SEGA’s long running Yakuza franchise is finally giving its previous PlayStation 2 exclusive title a much needed remake on the PlayStation 4. Today we dive back into the world of Kamurocho to see if a trip back to 2005 is actually a trip worth having. This is our early review of Yakuza Kiwami.
With less than a week until SEGA kicks off it’s Yakuza Studio’s new titles presentation this Saturday, we’ve been given confirmation that the event will be live streamed on YouTube, Fresh, and Niconico from 19:00 Japan Standard Time. Having the presentation on youtube will be a godsend for fans who don’t have Niconico accounts and don’t know how to make it through the Japanese only sign up of the site.
Previously Nagoshi mentioned that multiple titles would be announced at the event “including something expected.” so what could it be, Yakuza Kiwami 2 with a new IP or perhaps something else? Gives us your thoughts and hopes on what you’re expecting this Saturday below.
SEGA has confirmed that Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will launch both digitally and physically in the Americas and Europe on March 20, 2018. SEGA has also priced the game at $59.99. Nothing surprising there. But SEGA did confirm that people that pre-order get a launch copy that includes a hardcover art book that doubles as a disc holder. Pretty neat.
The Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio or known to Americans as the Yakuza Studio will host a presentation where they will show off new titles, this upcoming August 26th from 19:00 to 20:00 JST at the UDX Theater in Akihabara.
While this might not mean much to users here, SEGA will be holding a lottery where they will give 30 invitations to Japanese fans. If you want to enter the lottery for a chance to win a entry pass all you have to do is follow @ryugagotoku on twitter and retweet this tweet.
So what can we expect at the event? I think a lot of people would guess a new Yakuza title since studio boss man Toshihiro Nagoshi stated the team was working on a installment. But on yesterday’s stream he said there would be a new title and they will show more than one title, “including something expected.” Could we finally be seeing Yakuza Kiwami 2 and maybe a brand new IP? What do you guys want to see the Yakuza Studio develop next? Do you want them to continue the Yakuza brand?
[Source: Gematsu]
Its not uncommon for SEGA’s general director and creator of the Yakuza (then Spikeout, Super Monkey Ball, Daytona USA, and more) series Toshihiro Nagoshi to have a stream. Its a very regular thing he does over in Japan. On the live streams he likes to bring on other SEGA creators to talk about various topics including movies, music and even their projects they are working or worked on.
We should be having a pretty good live stream later this week as Toshihiro Nagoshi has invited Persona 5 director and producer Katsura Hashino and will stream on July 25, 2017. Not to mention Katsura Hashino is also working on a new game, with a new studio within Atlus, this project is being called Project Re: Fantasy. Maybe the stream will offer more details on that project and even the next Yakuza title? Maybe, maybe not. Tokyo Game Show 2017 is only a couple of months away, so it wouldn’t be crazy if they hint at something.
You can catch the live stream, if you are fluent in Japanese or watch anime, on July 25th at 8:55pm JST on Niconico. I guess we shall see what comes of this, stay tuned to the site as we post an update on what went down on the stream.
While we won’t be getting Yakukza 6 until sometime in early 2018, SEGA Japan is already set to tease a new Yakuza game. While on a stream, long time Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi said that they will show ‘something’ relating to the new Yakuza game, he also mentioned that we will have to wait about two months for information regarding the new game. He also thinks people will be happy with what the game will be about. I guess we will find out where the new Yakuza game is heading, seeing that Yakuza 6 is Kazuma Kiryu’s last game.
It is quite obvious that this new Yakuza game will be SEGA’s big game at this years Tokyo Game Show and now we know that SEGA will start the teasing it in two months. So what direction do you guys want to see the new Yakuza game take? Are you excited for another go into the Yakuza world? Let us know in the comments below.
[Source: Siliconera]
Welcome to a new episode of the SEGA News Bits, our YouTube show where we discuss all things SEGA News as they hit. This last week we have been posting our E3 2017 hands on impressions for both Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania, this time we are doing our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 hands on impressions! So give it a listen as SEGAbits staff writers Kori-Maru and Bartman3010 give you the low down on the upcoming remake, the new graphics engine in Yakuza 6, extras found in Yakuza Kiwami, and the overall perception of these games at the event. So tune in and listen to our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions and if you guys have any questions regarding the upcoming Yakuza games, you can ask them in the comments. Now that you have seen our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions, what are your impressions of these games so far?
If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that new YouTube algorithm is. Thanks for the support. If you want to read our full Yakuza 6 & Yakuza Kiwami E3 2017 hands on impressions in written format, check that out here.
SEGA’s Sam Mullen said that the ‘The Future of SEGA’ Japanese teaser released a few weeks ago would be translated. The teaser was suppose to show the company’s new start up logo, which was confirmed by Sam Mullen. IGN published the teaser for the new start logo and titled the video ‘The Future of Sega’ which would mean that the video isn’t only about the new start up logo but also as a rebranding for the new direction the company is going on its ‘road to 2020’. ‘The Future of Sega’ teaser features Toshihiro Nagoshi as he explains what SEGA is striving for, but it is still a bit mysterious.
We talked at length about ‘The Future of Sega’ teaser and the new start up logo on our SEGA News Bits episode, so check that out if you wanna know more about my opinion on the whole thing. What do you guys think now that you guys got a gander at the trailer in English? Are you excited for ‘the future of SEGA’?
Is SEGA now going to be typed as Sega, officially? I’m ready for the future, LET’S GO!
SEGA is synonymous with many things, but the most notable would have to be the startup logo. In the console days, systems like the Master System, SEGA CD, Saturn and Dreamcast had their own startup logo. But once the game began, you’d be treated to the SEGA logo. How the SEGA logo appeared often differed from game to game, but in the later years – especially once SEGA went third party – things became more uniform. From around 2005 to the past year we had the swoosh and deep voiced “SEGA” logo for most games. Most games featured this, though there has been exceptions (Alien: Isolation, Yakuza 0, Puyo Puyo Tetris to name a few). According to Sam Mullen, Senior Localization Producer for SEGA products at Atlus USA, the swoosh and low voice is no more and the above eye is the new logo ident moving forward.
The eye first appeared in a SEGA of Japan video titled “Branding Movie”, seen after the break, which should have a subtitled version coming soon according to Sam. The video shows SEGA’s Chief Product Officer (and Monkey Ball and Yakuza creator) Toshihiro Nagoshi on a computer looking at the human eye. He then reflects on SEGA’s games and identity as he drives around Japan looking out the window. We see people interacting with SEGA products in their daily lives. We then see Nagoshi analyzing the brand with staff through meetings and tests and then the words “Amazing SEGA” appear on screen before the eye ident closes things off.
Clearly SEGA of Japan have put time and energy into this new startup, the question is what is the reasoning for the change? What do you think of the new startup? Sound off in the comments below.
Was there any doubt that Yakuza was ending? Well, Yakuza 6 has long been labeled as “the final chapter of Kazuma Kiryu”, so some have speculated that the series would take a break and the team would work on something else. During the Famitsu Awards, however, series general director Toshihiro Nagoshi confirmed that another Yakuza title is happening.
While not many specifics were given, it was said that he will not be walking back on the promise of the latest game being Kazuma Kiryu’s final chapter. Nagoshi made it clear that he wants to make a new Yakuza and that he did not want to narrow it to a single title, we could be seeing multiple games. The Yakuza 6 engine, dubbed the Dragon Engine, was said to be completed with the development of a second or third title. The timeframe for the reveal of the next game was given as “the not too distant future” and that there will be an opportunity to talk about the game early in its development.
What do you think about more Yakuza games? Would you want another prequel title, a true Yakuza 7 with a new main character, or perhaps a reboot focusing on a totally different cast?
[Source: Gematsu]
Seeing as we are big SEGA fanboys, it is safe to say we care about what their developers think about a upcoming console. This month on Famitsu, SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch and their thoughts on the big reveal presentation. The original news piece, posted by Nintendo Everything, also had other top Japanese developers. So check that out if you want to learn what other top Japanese talent from other publishing companies thought about the Nintendo Switch. So what SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch? We have Takashi Iizuka (Sonic the Hedgehog series), Toshihiro Nagoshi (Yakuza series) and Mizuki Hosoyamada (Puyo Puyo series).
SEGA game designer, producer, director, as well as the current Chief Creative Officer of Sega Corporation Toshihiro Nagoshi took the stage at Nintendo’s Switch presentation to… well, say that he was there and that SEGA had Switch on their radar. Nagoshi said: “SEGA sees a tremendous amount of appeal in Nintendo Switch and will intend to be present on the platform, and similarly I as an individual creator sense a new kind of appeal with this game hardware. We will consider new games for Nintendo Switch and will present them soon. This new hardware is taking on a new challenge and has a lot of appealing points and I would like to take advantage of this new concept and I would like to create a new interesting game.”
SEGA and Atlus Japanese creators where a part of a series of interviews conducted by the Japanese website 4Gamer, in where they listed their favorite games of 2016 and what they thought 2017 held for them as creators. The SEGA and Atlus Japanese creators that were included in the interviews included:
As a bonus, they even have Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who left SEGA over a decade ago but with the re-release of Rez Infinite it seems he can’t completely cut his ties with the company. If you didn’t know Rez Infinite is considered by many to be one of the best titles on PlayStation VR, so the game has gotten extra attention from mainstream media. Which of course is fantastic since he is a great creator. You can read what games these SEGA and Atlus Japanese creators liked in 2016 and what they hope to accomplish next year, read it all after the jump.
[Source: Gematsu]
We did it folks, we whined about Yakuza games not coming west so much in the last decade that SEGA finally has 3 unreleased Yakuza games coming to English regions. SEGA announced at the PlayStation Experience event that Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami are coming West. What does this mean? That means we have Yakuza 0, a prequel will be coming in January 2017 with the remake of the first game (Yakuza Kiwami) coming in summer 2017 and Yakuza 6 will tie it up with a early 2018 release date. Never thought i’d say this, but its pretty good being a Yakuza fan right now. I have been following the series since the first game came out in Japan and always supported the franchise when I could.
Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami are coming west, let that sink into your head. Yeah, I seriously can’t believe. it. Support the titles by giving them a pre-order and saying nice things to SEGA via their social media. After multiple titles bombed, they are still listening to fans. Who will be picking up a copy? Are you excited? let us know in the comments below!
Yakuza 6 might be only announced for release in Japan, that doesn’t mean you can’t try it out early. The Yakuza 6 demo is now live on Japanese PSN and if you didn’t know, making a Japanese PSN isn’t that hard. We posted details before on what will be in the Yakuza 6 demo, but you basically get to play the opening chapter in the game and best of all your save file will transfer over if you decide to import the game. Of course the Yakuza 6 demo will also have limited access to play spots. The Yakuza 6 demo will weigh in at a impressive 33.8 gigabyte. That’s quite the size.
Yakuza 6 hits Japan, exclusively for PlayStation 4 on December 8th. Are you going to give the demo a spin? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!