yakuza 4
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Sega already at work on another PS3 Yakuza
At some point, even die-hard Yakuza fans are going to grow weary of the series, and Sega is doing its best to determine exactly when that will happen. The latest Famitsu brings word from Toshihiro Nagoshi that, as development on Black Leopard: New Yakuza Chapter for PSP continues, the team is simultaneously working on another Yakuza game for PS3. This will be the seventh game in the series. Even among those suffering from Yakuza fatigue, Nagoshi's announcement that this game would feature the eyepatch-clad Goro Majima as a playable character is likely to ignite some frothing demand. Majima, the "Madman of the Shimano Family" is notable mostly for being kind of crazy, and obsessed with fighting Kazuma Kiryu. Inhabiting his life will be pretty different from following the comparatively virtuous Kazuma. "While I can't give a release time frame yet," Nagoshi said, "we're working to deliver it at a time Yakuza series fans will want." Whether he means the fans clamoring for an uninterrupted supply of Yakuza, or regular sensible people who think there should be some time between sequels, is unknown.
Preview: Yakuza 4
As I played through the combat-only demo of Yakuza 4, I noticed a small group of onlookers gather around demo station. It's not that I was fighting exceptionally well, but the fighting in Yakuza games is something of a rare spectacle, with a single tough guy weaving through a crowd of gangsters, deftly punching, kicking, dodging, stepping on faces, and bashing them with weapons ranging from swords and stun guns to traffic cones, advertising signs, and beer bottles. Whatever's handy, really. %Gallery-94713%
Yakuza 4 headed to North America and Europe in spring 2011
We didn't believe Sega would ever localize Yakuza 3. We also didn't believe Yakuza 3 would sell enough to justify a localization of Yakuza 4. We were wrong on both counts! Today, Sega announced that it's bringing the PS3's Yakuza 4 to North America and Europe in spring 2011, to the delight of everyone who likes beating up gangsters so severely that they feel compelled to apologize and offer money. Rather than focusing entirely on the exploits of ex-crime boss/family man Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 4 splits the story between four different characters, including a homeless man, a detective, an ex-con, and Kazuma. If you don't mind paging through a bunch of Japanese text, you can try it out right now, thanks to a demo on Japan's PlayStation Store. %Gallery-94713%
PS3 tops five million consoles sold in Japan
In this post-Modern Warfare 2 world, a number like five million may seem insignificant -- even laughable, to some. But hey, don't knock the PS3's latest accomplishment of selling 5,001,598 consoles in Japan. Famitsu brings us the news, along with the top-selling games on the platform so far: Final Fantasy XIII is first with 1,883,828 units, Metal Gear Solid 4 takes second with 706,461 and Yakuza 4 -- which was just released a few weeks ago -- comes in third, selling an impressive 526,093 copies so far. Gosh, the only thing that's missing is a Dragon Quest. [Via Andriasang]
Yakuza 4 heads East in March 2010
It may seem like just yesterday that we learned the release date for Yakuza 3, but that's only because it was. Just one day after Sega finally announced a Western release for Kazuma Kiryu's third adventure, the Japanese side of the company demonstrated just how far in the future it lives, by announcing a release date for the fourth game. And both release dates are in the same month. Specifically, Yakuza 4 arrives in Japan on March 18. That means, if you don't mind reading Japanese, you can be exactly one Yakuza game better than everyone else. A whole new group of hostesses awaits! As do some new playable characters. In addition to Kazuma, this game features three other playable mobsters, each with a separate storyline.
Watch Japanese girls audition for a role in Yakuza 4
There are two very important things crucial to every Yakuza game: noodles and girls. We're pretty sure you've figured out which of these topics we're covering today. Sega's upcoming PS3-exclusive Yakuza 4 will continue the franchise's penchant for featuring Japanese hostesses. This time, however, they're relying on the fan community to vote for their favorites. Andriasang has a helpful guide detailing all of the candidates, many of whom may be found on this exclusive Blu-ray disc. Remember as you peruse the various choices that you can look, but you can't play with any of these girls -- just like the game itself.
It's already time for another Yakuza
Yakuza 3 (Ryu ga Gotoku 3 in Japan) just came out in February, and Sega has already officially announced the sequel. The official Ryu ga Gotoku site revealed that a new PlayStation 3 installment is on the way. Other than the platform and the title, Ryu ga Gotoku 4: Densetsu wo Tsugu Mono (Succeed the Legend), few details are known. We can speculate that since the series is already two deep on the PS3 and we haven't seen either of those in North America, this one is also going to remain in Japan. How does Sega have time to make all these huge games so quickly anyway? If you'd like to see what some of the characters will look like in the new open-world title, GAME Watch (via Kotaku) has images of actors Hiroki Narimiya and Kenta Kiritani recording voice work and sitting for motion capture. Detailed 3D models of the actors will appear in the game. [Thanks, Marius]
