This is just like Japan IRL. A couple of years back, Nick, Niero and I were in Kabukicho, Tokyo's red light district. We attempted to enter a pretty awesome looking hostess club. All pink and shiny. A finely dressed (high-end suit) Japanese man and his pet bouncer stopped us. The man held up his arms, making an X out of them. He said to us in perfect English:
Japanese only, please.
I think Sega is giving us the same story with the western release of Yakuza 3. IGN spoke with Sega, and it turns out that the in-game hostess clubs have been cut out of our release. The Japanese quiz show game was also cut.
The content between Yakuza 3 US/UK and Yakuza JP is a little different in that we took out certain bits in order to bring the game to the west in the time alloted for us to do so. The parts we ended up taking out were parts that we felt wouldn't make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn't resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club).
The Sega rep assured that the story was not affected by removing these parts. Thankfully, the strip bars are still in there, and you can date the hostesses, so it's not the end of the world.
I don't think the cultural differences are enough of a reason to cut the hostess clubs. We all know what they are, right?
Yakuza 3 Loses Content in the West [IGN]
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:
9:30 PM on 02.23.2010
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What's worse is that I've been one of those assholes who has basically been carpet-bombing SEGA for a year now asking that they bring this game over. Chances are we will never get Yakuza 4, seeing as how Yakuza 3 will perform terribly (especially since they have now publicly announced that they are cutting content from the game, which is turning off practically all potential buyers who were on the fence after the demo) and now the final Yakuza game we do get will be incomplete.
As a Yakuza fan, I feel really let down.
Also, I really don't know why the hell SEGA would have rushed them on this. They just absolutely NEEDED to have Yakuza 3 out on the same day as FFXIII? They couldn't give their localization team a couple more weeks to complete a section of a game that ISN'T EVEN VERY TEXT-HEAVY? It's all questions and answers, sure, but there are surprisingly few of them and they're all very short.
I wasn't going to buy the game anyhow but this sort of thing bugs me.
God knows, we don't want a game that takes place in Japan to be too Japanese.
Seriously, who is this helping, exactly? This is releasing a Gainax anime as dub only, with every instance of Japanese food replaced with a hamburger. You know who your marketing this game to, and it isn't to Joe Shmoe and the MW2 crew.
1. Not too different from God of War, so I call BS on it being cut for prudish reasons.
2. Cultural differences? Who do they think is buying this game? Do they think average white man is going to run out and buy this while dropping $5 on his Madden 2011 reservation? Fuck no. Weeaboos are buying this. People who understand and have an active interest in Japanese culture.
I'm sorry Sega, but you guys are just plain fucked in the head on this one. There's no need to explain the concept of Japan. Modern gamers have been concepted to death over Japan. We know what 2chan is for fucks sake. Air sex, bukkake, Pocari Sweat, Pokemon, Ramune, karaoke, and countless other shit are things we know about from Japan. Japan resonates socially across the waves. The days of yore where foreigners get all squinchy seeing a Geisha tea ceremony are long past.
Is it a large component of the game? No. It is a sizable mini-game component. Hostess clubs are not whorehouses, they're paid social visits. You go, you pay, you get to have a conversation with a hot japanese chick while she smiles and pretends to rike you. WTF is there that confuses our large eyed heads? I'd like some insight on what small minded group of marketers decided what was best for a westernized port of a Japanese game that struggles to sell well in the US.
SEGA, you ask yourself WHY THE OTHER TWO GAMES STRUGGLED IN RETAIL?!
I mean, I'm still buying this, if only to get the Englished up game to where it make sense now... But this is no indication that I'm going to be enamored with the experience. Sometimes I'm deeply ashamed to own a Dreamcast.
Are you kidding?
I'd resonate all over that.
They seem to be making some Sonic-style mistakes on this game.
From the press release it looks like just US/UK version is affected, if the Asian release has english subtitles I'm importing. Fuck this bullshit.
The only thing I want from Sega is a new Jet Set Radio
I'm right there with you.
Buy it anyway you shits.
Also, the hostess club is referenced in the demo. It says that it will be in the full game, so thats what I want. I want the demo to reflect their product, otherwise its deceptive.
I ... I just cant wrap my head around this.
What the hell are the people at Sega thinking sometimes?
I will still buy it, but cutting ANY content is just stupid.
So, we should be happy to pay full price for part of a game?
Yakuza 3. Eh, whatever Sega. All I need to hear is "missing content," and my attention makes a quick dash to Heavy Rain, Battlefield Bad Comany 2, God of War III, Dragon Age: Awakening, and later Red Dead: Redemption with their sexy, new complete looks and forget all about you.
I once was told by a wapanese on some forum who said that the Nanking Atrocities were Communist China's propaganda to discredit Japan and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki were acts of aggression by America. He was pretty earnest about it
That's just the thing though - the Weeaboos and Wapanese are a PRETTY KEY DEMOGRAPHIC for this game.
This is something I'd expect 4Kids to do - editing out content for the sake of making it "More American".
Or it could be just a good game on its on? I mean i'm not sure pandering to the weeaboos and the wapanese is a good thing to begin with.
I rather have them cut the whole thing out rather than replace it with something lame
Tehy take ages to add some goddamn subtitles and remove elements from the game?! Because they couldn't just re-write the quiz to be about world history?? And hostess clubs don't resonate?
SEGA: WE DON'T PLAY YAKUZA BECAUSE WE'RE AFRAID TO EXPERIENCE A DIFFERNT CULTURE.