events of "Persona 4", as the Investigation Team look into a mysterious "Midnight Stage", which is abducting girls from Rise's idol group. The game was released in Japan on June 25, 2015.


title: Persona 4

text: "" is a dungeon-crawler released on the 3DS as a sequel to "Persona Q". The game features the Investigation Team, alongside the main casts of "Persona 3" and "Persona 5", finding themselves trapped and lost in a movie theater. The game was released in Japan on November 29, 2018.


title: Persona 4

text: With the release of "Persona 4", Atlus has also produced a line of merchandise, including action figures, published materials, toys and clothes. Atlus collaborated with the Japanese publishing company Enterbrain to publish the game's two strategy guides, an artbook detailing character and setting designs, as well a fan book called "Persona Club P4" which included official artwork, fan art, as well as interviews with the design staff. Most items were only released in Japan, while other Japanese third-party manufacturers also produced figurines and toys. The action figures include a 1/8 scale PVC figurine of Yukiko Amagi as well as Teddie and Rise Kujikawa, produced by Alter. Licensed Atlus merchandise sold by Cospa includes "Persona 4" t-shirts, tote bags, and the jacket and other accessories worn by the character Chie.


title: Persona 4

text: Udon announced that they will release an English edition of Enterbrain's "Persona 4: Official Design Works" artbook that was released on May 8, 2012.


title: Persona 4

text: "Persona 4" was also given a manga adaptation. It is written by Shūji Sogabe, the artist for "Persona 3"s manga, and started serialization in ASCII Media Works "Dengeki Black Maoh" Volume 5 in September 2008. The first "tankōbon" volume was released on September 26, 2009, and 13 volumes have been released in total, with the final volume on March 27, 2019.


title: Persona 4

text: Shiichi Kukura also authored , a manga that focuses on Yosuke Hanamura's life in Inaba before the game's start. Its only volume was released on August 27, 2012. A manga adaptation of the light novel "Persona × Detective Naoto", illustrated by Satoshi Shiki, was serialized in "Dengeki Maoh" magazine from November 27, 2014.


title: Persona 4

text: Natsuki Mamiya wrote a light novel titled that focuses on the character of Naoto Shirogane a year after the events of "Persona 4". She is hired to investigate the disappearance of a childhood friend in Yagakoro City where she is partnered with Sousei Kurogami, a mechanized detective. With illustrations by Shigenori Soejima and Shuji Sogabe, the light novel was released by Dengeki Bunko on June 8, 2012 in Japan.


title: Persona 4

text: A 25-episode anime television adaptation of the game, produced by AIC A.S.T.A. and directed by Seiji Kishi, aired on MBS between October 6, 2011 and March 29, 2012. An additional 26th episode, featuring the story's true ending, was released in the 10th volume of Persona 4 on August 22, 2013. The series features most of the returning cast from the video game, whilst voice recordings for Igor were taken from the game as his actor, Isamu Tanonaka, died in January 2010. Aniplex released the series on DVD and Blu-ray Disc between November 23, 2011 and August 22, 2012, with the first volume containing a director's cut of the first episode and a bonus CD single. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, simulcasting it on Anime Network as it aired and releasing the series on DVD and Blu-ray in two collective volumes on September 18, 2012 and January 15, 2013 respectively. Like the Japanese version, the English dub retains many of the original voice actors from the English version of the game, although the Blu-ray Disc release omits the Japanese audio option. Kazé and Manga Entertainment released the series in the United Kingdom in three BD/DVD combi boxsets released between December 24, 2012 and July 22, 2013. A film recap of the series, titled "Persona 4 The Animation -The Factor of Hope-", was released in Japanese theaters on June 9, 2012, featuring a condensed version of the story and new scenes of animation. A second anime adaptation based on "Persona 4 Golden", titled "Persona 4: The Golden Animation", was produced by A-1 Pictures and began airing on MBS' Animeism block in July 2014.


title: Persona 4

text: A live stage production titled took place from March 15–20, 2012. Shutaro Oku was credited for directing the game footage featured in the play, while the music was composed by Shunsuke Wada. Actors starring in the stage production include Toru Baba as the audience-named protagonist, Takahisa Maeyama as Yosuke Hanamura, Minami Tsukui as Chie Satonaka, Risa Yoshiki as Yukiko Amagi, Jyōji Saotome as Daisuke Nagase, Motohiro Ota as Kou Ichijo, and Masashi Taniguchi as Ryotaro Dojima, and Masami Ito as Tohru Adachi. Kappei Yamaguchi and Rie Kugimiya reprised their roles as Teddie and Rise in voice. Actresses for Naoto and Rise could not be cast at the time due to the stage play's production company limiting the number of actresses allowed to appear in the play. Following the announcement, Youichiro Omi was cast as Kanji Tatsumi on December 1, 2011. "VisuaLive: Persona 4" chronicled the events of the game up until Kanji's inclusion into the party.


title: Persona 4

text: A second stage production, titled , chronicled the second half of the events of the story and took place from October 3–9, 2012. Additions to the cast include Yuriya Suzuki as Rise Kujikawa, Juria Kawakami as Naoto Shirogane, Yasuhiro Roppongi as Tarou Namatame, Shotaro Mamiya as Izanami, and Arisa Nakajima as Margaret. Yumi Sugimoto replaced Yoshiki as Yukiko Amagi.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: Servant of the People (, , sometimes translated as "Servant of the Nation") is a Ukrainian political satire comedy television series created and produced by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stars as Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko, a high-school history teacher in his thirties who is unexpectedly elected President of Ukraine after a viral video filmed by one of his students shows him making a profane rant against government corruption in his country. The series ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2019, and a film adaptation was released in 2016.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: The series was produced by Kvartal 95, which was founded by Zelenskyy. It would become much more involved in Ukraine's actual politics; on 31 March 2018, a political party named after the television series was registered with the Ministry of Justice, and Zelenskyy was elected President of Ukraine on 21 April 2019, with over 70 percent of the second-round vote.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: Filmed by a student when launching a profane rant about corruption in Ukraine, who uploads the footage to YouTube, Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko (Volodymyr Zelenskyy), an absent-minded high-school history teacher who lives with his parents, turns into an Internet sensation overnight. Goloborodko's students launch a crowdfunding campaign for registering his candidacy in Ukraine's presidential race unbeknownst to him, eventually propelling their flabbergasted teacher to political victory as the new President of Ukraine. While in office, Vasily is confused at his newfound responsibilities, but gradually eases into his presidential duties and decides to weed out corruption by the oligarchy in his government.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: "Servant of the People" aired on the 1+1 channel in Ukraine. The studio also posted all episodes for free on YouTube. The first season of the show was added to Netflix in select countries in 2017. Sometime in 2021 Netflix lost licensing rights. In March 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Netflix re-licensed the first season, and in May 2022 added the second and third seasons for 33+ countries. The Netflix release combines the first two episodes into one in both season one and two, resulting in 23 episodes instead of 24 for both seasons.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: Belarusian TV channel Belarus-1 started broadcasting the show in evening prime time on 11 November 2019.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: The Russian channel TNT aired the pilot episode of the show's first series on 11 December 2019, claiming it did so as "a marketing move to raise awareness of the platform". TNT cut a scene from the episode in which president-elect Goloborodko asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin wore a Hublot watch, a joke referring to a well-known anti-Putin chant in Ukraine.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: In the United States, HITN presents the series in a Spanish language version. Jewish Life Television carries the series in its original Ukrainian language, with English subtitles.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: A film adaptation of the series, "Servant of the People 2", was released in 2016. The second season used footage from the film to expand on its plot and was released in 2017, bringing the film into the series' main continuity. The third season was released in 2019.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: Zelenskyy would later mirror his character's rise to political power in being elected President of Ukraine in 2019. After his victory was announced, Zelenskyy walked onto the stage at his campaign headquarters with the show's theme playing.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Zelenskyy's wartime leadership, the show's popularity received a notable boost. Broadcasting rights have been requested by various foreign companies. On March 16, Netflix announced that season 1 of the series would be available to US streamers again due to popular demand. On May 16, Netflix added seasons 2 and 3.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: During 2022, Zelenskyy won widespread admiration as a resistance figure against Russia and Putin, leading to the series becoming more popular in turn. Foreign broadcasting companies have sought to air "Servant of the People" on their own channels.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: An American remake was ordered by Hulu, with British writer Simon Farnaby involved in its development, though the show was scrapped when Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States.


title: Servant of the People (TV series)

text: A Polish remake is currently being produced by Polsat with Marcin Hycnar playing Zelenskyy's character counterpart. A release date is yet to be announced.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: Aeroflot Flight 593 was a passenger flight from Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia, to Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong. On 23 March 1994, the aircraft operating the route, an Airbus A310-304 flown by Aeroflot, crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range in Kemerovo Oblast, killing all 63 passengers and 12 crew members on board.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: No evidence of a technical malfunction was found. Cockpit voice and flight data recorders revealed the presence of the relief captain's 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son in the cockpit.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: While seated at the controls, the pilot's son had unknowingly partially disengaged the A310's autopilot control of the aircraft's ailerons. The autopilot then disengaged completely, causing the aircraft to roll into a steep bank and a near-vertical dive. Despite managing to level the aircraft, the first officer over-corrected when pulling up, causing the plane to stall and enter into a spin; the pilots managed to level the aircraft off once more, but the plane had descended beyond a safe altitude to initiate a recovery and subsequently crashed into the mountain range. All 75 occupants died on impact.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: The aircraft involved in the accident was a leased Airbus A310-304, registration , serial number 596, that was delivered new to Aeroflot on 11 December 1992. Powered by two General Electric CF6-80C2A2 engines, the airframe had its maiden flight as on 11 September 1991, and was one of five operating for Russian International Airlines, an autonomous division of Aeroflot that was set up for serving routes to the Russian Far East and Southeast Asia. On average, the crew of three operating the aircraft had logged 900 hours on the type.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: Of the 63 passengers on board, 40 were Russian nationals, including about 30 airline employees and family members. The remaining 23 foreigners were mostly businessmen from Hong Kong and Taiwan, who were looking for economic opportunities in Russia.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: The captain of Flight 593 was Andrey Viktorovich Danilov, 40, who was hired by Aeroflot in November 1992. He had accrued over 9,500 hours of flight time, including 950 hours in the A310, of which 895 hours were as captain. The first officer was Igor Vasilyevich Piskaryov, 33, hired by Aeroflot in October 1993, who had 5,885 hours of flight time, including 440 hours in the A310. The relief captain was Yaroslav Vladimirovich Kudrinsky, 39, who was hired by Aeroflot in November 1992; he had over 8,940 flying hours, including 907 hours in the A310. Kudrinsky also had experience in the Yakovlev Yak-40, Antonov An-12, and Ilyushin Il-76. Nine flight attendants were on board the plane.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: In the early hours of 23 March 1994, the aircraft was en route from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow to Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, with 75 occupants aboard, of whom 63 were passengers. Relief pilot Kudrinsky was taking his two children on their first international flight, and they were brought to the cockpit while he was on duty. Five people were thus on the flight deck: Kudrinsky, co-pilot Piskaryov, Kudrinsky's son Eldar (age 15) and daughter Yana (age 13), and another pilot, Vladimir Makarov, who was flying as a passenger.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: With the autopilot active, Kudrinsky, against regulations, let the children sit at the controls. First, Yana took the pilot's left front seat. Kudrinsky adjusted the autopilot heading to give her the impression that she was turning the plane, though she actually had no control of the aircraft. Shortly thereafter, Eldar occupied the pilot's seat. Unlike his sister, Eldar applied enough force to the control column to contradict the autopilot for 30 seconds. This caused the flight computer to switch the plane's ailerons to manual control, while maintaining control over the other flight systems. Eldar was now in partial control of the aircraft. A silent indicator light came on to alert the pilots to this partial disengagement. The pilots, who had previously flown Soviet-designed planes that had audible warning signals, apparently failed to notice it.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: Eldar was the first to notice a problem, when he observed that the plane was banking right. Shortly after, the flight path indicator changed to show the new flight path of the aircraft as it turned. Since the turn was continuous, the resulting predicted flight path drawn on screen was a 180° turn. This indication is similar to those shown when in a holding pattern, where a 180° turn is required to remain in a stable position. This confused the pilots for nine seconds, during which time the plane banked past a 45° angle to almost 90°, steeper than the design allowed. The A310 cannot turn this steeply while maintaining altitude, and the plane started to descend quickly. The increased g-forces on the pilots and crew made regaining control extremely difficult for them. The autopilot, which no longer controlled the ailerons, used its other controls to compensate, pitching the nose up and increasing thrust. As a result, the plane began to stall; the autopilot, unable to cope, disengaged completely. A second, larger indicator light came on to alert the pilots of the complete disengagement, and this time they did notice it. At the same time, the autopilot's display screen went blank. To recover from the stall, an automatic system lowered the nose and put the plane into a nosedive. The reduced g-forces enabled Kudrinsky to retake his seat. Piskaryov then managed to pull out of the dive, but over-corrected, putting the plane in an almost vertical ascent, again stalling the plane, causing the plane to enter a spin. Although Kudrinsky and Piskaryov regained control and leveled out the wings, they did not know how far they had descended during the crisis and their altitude by then was too low to recover. The plane crashed at high vertical speed, estimated at . All 75 occupants died on impact.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: The aircraft crashed with its landing gear up, and all passengers had been prepared for an emergency, as they were strapped into their seats. No distress calls were made before the crash. Despite the struggles of both pilots to save the aircraft, it was later concluded that if they had just let go of the control column, the autopilot would have automatically taken action to prevent stalling, thus avoiding the accident. There was no evidence of a technical failure in the plane.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: The wreckage was located on a remote hillside in the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain chain, about east of Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia; the flight data recorders were found on the second day of searching. Families of Russian victims placed flowers on the crash site, while families of Chinese and Taiwanese victims scattered pieces of paper with messages written on them around the area.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: Aeroflot originally denied that children were in the cockpit, but accepted the fact when the Moscow-based magazine "Obozrevatel" (, ) published the transcript on the week of 28 September 1994. The Associated Press said, according to the transcript, "the Russian crew almost succeeded in saving the plane". "The New York Times" said, "A transcript of the tape printed in the magazine "Obozrevatel" shows that the Russian crew nearly managed to save the Airbus plane and the 75 people on board, but that it was hampered by the presence of children and its unfamiliarity with the foreign-made plane." The "Times" also stated that an analysis by an aviation expert published in "Rossiiskiye Vesti" (Russian: Российские вести, ) supported that analysis.


title: Aeroflot Flight 593

text: The events of Flight 593 were featured in "Kid in the Cockpit", a season-three (2005) episode of the Canadian TV series "Mayday" (called "Air Emergency" and "Air Disasters" in the U.S. and "Air Crash Investigation" in the UK and elsewhere around the world). The flight was also included in a "Mayday" season six (2007) "Science of Disaster" special titled "Who's Flying the Plane?" Michael Crichton's novel "Airframe", published in 1996, draws on events from the accidents of Aeroflot 593 and China Eastern Airlines Flight 583.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: Stamford Bridge () is a football stadium in Fulham, adjacent to the borough of Chelsea in West London. It is the home of Premier League club Chelsea.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: With a capacity of 40,341, it is the ninth largest venue of the 2022–23 Premier League season and the eleventh largest football stadium in England.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: Opened in 1877, the stadium was used by the London Athletic Club until 1905, when new owner Gus Mears founded Chelsea Football Club to occupy the ground; Chelsea have played their home games there ever since. It has undergone major changes over the years, most recently in the 1990s when it was renovated into a modern, all-seater stadium.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: Stamford Bridge has been a venue for England international matches, FA Cup Finals, FA Cup semi-finals and Charity Shield games. It has also hosted numerous other sports, such as cricket, rugby union, rugby league, speedway, greyhound racing, baseball and American football. The stadium's highest official attendance is 82,905, for a league match between Chelsea and Arsenal on 12 October 1935.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: "Stamford Bridge" is considered to be a derivative of "Samfordesbrigge" meaning "the bridge at the sandy ford". Eighteenth century maps show a "Stanford Creek" running along the route of what is now a railway line at the back of the East Stand as a tributary of the Thames. The upper reaches of this tributary have been known as Billingswell Ditch, Pools Creek and Counters Creek. In medieval times the creek was known as Billingwell Dyche, derived from "Billing's spring or stream". It formed the boundary between the parishes of Kensington and Fulham. By the 18th century, the creek had become known as Counter's Creek, which is the name it has retained since.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The stream had two local bridges: Stamford Bridge on the Fulham Road (also recorded as Little Chelsea Bridge) and Stanbridge on the King's Road, now known as Stanley Bridge. The existing Stamford Bridge was built of brick in 1860–1862 and since been partly reconstructed.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: Stamford Bridge opened in 1877 as a home for the London Athletic Club and was used almost exclusively for that purpose until 1904, when the lease was acquired by brothers Gus and Joseph Mears, who wanted to stage high-profile professional football matches there. However, previous to this, in 1898, Stamford Bridge played host to the World Championship of shinty between Beauly Shinty Club and London Camanachd. Stamford Bridge was built close to Lillie Bridge, an older sports ground which had hosted the 1873 FA Cup Final and the first ever amateur boxing matches (among other things). It was initially offered to Fulham Football Club, but they turned it down for financial reasons. After considering the sale of the land to the Great Western Railway Company, the Mears decided to found their own football club, Chelsea, to occupy the ground as a rival to Fulham. Noted football ground architect Archibald Leitch, who had also designed Ibrox, Celtic Park, Craven Cottage and Hampden Park, was hired to construct the stadium. In its early days, Stamford Bridge stadium was served by a small railway station, Chelsea and Fulham railway station, which was later closed after World War II bombing.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: Stamford Bridge had an official capacity of around 100,000, making it the second largest ground in England after Crystal Palace. It was used as the FA Cup final venue. As originally constructed, Stamford Bridge was an athletics track and the pitch was initially located in the middle of the running track. This meant that spectators were separated from the field of play on all sides by the width of running track and, on the north and south sides, the separation was particularly large because the long sides of the running track considerably exceeded the length of the football pitch. The stadium had a single stand for 5,000 spectators on the east side. Designed by Archibald Leitch, it was an exact replica of the Stevenage Road Stand he had previously built at the re-developed Craven Cottage (and the main reason why Fulham had chosen not to move into the new ground). The other sides were all open in a vast bowl and thousands of tons of material excavated from the building of the Piccadilly line provided high terracing for standing spectators exposed to the elements on the west side.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: In 1945, Stamford Bridge staged one of the most notable matches in its history. Soviet side FC Dynamo Moscow were invited to tour the United Kingdom at the end of the Second World War and Chelsea were the first side they faced. An estimated crowd of over 100,000 crammed into Stamford Bridge to watch a 3–3 draw, with many spectators on the dog track and on top of the stands.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: In the early 1970s the club's owners initiated a project to renovate Stamford Bridge. However, the cost of building the East Stand escalated out of control after shortages of materials and a builders' strike and the remainder of the ground remained untouched. The new East Stand was finished, but most of the (unusable) running tracks remained, and the new stand was also displaced by approximately 20 meters, compared to the pitch. The idea was to move the entire stadium towards the north. But due to the financial situation in the mid-1970s the other stands were not rebuilt for another two decades. In the meantime, Chelsea struggled in the league, and attendances fell and debts increased. The club was relegated to the Second Division in 1975 and again in 1979, narrowly avoiding the drop into the Third Division in 1983 before finally returning to the First Division a year later.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The increase in the costs, combined with other factors, sent the club into decline. As a part of financial restructuring in the late 1970s, the freehold was separated from the club and when new Chelsea chairman Ken Bates bought the club for £1 in 1982, he did not buy the ground. A large chunk of the Stamford Bridge freehold was subsequently sold to property developers Marler Estates. The sale resulted in a long and acrimonious legal fight between Bates and Marler Estates. Marler Estates was ultimately forced into bankruptcy after a market crash in the early 1990s, allowing Bates to do a deal with its banks and re-unite the freehold with the club.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: During the 1984–85 season, following a series of pitch invasions and fights by football hooligans during matches at the stadium, chairman Ken Bates erected an electric perimeter fence between the stands and the pitch – identical to the one which effectively controlled cattle on his dairy farm. However, the electric fence was never turned on and before long it was dismantled, due to the GLC blocking it from being switched on for health and safety reasons.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: With the Taylor Report arising from the Hillsborough disaster being published in January 1990 and ordering all top division clubs to have all-seater stadiums in time for the 1994–95 season, Chelsea's plan for a 34,000-seat stadium at Stamford Bridge was given approval by Hammersmith and Fulham council on 19 July 1990.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The re-building of the stadium commenced and successive building phases during the 1990s eliminated the original running track. The construction of the East Stand some 20 years earlier had begun the process of eliminating the track. All stands, now roofed and all-seater, are immediately adjacent to the pitch. This structure captures and concentrates the noise of supporters. The pitch, the turnstiles, and the naming rights of the club are now owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners, an organisation set up to prevent the stadium from being purchased by property developers.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: KSS Design Group (architects) designed the complete redevelopment of Stamford Bridge Stadium and its hotels, megastore, offices and residential buildings.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: Stamford Bridge was the venue of the FA Cup Final from 1920 to 1922, before being replaced by Wembley Stadium in 1923. It has staged ten FA Cup semi-finals, ten Charity Shield matches, and three England matches, the last in 1932. It was one of the home venues for the representative London XI team that played in the original Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The team played the home leg of the two-legged final at Stamford Bridge, drawing 2–2 with FC Barcelona; they lost the away leg 6–0, however.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: Stamford Bridge has also hosted a variety of other sporting events since Chelsea have occupied the ground. In October 1905 it hosted a rugby union match between the All Blacks and Middlesex, and in 1908, Stamford Bridge was the venue for a Rugby League international between Great Britain and the touring New Zealand All Golds, who won 18–6. Two New Zealanders George Smith and William "Massa" Johnston played and scored in both these games. Two further Rugby League games were held in 1952, British Empire XIII v New Zealand, and 1983, Fulham v Cardiff. In 1914 Stamford Bridge hosted a baseball match between the touring New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox. In 1924 the stadium hosted the 1924 Women's Olympiad, the first international event for women in track and field in the UK. A speedway team operated from the stadium from 1929 until 1932, winning the Southern League in their opening season. Initially open meetings were held there in 1928. A nineteen-year-old junior rider, Charlie Biddle, was killed in a racing accident. In 1931, black cinders were laid onto the circuit suitable for use by speedway and athletics. A midget car meeting reportedly attracted a crowd of 50,000 people in 1948.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The ground was used in 1980 for the first major day-night floodlit cricket match between Essex and West Indies (although organised by Surrey) which was a commercial success; the following year it hosted the final of the inaugural Lambert & Butler county cricket competition. It, however, failed and the experiment of playing cricket on football grounds was ended. Stamford Bridge briefly hosted American football – despite not being long enough for a regulation-size gridiron field – when the London Monarchs were based there in 1997.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) brought greyhound racing to Stamford Bridge on 31 July 1933 and this forced the London Athletic Club to leave the venue. Totalisator turnover in 1946 was nearly £6 million (£5,749,592); to put this in perspective to football, the British transfer record at the same time in 1946 was £14,500.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: On 1 August 1968 the GRA closed Stamford Bridge to greyhound racing quoting the fact that Stamford Bridge had to race on the same days as White City. An attempt by Chelsea to bring back greyhound racing to Stamford Bridge in 1976, to alleviate debts, failed when the GRA refused them permission to do so.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The Bridge pitch is surrounded on each side by four covered all-seater stands, officially known as the Matthew Harding Stand (North), East stand, The Shed End (South) and West Stand. Each stand has at least two tiers & was constructed for entirely different reasons as part of separate expansion plans.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The Matthew Harding Stand, previously known as the North Stand, is along the north edge of the pitch. In 1939, a small two storied North Stand including seating was erected. It was originally intended to span the entire northern end, but the outbreak of World War II and its aftermath compelled the club to keep the stand small. It was demolished and replaced by open terracing for standing supporters in 1976. The North Terrace was closed in 1993 and the present North Stand of two tiers (the Matthew Harding Stand) was then constructed at that end.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: It is named after former Chelsea director Matthew Harding, whose investment helped transform the club in the early 1990s before his death in a helicopter accident on 22 October 1996. His investment in the club enabled construction of the stand which was completed in time for the 1996–97 season. It has two tiers and accommodates most season-ticket holders, giving it an excellent atmosphere, especially in the lower tier. Any proposal to enlarge the facility would necessitate demolition of the adjacent Chelsea F.C. Museum and Chelsea Health Club and Spa.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: For some Champions League matches, this stand operates at reduced capacity, some entrances being obstructed by the presence of TV outside-broadcast vehicles.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The only covered stand when Stamford Bridge was renovated into a football ground in 1905, the East Stand had a gabled corrugated iron roof, with around 6,000 seats and a terraced enclosure. The stand remained until 1973, when it was demolished in what was meant to be the opening phase of a comprehensive redevelopment of the stadium. The new stand was opened at the start of the 1974–75 season, but due to the ensuing financial difficulties at the club, it was the only part of the development to be completed.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The East Stand essentially survives in its 1973 three-tiered cantilevered form, although it has been much refurbished and modernised since. It is the heart of the stadium, housing the tunnel, dugout, dressing rooms, conference room, press centre, Audio-Visual and commentary box. The middle tier is occupied by facilities, clubs, and executive suites. The upper tier provides spectators with one of the best views of the pitch and it is the only section to have survived the extensive redevelopment of the 90s. Previously, it was the home to away supporters on the bottom tier. However, at the start of the 2005–06 season, then-manager José Mourinho requested that the family section move to this part of the stand, to boost team morale. Away fans were moved to the Shed End.


title: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

text: The Shed End is along the south side of the pitch. In 1930, a new terrace was built on the south side, for more standing spectators. It was originally known as the Fulham Road End, but supporters nicknamed it 'The Shed' and this led the club to officially change its name. It became the most favoured spot for the loudest and most die-hard support, until the terrace was demolished in 1994, when all-seater stadia became compulsory by law as a safety measure in light of the Taylor Report following the Hillsborough disaster. The seated stand which replaced it is still known as the Shed End (see below).