The reason why Atlus is going to be at the Anime Expo is because their US office is in Irvine, CA. Irvine is on the outskirts of LA. I still can't believe they're selling merchandise at the expo. :(
Most of my friends who work for big gaming companies started working there before I got into gaming. Due to the ongoing challenges some really like it while others hate it. A couple of my friends work for Playstation, one hated it and the other loves working in PR. Another friend worked for Ubisoft North America, but transferred to Ubisoft in Paris. I think the key for them is to enjoy either electronics, gaming, but ignore the politics, but it seems Playstation drowns in politics (like all big companies). It's always interesting to listen to them talk about work, but also makes me glad I don't work for a gaming company.