SEGA’s soap opera-esque role playing series Yakuza had a good run in the West for a while, but now we’re quickly falling behind. Despite localisations being borderline demanded by brand fans, neither Yakuza 5 nor its PlayStation 4 successor Yakuza Ishin have released overseas yet. That means that you probably shouldn’t hold out too much hope for the next entry in the franchise, which is predictably in production right now.
According to Gematsu, the latest issue of Japanese publication Famitsu includes an interview with series supervisor Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Masayoshi Yokoyama, which reveals the above snippet. There’s no word on the game itself, but apparently hostess auditions are set to take place soon, meaning that the release’s somewhat controversial dating minigames will be making a return. Judging by past trends, we suspect that this will be a mainline entry.
Of course, it’s hard to get excited for a game that’ll probably never get translated into English. There were rumours that SEGA acquisition Atlus were localising Yakuza 5 earlier in the year, but they’re yet to amount to anything. Sony has also acknowledged the interest in the series, with its new third-party publishing and localisation division supposedly on the case. We still reckon that the only way that you’re going to be able to catch up on this series is by learning Japanese, though.
[source famitsu.com, via gematsu.com]
Comments 8
STOP TEASING ME!
I hope they'll remove separate screens for battles from this one .... They look so outdated, when you play Yakuza Ishin on PS4.
Because SEGA alongside Square Enix make baffling decisions, although they are funny when brought to the fore centre.
It wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo got the jump on this and gave their fanbase everything J-related as possible on their consoles. After all, the Wii U IS getting Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 and Devil's Third.
Pretty hilarious if you consider the console marketing is flapping around in Japan, I wonder when Sega will wake up and send ps4 games west. They really are losing the plot.
What is the Yakuza series anyway? What type of game is it/how does it play? Certainly looks pretty cool, like a Japanese based GTA. Am I totally off? I don't know anything about it...
@drumsandperc92 Basically, it's an action RPG based on reality =), with a lot of sidequests, mini games and brawler-like battle system.
@drumsandperc92 It's a beat em up game with a simple power up system and text boxes. Loved by weeaboos, people crying over Shenmue, and fans of the beat em up genre, still for some unknown reason stuck in the 90s. I'm all three.
Oh, and you're a bit off. It plays more like Rockstar's Bully or The Warriors.
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