I feel that none of the minifigs will be an obstacle to the project; if they can't get the rights to use Yu Suzuki's name and "likeness" then they will simply cut the figure out of the set. The minifigs are gravy here -- just extras; the main issue will be getting the rights to Out Run, Space Harrier, Thunder Blade and whatever other games they want to include.
Personally, I don't think it'd be hard to get Suzuki's permission. He's not a huge celebrity, so I don't think it would cost much to get his permission. Ryo Hazuki, however, would require obtaining licensing for yet another game, so they will have to weigh the cost vs. benefits of having the figure -- would having a Ryo minifig increase sales enough to warrant the extra licensing? Lego will make the call on that one.
That said, I think the Lego designers will push to include the most they can. For example, for the recent Exo Suit set, the designer kept adding extra items until he was told the set would be too expensive. So even though the proposal was just for an exo suit and minifig, the designer added another minifig, a mini turtle robot, and a sort of loading platform with some barrels.
So if they can include Suzuki or Ryo, I think they will. If they can't, they won't.
