Persona 4: The Golden (P4 Remake For PS Vita)

What's the point of this new Marie character? I saw the article yesterday, which brought up that she's some new character being voiced by Kana Hanazawa. I thought she'd just be a new Social Link and a minor detail to bring up before we see the female route, but apparently, she seems important based on how much space she takes up in the magazine scans. New party member with a new plot about her in the story? Cool.

I'm also interested in seeing the new fem protagonist.