F*ck.
Just last week when we heard about Yakuza 4 being in development, I thought for sure that Sega USA would feel the heat and begin the localization process for PS3 game Yakuza 3. But no, that's not happening -- it's not coming out here.
Sega's marketing man Ray Almeda says that Yakuza 3 is not coming out in the United States. It seems that they're convinced that the game won't sell here, says Examiner. Seeing as how Yakuza 2 only sold about 40,000 copies here in the US, I can kind of see where they're coming from.
Sega, how about doing something digital? Isn't 40k good for digital download numbers? Don't make me half-enjoy the Japanese version.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Contest:
7:00 PM on 07.29.2009
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Also, HARDCORE GAMES DON'T SELL ON THE PS2 CONFIRMED
Now I gotta learn two languages. German (for school), and Japanese (for Yakuza + inevitable trip to TGS).
Still with the series selling more than 3 million copies in Japan, there should be enough money to localize it for the west.
Yakuza had an amazing narrative but the gameplay was mediocre as hell, I don't understand why people love it so much, terrible fighting system, constant fetch quests, RANDOM BATTLES(in a 3rd person fighting game?) and terrible minigames.
The fact that it sold so poorly doesn't surprise me one bit. Its like No More Heroes or Mad World, tons of style and 0 substance.
I don't think I can say much in the way of anything positive right now. I'm incredibly pissed that Yakuza 3 will continue to elude western shores. It's not possible of making a small run and selling it directly from Sega.com? Or digital distribution like Agarest War?
I'm sure cranking out all these shitty Sonic games can allow one good game to get through the middling sea of mediocre. Throw us a god damn bone.
You should know that. This is just the way it is. Perhaps SEGA could have put more marketing behind Yakuza 2, and perhaps it didn't help that the game was outdated at the time of it's release, but that's business.
Oh well.
You realise Jim didn't write this article, eh? Take your trolling over to one of his articles.
Hell, crappy "mature" sandbox games sell decently by appealing to the GTA crowd. All Sega needs to do is put out some badass ads on MTV playing up the seedy, crime underworld gameplay while mixing in a little bit of "THIS GAME HAS FUCKIN' SAMURAI SWORDS AND MARTIAL ARTS" and you've got a gold seller on your hands.
I don't think Sega knows how to market their mature games and I think their previous sales failures on the Wii have a lot to do with the decision on this one.
I fail to see how they can expect poor sales on a system with an install base a fraction of what the PS2 had when Sega tried (poorly) to bring the first two Yakuzas to the US.
Good games stand out better when the market isn't flooded with software already.
Oh, and f*ck you, Sega.
(yeah I know Holmes did it first, fuck off)
I'm too lazy to learn Japanese, so importing is not an option. Why not just put English subs and send to our shores?
Someone tell me if I'm being a dick and I'll stop.
I hate being facetious.
Ah well, most of you wouldn't understand what's going on in the game anyway.
And it's not like any of you would appreciate the complexities of a relationship with a game that's entirely in another language.
:P
DAMN YOU AND YOUR MOONSPEAK COMPREHENSION!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or on here...
http://kamuro-cho.blogspot.com/
The guy who did it explains EVERY freaking thing in the game to do except for some of the dating shit in Ryukyu (the Okinawa town). Everything else is explained in so much detail, you might question if he just copied an abandoned English translation, word for word.
I can understand why there is no English translation. With as poor as the sales were for Yakuza 2 (and you can blame me for that too, I didn't buy the second one at all... I was already on the 360 and PS3 by then) this would be prohibitively expensive just to produce it and localize it. Even without the subtitles, you'd never know where shit was if you don't have at least a rudimentary grasp of Japanese. Kinda like how they had subtitled translations of the signs in Shenmue, it'd be like that. Seriously, the only thing you might struggle with are locations using this FAQ I linked. It's kinda tricky to figure out which business is which if you don't read katakana like I can. Otherwise, it's still totally import friendly, and if you can get a copy, do so. It's pretty damn fun, even if it takes some work.
@BluDesign: No you're not being a dick, you're being very "nerdy" and ugly
1. This is the same company that had Sega of America prez say RPGs wouldn't get big in America Saturn days. Hmmm...look who's in the wrong here. Plus look at the system/company that took all their Saturn RPGs and ported them to their system? Same company that basically stabbed their heart for good in American console sales.
2.How the hell does Sega know if it will sell? They didn't push Yakuza 1 or 2 at all in the states. I only heard about it thanks to EGM. I remember seeing Yakuza 1 commercials but they were rare. Never saw ANY push for Yakuza 2.
At this point though, Sega should be happy they got ANY sales from Yakuza.
Second, what's so hardcore about Yakuza anyway? Yakuza 1 wasn't particularly challenging and had an interesting story line, even if it could be a bit repetitive at times.
I agree that it was poorly marketed - as all Sega games tend to be.
I'm sexier than some other people, ya know.
@shin
It's a different Sega now anyway. They may peddle their Genesis hits around like they're the old Sega of yesteryear, but they are a much smaller company now. As grand as it was to get any RPGs on the Saturn, we didn't get a fraction of the ones that were released in Japan, nor did we get even close to that on the Dreamcast either.
The Sega of today is going to be a lot more gunshy on development costs, but given the amount of marketing they did for Yakuza 3 in Japan, they could've at least tried to do HALF of that much marketing in the US and seen where it would've gotten them for Yakuza 2.
I guess my main impulse to buy it is that it'll be this game for a long damn while unless Rockstar decides to finally do a proper Japan-based GTA game. I think that'd be awesome to see happen and it could probably bring the Yakuza series to light for a lot of people.
Which makes Sega's failures with games like Yakuza and Shenmue all the more frustrating. The market for Japanese anime in the US (yet another thing we should leave to the Japanese) should be proof enough that there's a market for these games.
it is all understandable. Sega was already struggling come Saturn and it didn't help they alienated that.
I do want this still once I get a PS3. even if I have to use my dictionary to struggle through. Though the fact people are asking for Yakuza 3 to hit outside of Japan should really throw a light off in Sega's mind. I can understand if people aren't asking but if they have to keep addressing people willing to buy, something should be clicking.
And Blu?
You are one EVIL, brilliant sonuvabitch, and I salute you.