Having campaigned for months for a localised version of Yakuza 3, many fans of the series feared that releasing the game so close to other big PS3 titles – like Final Fantasy XIII – would hurt its sales. Nope!
While Sega won’t disclose official sales figures, which is always a shame, the company has provided something even more important for Yakuza fans: word that sales of the game were enough to show Sega that translating the game from its native Japanese was worth it.
A Sega community rep writes on the game’s boards, “…while I’m not able to give you any numbers, I can at least still confirm that the initial sales were really positive, and that all of the fans who jumped in to support the franchise in the west did a great job.”
Good news for those hoping that Yakuza 4, which is already out in Japan, will follow its predecessor to Western markets.
If you’re wondering why all the fuss, it’s because while a bit chatty, the games are pretty damn good. You can find a clip for Yakuza 4 below.
Brendan
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 4:30 PMI wish I could read and understand Japanese :(
CyK
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 5:45 PMWhat’s Yakuza comparable to? GTA IV?
Joel
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 6:59 PMDespite what a lot of people say, the Yakuza series isn’t really a Japanese GTA. It’s a bit of a weird game but still good nonetheless.
I also really hope Yakuza 4 gets a Western release sometime soon as 3 really impressed me.
Denaz
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 5:48 PMYeah, I tried 3, and hated it, I was just expecting something totally different.
MaXX
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 6:01 PMIf it doesnt let me rent tentacle porn from vending machines I dont even wanna know.
If the lead role was perhaps Takeshi Kitano.. meh, still needs the vending machines.
Kenji
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 7:28 PMI think I’ll wait until localised version comes out and see if they removed the same stuff from Yakuza 3. If they did, I’ll get Yakuza 4 japanese version which will probably be The Best version anyway.
I supported Yakuza 3, enjoyed it but am disappointed of all the cuts.
Zachary Keeping
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 8:11 PMWhy don’t they make Shenmue 3 already?
Kenji
Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 7:20 PMThis is the 100M dollar question..
Y3 was my first intro to Yakuza series. It was good, but Shenmue is much better than Yakuza from storyline to combat.
Bukake Kane
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 10:54 PMYakuza can be likened to an action RPG beat em up.
There are elements where you can level up your character and learn new moves and train and upgrade weapons.
There are random battles to help gain currency and items, and there are a heaps of things to do. Battle Arenas, side quests, dating sims karaoke and arcade games.
It’s not a robust system, but it does borrow from many genres to create an awesome backdrop with the Japanese Yakuza world and awesome story.
Kenji
Friday, May 21, 2010 at 1:07 AMYakuza 4 original for me. Even though I bought Y3.. the cuts took alot of the fun out of it.
aeonlinear
Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 3:40 PMUnlike all the other crybabies, I wasn’t too upset with certain elements removed from the Y3 western release. Seriously, massage parlor mini-game? Yeah, that’s just the thing I want my friends walking in on when I’m playing.
What I didn’t like was Sega’s blatant dishonesty and vagueness about the cuts, coupled with the rammed-in ‘amendments’ which made some sections of the game feel abandoned in beta form.
If they were upfront about it all and altered those parts to something else that could utilise the removed venues (like, oh I dunno.. MANAGING a hostess club perhaps? I sure enjoyed that more than forking megayen over like a desperate salaryman), there wouldn’t be so much backlash.
Or bring back punching tigers in the face, everyone likes punching tigers in the face.