Demon Summoning Program

The Demon Summoning Program, also known as the Devil Summoning Program is an important mechanic in most every Megami Tensei game. It allows the protagonists to negotiate with, summon, and order around demons in their party. In many games, the protagonist wears a COMP, a small computer worn on the wrist like a watch, which has the demon summoning program downloaded. In Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, Akemi Nakajima is the original inventor. In Shin Megami Tensei and the SMT continuity, the creator of the program is Stephen.

Many games feature a dramatic sequence of computer code quickly scrolling across the screen as the program is activating, as in the opening of Shin Megami Tensei

One of the few Megaten games to lack the demon summoning program is Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, in which the protagonist is half demon and can talk to demons without need of a program