Hi guys I’m Kevin, Online Community Manager at SEGA Europe and known to those in the SEGA fraternity as ArchangelUK (or AAUK for short) pleased to meet you.
One of my responsibilities as it were is dealing with our classic franchises, so I’m especially delighted to be able to at last confirm something that we’ve been working on for what seems like forever.
YAKUZA 3 IS COMING TO THE WEST!
Yes indeed, Europe and America will be getting the chance to take on the mantle of Kiryu Kazuma this time battling the Ryudo Ikka, and once again Yakuza will be an exclusive for the PlayStation 3.
Yakuza (or Ryu ga Gotoku as its known in the East) has a highly dedicated fanbase and the series has a very hardcore following over on this side of the globe. Yakuza 3 has already sold over half a million copies in Japan alone and whilst the wait has been long for our US, European and Australian fans you won’t have to wait much longer – the game will be out March 2010.
So yes your pleas for Yakuza 3 were heard loud and clear, I’ll allow Gary Knight – SOE’s European Marketing Director, to explain more:
“Yakuza 3 was one of the most requested titles for localisation by our European SEGA community, so we are delighted to be able to fulfil their wishes with this announcement. As well as delving even further into the rich narrative of the Yakuza universe, the development team have pushed the PlayStation 3 hardware to the limits to produce a beautiful and startlingly realistic depiction of the Japanese underworld.”
As part of the lengthy localisation work Yakuza 3 will feature full English subtitling, whilst maintaining the rich Japanese voice actors that bring an extremely engaging atmosphere to the game – this will no doubt please the purists out there!
Also using our incredible powers of persuasion and dark (blue) magic, we’ve been able to get you guys on the PSB.EU an exclusive interview with the developers of the game. So, if there’s anything you’d like to ask the team about the games production post it in the comments section below. We will then pick the best ones and send them over to Japan.
Yakuza 3 is coming – will you fight like a pussy-cat or more Like a Dragon?
1 2 … 4 Next »
178 CommentsAdd Yours
1
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:08 pm by Alonemusic
NICE!
2
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:12 pm by Jack-Bauer-89
NICE!!!!
3
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:14 pm by Boomerangmouth
Woohoo! Awesome!!
4
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:18 pm by MatthewSFC
AWESOME!
5
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:19 pm by Aphiss
FINALLY! Can’t wait! Any idea on pricing fellas?
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:35 pm by Martin Snelling
Hi Aphiss – no word on pricing at the moment; however retailers tend to set their own prices so do shop around for the best deals.
6
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:19 pm by YobRenoops
Wow fantastic news.
7
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:20 pm by Soild_Nat
Result – Power to the people!
8
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:21 pm by jbni
Kevin, this is great news.
Yakuza 3 had taken on a somewhat ‘mythical’ status in the West after is received a lot of glowing reviews.
I think the original idea that it would not appeal to a Western audience because of it’s Eastern look is old psychology.
9
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:23 pm by betahoven
Thanks SEGA!
10
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:23 pm by Guerrier
Sweet. Definitely SOLD. Thanks for this info. Japanese voices and English subtitles. Finally!! (^.^)/
11
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:24 pm by get2sammyb
AMAZINGGGGGGGGG!
12
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:25 pm by sephiroth180
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY
13
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:27 pm by betahoven
Forgot to say, really happy that you’re going with Japanese VA and English subtitles. The best way to localise IMO.
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:39 pm by Martin Snelling
Totally agree –
14
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:28 pm by Shin-Ra
YESSSSS! I love you.
15
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:29 pm by wotta
Nice one, cheers Kevin.
Joe
wonderwallweb
16
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:31 pm by vicheous
Heard about this last week great news… And about time!!
17
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:31 pm by Khazar
only with english subtitles then? :/
18
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:39 pm by SHINTA-TAICHOU
No traslation, no party. Only English?…
19
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:40 pm by xKillerMonkeyx
Never played a Yakuza but always heard great things about it, will be looking to purchase this once it comes out.
20
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:42 pm by Martin Snelling
Don’t forget that if you’d like to ask the developers a question, please leave it in the comments section and we’ll pick the best ones.
Cheers – Martin (SEGA Europe)
21
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:42 pm by heathengray
About bloody time!
I was holding off playing Y2 because I’d only recently played the first, loved it, and didn’t want to be without a Yakuza fix for some indeterminate amount of time.
22
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:42 pm by GothPunk
Very happy about this, thank you Sega Europe!
I’d like to ask the developers what was their inspiration for the setting of the story in this game, as it’s quite different from that of Yakuza and Yakuza 2?
23
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:46 pm by xKillerMonkeyx
Question to the devs:
I am new to the Yakuza series, i have never played a single one, what is it all about? If i play this will i be jumping into the middle of a story i know nothing about?
24
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:47 pm by AcidCrashX
Hi Martin!
I’ve never played any Other Yakuza games but am very interested in trying Yakuza 3. a quick search on amazon shows that you cant grab a brand new copy anymore, Will Sega consider reprinting the old PS2 games or do you think i can play Y3 without needing to play the previous games.
Also I’ve seen in the announcement trailer the PSN logo. is there going to be DLC?
25
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:49 pm by PLD_Danny1989
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!
Thank you so very much!!!!!
You have no idea how pleased I am to hear this news, I shall inform as many of my friends as I can at once!!!!!
26
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:51 pm by mennik
in how many languages will the game be out? or is it just going to be in English?
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:55 pm by Martin Snelling
The game is Japanese language with English subtitles.
27
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:51 pm by KAP
I’ve never played any Other Yakuza games but am very interested in trying Yakuza 3 also, quick trip to wiki is needed.
Saying that though, have heard alot of decent things about this.
Oh i got a question for ya Martin….. one word………
….. Trophies?
28
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:52 pm by mennik
and will you be able to play online in anyway? (sorry for the double post there is no edit button for comments)
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:58 pm by Martin Snelling
There are no online elements to the game – I personally don’t feel that it would add anything to the overall enjoyment of the game.
29
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:56 pm by Jin-Drak
This would be segas best chance to port the original two for the ps3.
30
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:57 pm by Martin Snelling
To those that asked about jumping in at this game having not played the other two I can say that in-game videos that fill in the back-story of the previous two games are viewable at any point in Yakuza 3.
Hope that answers your questions on that.
31
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:58 pm by RagingAvatar
My questions for the developers:
Are there any plans to release the other Yakuza title, ‘Yakuza: Kenzan!’?
Is there any content cut from the European/US release of Yakuza 3?
Why did they leave us in the dark for so long, why not let us know sooner that Yakuza was coming?
Are there any plans to look at localising Yakuza 4?
32
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 4:58 pm by asop89
Can’t wait for it
When are we going to see the final boxart for the game????
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:02 pm by Martin Snelling
All in good time
33
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:03 pm by Martin Snelling
Thanks for the great comments guys; I’m going offline for a wee while (commute home) will check in later and answer what I can.
Have a good evening – go hug a loved one and tell them the good news!
34
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:03 pm by Audioboxer
How does translating Yakuza 3 compare to Yakuza 2? Both are having the subtitle treatment (best way to go with this series for authenticity), but how many lines of text are in 3 compared to 2?
Awesome news though, day 1
35
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:03 pm by Shin-Ra
I think the Japanese version had free DLC unlocks for extra (missions?) on the Blu-ray to keep the spotlight on the game for longer. Will SEGA Europe be doing the same?
36
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:04 pm by Joe382
this is awesome! But march is a very busy month, will have to squeeze it in.
37
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:06 pm by AKGermany
Thank you Sega!
Will the game be 100% intact or are there alterations i.e. for any legal reason with the Japanese brands that are in the game?
38
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:09 pm by tojeka
Question to the devs:
1: How high was the production cost of the game? The environments and characters look incredibly detailed.
2: The game reminds me about Shenmue. Was the Yakuza series inspired by Shenmue?
3: Do you think the western audience can completely understand Yakuza, or is a deep knowledge of japanese culture necessary for it?
SEGA: I think the release date is not a good idea because so many other games are coming out at that time, maybe delay it till the summer? I dont care but some gamers can afford only 1 or 2 games in Q1.
39
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:11 pm by RomuZeus
Great news! The Japanese voices and English subtitles option sounds perfect to me: cheapear and less risky for developers/publishers, also quicker to localize the game to the west. Hope it sells well and we have the opportunity to play Yakuza 4 and other “exotic” games like this.
40
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:12 pm by almighty-slayer
Really want to play this game but i wont be buying it with Japanese voice acting
41
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:12 pm by Bonyman
To be this good, localisation takes AGES
42
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:14 pm by heathengray
Actually, I’m not sure if I’m thrilled or annoyed as hell.
I’m glad they’re letting us have Japanese VA, but in the time SEGA have taken to “grace us with Yakuza 3′s presence”, they could have actually dubbed it!
So what have they been doing all this time? Not thinking of selling it the west?
43
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:16 pm by sephiroth180
Good for Yakuza 3 finally coming here, now if only they’d made Shenmue 3 eh? =D Alright, question for SEGA: Any limited editions getting planned? and will the DLC that’s already released in Japan be on the disc, or will it be released by itself?
44
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:32 pm by fleinn
“As part of the lengthy localisation work Yakuza 3 will feature full English subtitling, whilst maintaining the rich Japanese voice actors that bring an extremely engaging atmosphere to the game – this will no doubt please the purists out there!”
..first you’re telling me Yakuza is turning up in stores over here. And then you’re telling me it’s not shamed with mandatory english voices mashed together by a team in two months. But instead using the voice-talent from the original version, that the devs have been working on for years instead.
..excuse me, I need to go check something. *aarrrgh*. No, I’m not asleep. I suppose I must have just gone mad instead. Surely this, along with the EFIGS localisation for Resonance of Fate.. this simply can not last. Indeed, it’s too good to be true. Sega will be struck with plague, or something like that. The universe will simply not allow this kind of thing to happen.
45
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:33 pm by OttoT
Great review of the demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc5jCvFOS64&feature=related
(not so good game?)
46
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:45 pm by BenderUnit22
Great news, the Yakuza games always had such enthralling story lines and great characters. Hopefully the game will sell ok to pave the way for a (quicker) Yakuza 4 release world-wide.
47
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:48 pm by Alestes
Excellent news!
The first two Yakuza games are among my top PS2 favorites. And it’s nice to hear it use the original japanese voices with subtitles too!
Funny how the most interesting PS3 titles so far for me been Sega titles (Valkyria Chronicles and now Yakuza 3), is this a Sony console or a Sega console?
48
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 5:48 pm by makingdamage
Great! I tried the demo of Yakuza 3 and didn´t understand a single word but boy was it funny. The combat and the feeling I got when walking around the streets of Tokyo was really nice.
49
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 6:12 pm by Demonized
I’ve heard this game is like a Japanese Grand Theft Auto, would that be a fair assessment?
50
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 6:16 pm by Ne0N_420
are we ever going to get shenmue back
1 2 … 4 Next »
We close the comments for posts after 30 days. If you would still like to comment on this post, please use our contact form.