SEGA to announce new Yakuza title this weekend during Tokyo Game Show 2020


While we are still counting down the days for us to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the seventh main title in the  Yakuza franchise, the studio is already set to announce yet another Yakuza title this weekend. Will this new title feature more traditional combat? Will Ichiban come back? Could this be the long rumored sequel to Yakuza 0?

We will find out soon since they are set to announce it via the Sega Atlus  Tokyo Game Show stream this September 27th at 8pm JST (4am PT) on YouTube.

[Via: PCgamer]

Rumor: Nick Robinson says SEGA is working on Super Monkey Ball 3 via voice actor interview

YouTuber Nick Robinson went out of his way to interview Brian Matt, the voice actor for Super Monkey Ball games (announcer) back in the old days and sorta, maybe hinted at SEGA working on Super Monkey Ball 3? We actually discussed Brian Matt in the past hinting at a future Super Monkey Ball announcement. According to Nick Robinson, the voice actor is under an NDA, so you can view the interview at the top where he tries to dance around questions during the interview (Starts at 7:14) with Nick trying to fill in the blanks with his thoughts.

So this confirms that the original Super Monkey Ball announcer is working with SEGA, where he has recorded one session. According to the voice actor one of the lines he remembers doing was ‘Sad Emoji’ and ‘Happy Emoji’, which makes you wonder if this is joke lines to record or will be used in the next game. A lot of the interview is speculation since the voice actor isn’t allowed to confirm what the actual game is. I will let you watch the video and make your own opinion for yourself.

The History of Sega Japan R&D Part 5: The Road to 2020 is Complete

It was 2015 when I posted the four part retrospective of Sega of Japan’s game development. 2015 was the year where they announced a new initiative and went as far as to make their previous corporate divisions their own separate companies. Such as Sega Games, Sega Interactive for arcades and so on (which they are already undoing again in April). Sega Game’s new president, Haruki Satomi, promised that he would right the wrongs of the past, gain back the trust of consumers and also shareholders with their “Road to 2020” initiative. Of course this encompasses the evolution of their Japanese in-house studios, which are arguably the core of Sega.

SEGA’s Two Point Hospital and Yakuza 0 coming to Game Pass on February 25 & 26

If you are a Xbox One fan that has been waiting for the release of Yakuza 0 and Two Point Hospital (maybe if you read this site, not this one) on Game Pass, your wait is almost over. According to Microsoft Yakuza 0 will hit on the 26th while Two Point Hospital will hit on the 25th of this month. Both these games will also be playable on PC, not just Xbox One! Win, win?

If you didn’t know Game Pass is Microsoft’s game service where you pay monthly for a ‘free’ catalogue of games, each month they continue to add more and more.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon To Get Seven Free DLC Packs, First DLC Details Revealed

If you are excited for Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which comes out later this year in America, you probably already know that these games have had free DLC updates since the release of Yakuza 3 and this new game isn’t any different.

While we don’t know the release schedule of these DLC items in the West, we do know the release schedule for the Japanese release (they start releasing tomorrow):

  • January 23, 2020
  • January 30, 2020
  • February 6, 2020
  • February 13, 2020
  • February 20, 2020
  • February 27, 2020

The first pack that SEGA is releasing is called the ‘Support Pack Vol. 1’ which will add a new ‘Cleanup Crew’ costume and the following support items:

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Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s story mode alone will be more than twice as long as previous games


The latest issue of the Weekly Famitsu magazine in Japan had a huge feature on the upcoming Yakuza: Like a Dragon (aka Yakuza 7: Wherebouts of Light and Darkness). There are a ton of great tidbits of new information regarding the upcoming game but one that stood out was the team saying that Yakuza: Like a Dragon‘s story mode will be ‘more than twice as long’. That really makes you question if its because of the new combat system, which is taking a turn based RPG approach or if its just because this game will have more content. I mean, Yakuza 5’s story was ridiculously long and if this is going to be more than double the length…. I’m in!

Check out the tidbits over at Gematsu!

Review: Judgment (PS4) Back to Kamurocho, With A New Perspective


Judgment is an open world action and adventure game that takes place in Kamurocho, the same setting from the Yakuza series, where you play as Takuyuki Yagami, a former lawyer who later becomes a private detective after a tragic event involving a previous case. Now Yagami must take on a gruesome serial murder case involving a mysterious killer that is gouging the eyes of his yakuza victims. As you take on the case, you’ll be in for a journey where you’ll make use of your detective skills to not only solve the mysterious behind this case but also take on side cases for the residences of Kamurocho, while enjoying the mini games during your spare time.

New Judgment trailer reveals Pierre Taki’s replacement in-game model

If you guys have been following Judgment, the latest game from the studio behind Yakuza, you would know that SEGA Japan halted sales of the game in Japan after one of the main characters was arrested on drug charges. SEGA said they would replace actor Pierre Taki from the game via an update, which included the model of the game character since it was based on the actor.

According to SEGA the new model isn’t modeled after any actor, which might be something SEGA should consider doing this moment forward. As far as the new voice for Hamura, we still haven’t gotten who will replace him in Japan and they haven’t completed the voice work as of now.

 

SEGA teases footage of New Yakuza game starring Ichiban Kasuga

It looks like SEGA still has some surprises after SEGA Fes 2019, one of those is this footage they put on their twitter account showing off “Shin Yakuza” which will start new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. The game was announced back in August of 2017 along with Yakuza Online. If you look at the footage, it seems to be taking some cues from the Yakuza Online game, which was the first time we saw Ichiban Kasuga but with real time gameplay? Hard to tell considering the person working on the game keeps stopping and skipping the fighting. Again, just a tease.

The other thing that it seems to show is turn based battles, with the bad guys having health at the bottom of the screen along with your parties health. Is this a mini-game that is being teased or will the full game change from real-time combat to turn base?

We also know that the game will be more comedic and from the footage it seems to fit the bill.

[Update] I’m an idiot and forgot it’s April 1st in Japan. Disregard all Japanese gaming news today. [/Update]

ESRB rates Yakuza: Kiwami 2 for PC release

It seems that the ESRB is good at two things: Putting logos in front of boxes and leaking games early. Good for us because now we know Yakuza: Kiwami 2 will be coming to PC very soon considering its already been rated by the ESRB.

It is sort of weird that there hasn’t been something on Yakuza 6, since that game came out first on PlayStation 4 then it was Yakuza: Kiwami 2. Plus both these games run on the new ‘Dragon Engine’. Let’s hope its not a Epic Game Store exclusive. Should be interesting. Hit the jump for ESRB’s description:

Toshihiro Nagoshi talks about why SEGA pulled Judgment sales, no sequel planned

SEGA’s Creative Officer Toshihiro Nagoshi talked more about why he voted to pull Judgment from Japanese store shelves after actor Pierre Taki was arrested on a cocaine charge.

During the latest Sega Nama stream, Nagoshi went more into why he voted to delay the game he worked as a director on:

“There is no correct way to deal with the situation. In the end, I also cast my vote for halting sales. Some thought and pointed out “This is going too far” and “It’s unrelated to the game itself,” and I don’t think those opinions are unreasonable either—I can see it from both sides. So when it comes to why I voted for halting sales, it’s because it was just after release. If it was an older game released a considerable amount of time ago, our priorities may have been different, but when it was something that had been released only several months prior, I think it’s a different conversation.”
He also talked about news outlets discussing that SEGA already had Judgment 2, 3 planned out which he said:

No Western delay for Judgment as SEGA opts to replace Pierre Taki

There was good news for those waiting for Ryu Ga Gotoku’s latest title Judgment today as SEGA confirmed on twitter that the PlayStation 4 detective adventure is still set to hit Western shores on June 25th 2019. There was some worries that Pierre Taki’s arrest on hard drugs charges was going to delay the game but the publisher came out today to assure fans the game will still be arriving on time. On twitter SEGA had this to say:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the character model and Japanese voice for the character of Kyohei Hamura will be adjusted for the Western release of Judgment, launching on June 25, 2019. Screenshots and trailers featuring Hamura have been temporarily removed from all of SEGA’s official channels. Updated versions of these materials will be made available at a later date.

The bad news is obviously Taki will no longer be part of this game due to his run in with the law. If you’re familiar with Taki’s work how does this make you feel, or if you think of a suitable replacement, why not drop a message in our comment section?

Yakuza 5 for PlayStation 4 launching in Japan on June 20

While we are still waiting for SEGA West to announce release dates for Yakuza 3, 4 and 5; Japan is already finishing up their releases of the PlayStation 4 ports. Yakuza 5, the last of these ports is slated to release on June 20, 2019.

Its going to be interesting to see what SEGA West will do with these titles, especially a entry like Yakuza 4 which replaced one of the main actors due to him being accused of using cocaine.

[Via: Gematsu]

SEGA is halting Judgement sales following actor Pierre Taki’s arrest


SEGA has now announced that they are voluntary halting shipments and pulling the game from Japanese PSN following the news taht in-game actor Pierre Taki has been arrested for using cocaine. That’s right, SEGA has a super strong stance against cocaine, that is why Yakuza 4 re-release on PS4 had to recast the actor for Masayoshi Tanimura, the original actor was allegedly using cocaine as well.

SEGA said in a press release:

“Sega has received the arrest reports and are currently confirming the facts, but for the time being, we will voluntarily refrain from shipments and digital sales of [Judgment], as well as from things like posting the product’s homepage. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause for customers, as well as the parties involved.”

The thing is Judgement came out in Japan last year, back in Decemeber. Now it makes me wonder if SEGA Japan will try to halt the release in America until they digitally recast the actor? What a mess and I have no idea why its SEGA’s responsibility to go through all this because an actor used some drugs. Who cares? Now we might have to miss out on his performance because of all this…

[Source: Gematsu]