Yakuza Team

ESRB rates Yakuza: Kiwami 2 for PC release

March 31, 2019 by George

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:

Yakuza 6 sold the same in the West as it did in Japan, a first for the franchise

October 16, 2018 by George

If you have been a massive Yakuza fan for awhile, you might have noticed that the franchise has been gaining steam since the release of Yakuza 0. My worse fear was that after Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, that those new audiences would either set Yakuza 6 aside for later (after Kiwami 2 and the Yakuza 3-5 ports) or just stop buying the franchise altogether. I can safely say that isn’t the case, thankfully Yakuza 6 seems to have performed well enough that the game sold the same in West as it did in Japan. This is a first for the franchise, not bad for a title that was closing off a long running story.

“In the past, the Japanese market has generated the bulk of sales for these series, and although it has elements that are appealing to overseas. However, the game was not developed with European and U.S. markets in mind. Thanks to painstaking efforts to create a game that Japanese fans will appreciate, the title has become popular not only in Japan but also won over fans overseas who praise the refined game sense of the title. I believe this is why Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has become such a popular hit around the world.” – SEGA’s Kenji Matsubara

This also means that Yakuza 6 Western sales basically includes UK and US against Japan, I hope that in the near future Western audiences outnumber Japanese audiences for Yakuza sales. I mean, we are getting closer. But we might get that considering that a Yakuza 6 PC port is most likely around the corner. We also have learned that Yakuza franchise has sold over 11 million copies world wide.

[Source: SEGA Report]

Yakuza Online Tokyo Game Show 2018 Trailer shows Haruka kicking ass

September 20, 2018 by George

SEGA is gearing up on releasing Yakuza Online over in Japan, with them already launching pre-registration for the title. Its not surprise that they would use Tokyo Game Show 2018 to hype up the title. Here we have a new trailer showing a dream team up of all our Yakuza heroes and new comer Ichiban, teaming up to promote Yakuza Online.

What do you think of a Yakuza Online mobile game? Would you like to see this game brought over to the Western market?

Yakuza Online launches in Japan by the end of the year, per-registrations now open

August 26, 2018 by George

Yakuza Online has finally gotten more details on the official website, including the ability to per-register to play the game early! If you didn’t know Yakuza Online will be a mobile service game that will be free-to-play on iOS, Android and PC. SEGA have also re-confirmed that it will be launching by the end of 2018 in Japan. But would you be interested to play it if it launches in the West?

SEGA wants as many people to per-register and the more people that register the more items users unlock:

10,000 pre-registrations – 100 diamonds
30,000 pre-registrations – One Upgrade Coin (Small), 100 diamonds )for a total of 200)
50,000 pre-registrations – Five Ability Coins, 100 diamonds (for a total of 300)
80,000 pre-registations – Stamina MAX, 100 diamonds (for a total of 400)
100,000 pre-registrations – SSR Haruka Sawamura, 100 diamonds (for a total of 500)

Hit the jump to see more information on what the game will contain

Yakuza: Kiwami 2 E3 2018 trailer shows the power of the Dragon Engine

June 12, 2018 by George

SEGA is really promoting Yakuza games now and it feels great from the standpoint of a long time fan. If you’ve been on here over the years, you are well aware of how I push this series all the time.Now we get a E3 2018 trailer showing off whats new in Yakuza: Kiwami 2!

“One of the most beloved storylines in the franchise’s history has returned in full HD in the Dragon Engine for PlayStation 4. Yakuza: Kiwami 2 features the return of mini games like Cabaret, a revamped clan creator and the original arcade release of Virtual-On, Kazuma Kiryu will have plenty of leisure activities when he isn’t taking on his fierce rival, the Dragon of Kansai, Ryuji Goda.”

As you can tell, Yakuza: Kiwami 2 is a huge leap graphically from the first Kiwami game based on being developed on the Dragon Engine! Yakuza: Kiwami 2 hits America and Europe on August 28!

SEGA announces Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Valkyria Chronicles 4 for PC

June 11, 2018 by George

While Yakuza franchise has had a great lifespan being a PlayStation only exclusive franchise, it seems that SEGA is changing that to open the franchise to a brand new audience. Yakuza 0 will be hitting PC on August 1st! That will be followed by Yakuza Kiwami and Valkyria Chronicles 4 later. It will be great to play these titles with beefed up hardware. Yes, SEGA has confirmed that Yakuza 0 will run at 4k, 60 fps. Get hyped. Yakuza 0 will cost $19.99 and if you pre-order it now you get 10% off! The only negative about the announcement is that this title has Denuvo DRM, if that is an issue to you of course.

These two Yakuza games run on a older engine, what I really want to see is a PC port of Yakuza 6 since the new ‘Dragon Engine’ was a bit much for the PlayStation 4. But I’m pretty happy with Yakuza 0 and yes, I will play it again.

SEGA confirms Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise hitting PS4 on October 2, 2018, includes optional English dub

June 11, 2018 by George

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise was actually ‘leaked’ early thanks to an Amazon listing and today, SEGA Europe confirmed it is a reality. The game is set to hit western store shelves on October 2, 2018! Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise actually released in Japan earlier this year under the title Hokuto no Gotoku, which is a game developed by the Yakuza Studios.

Unlike Yakuza games that retain their Japanese voices and offer subtitles, it seems Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise will have an English dub, which has been confirmed to be optional. So users can play it with English voice acting or Japanese. Check out the trailer above for more a sample of the voice work.

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Amazon leaks ‘Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise’ Western localization

June 10, 2018 by George

It seems that SEGA has plans on localizing ‘Hokuto no Ken‘, the Fist of the North Star game created by the Yakuza developers considering that Amazon has listed ‘Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise‘ product page (which they have taken down). The listing was spotted by Twitter user @RedMakuzawa and it seems that the product page has now been pulled.

Don’t be shocked if you see it revealed during Sony’s E3 press conference tomorrow, considering that Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 extended trailer shows why its the best remake SEGA’s ever produced

September 29, 2017 by George

Yakuza Kiwami 2 had its big showing at the Tokyo Game Show 2017 and is set to hit Japan in a few short months. SEGA has gone out of its way to impress Japanese consumers with a extended story trailer giving them a look at all the plot points from the 2006 PlayStation 2 game and brand new plots being introduced in the remake.

This remake is one of the best (if not the best) remake SEGA has ever produced. Or at least its looking that way. Though stating that is sorta a given considering that SEGA doesn’t produce many remakes, which I really do feel that they should. Especially of a high caliber such as this. SEGA always seems like a company that loves moving forward, so I’m glad that they are remaking these decade old titles. What are your opinions on Yakuza Kiwami 2? Will you be picking it up when it finally comes West?

Fist of the North Star reveals more story, new characters and play spots details

September 21, 2017 by George

SEGA has updated the official website for Fist of the North Star (Hokuto ga Gotoku) website offering new details on the story, four new characters and even details on play spots within the game. Of course there are also new screenshots. I won’t go into great detail about the story right here, you can visit Gematsu who translated the website news themselves. The story goes into more detail but its piratically the same.

As for the new characters confirmed, the first one is Souther (voiced by Hiroki Touchi) the man who calls himself ‘Emperor’. This man is the sole successor of the Nanto Houhouken martial arts style. A prideful warrior that looks down on his weaker opponents and holds a secret you will discover. Next we got Jagi (voiced by Hidenari Ugaki) one of Kenshiro’s brothers who also studied Hokuto Shinken. Envious of Kenshiro, he wears a strange helmet and is an unpredictable person. Uighur (voiced by Naomi Kusumi) is a man that runs the prison known as Cassandra, which is considered a death sentence by many since no one leaves alive. Nadai (voiced by Masato Obara) is the founder of Eden. A accomplished man that created Eden within a generation but died suddenly several years ago.

Hit the jump to talk about the new minigames.

SEGA showing off Tokyo Game Show 2017 lineup

September 8, 2017 by George

SEGA has launched their Tokyo Game Show 2017 website, showing off what games will be playable, only shown in video and which games will have press conferences. Not all SEGA games at Tokyo Game Show 2017 will be playable, sadly. So, lets get to it and see what we will see more of later this month.

Fist of the North Star – (Stage show, photo spot, trailers and gameplay videos)
Yakuza Kiwami 2 – (Playable, stage show, trailers, playable footage, merchandise, and photo spots)
A Certain Magical Virtual-On – (Playable, stage show, trailers and merchandise)
Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Future Tone DX – (Playable, trailers and merchandise)
Sonic Forces – (Playable, stage show, trailers, and merchandise)
Phantasy Star Online 2 – (Playable, trailers, stage show, merchandise, and photo spot)
Yakuza Online – (Trailers)
Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation – (Playable, Stage Show and Trailers)

Translation is a bit iffy, but it seems that the stage shows will be streamed online from what I gather. We shall keep you updated on that via our twitter and on this blog. We will be having a writer at Tokyo Game Show, so expect a SEGA News Bits video and write up discussing some of these playable games.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 happened due to how well Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami did outside Japan

August 31, 2017 by George

Yesterday we discussed how Yakuza Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi had a live stream to explain details on their earlier announcements. One of those was to confirm that the Fist of the North Star game was running on the studio’s older Yakuza 0 engine and the other fun tidbit was that Yakuza Kiwami 2 is only happening due to how well Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami performed with pre-orders and overall sales.

According to NeoGAF poster Gacha-pin, he specifically mentioned ‘Yakuza‘ and not ‘Ryū Ga Gotoku‘ (Like a Dragon) as the franchise is known as in Japan and Asian countries. This means that maybe SEGA is finally impressed with how the game has performed in Europe and in the Americas? We are getting a impressive Yakuza 6 premium edition and it seemed that when Yakuza 0 came out it kept selling out on Amazon. Its good to see a game that I have been following for more than a decade finally get the recognition it deserves outside of Japan. Seeing as SEGA America is already asking fans if they are hyped for the upcoming Yakuza games, I would wager that we will be getting more Yakuza titles in the future. Good times.

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SEGA’s Fist of the North Star confirmed to run on Yakuza 0’s engine, not Yakuza 6

August 30, 2017 by George

SEGA held another live stream the other day to confirm some misconceptions revolving around their recent Yakuza Studio announcements which included a new Fist of the North Star game. At the time it was highly believed to be running on the ‘Dragon Engine’ which is the latest in-house engine created by the studio, this was mostly due to Yakuza Kiwami 2 using the engine.

So why will Fist of the North Star use the older, Yakuza 0/Kiwami engine? According to studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi its because the team has more experience with the ‘Kiwami engine’ and its better for celshaded graphics. Also note that the Dragon Engine is still under development, while the older engine already achieves 60fps at 1080p on the PlayStation 4 while Yakuza 6 ran at 30 fps.

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Yakuza Kiwami 2 Leaked Early By PSN Store Page

August 24, 2017 by George

SEGA was set to have a big stadium announcement this Saturday, that was going to be live streamed world wide to announce several new games by the Yakuza studio. It seems that one of their surprises has been leaked early via the Taiwanese PSN store. The listing says the game will release on December 7th, 2017 in Japan.

Going through the rough English translation of the PSN store page description, it seems that they might have went back and recorded all the voice acting, much like the the first Yakuza Kiwami. But they are also teasing this one being on the new ‘Human Dragon Engine’ which means it could be using the new engine that powered the gorgeousYakuza 6! You already know I’m excited for Yakuza Kiwami 2, but are you?

[Via: Wario64]