Yakuza

Yakuza 6 demo playthrough now available in HD

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SEGA have added Monday’s presentation for Yakuza 6 on their official Ryu Ga Gotoku Channel which just shows how much better the graphics are looking for the latest entry. If this you’re first time viewing the video then you’re in luck, the actual segment for Yakuza 6 starts on the 11:15 mark, prior to that Nagoshi and his co-hostess are discussing and playing Yakuza Kiwami.

Tell us what you think of this PlayStation 4 exclusive, does it make use of the new hardware’s power?

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Yakuza: Kiwami has shipped over 200,000 copies in Asia

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The remake for Yakuza 1 is already off to a great start with SEGA confirming that Yakuza: Kiwami has received orders of 200,000 copies in “Asia” (China, Taiwan and Hong Kong) and in the same report they also confirmed Yakuza 0 has sold through over 100,000 units. It’s an impressive result for the game and shows why SEGA were so convinced to try and grow the series in mainland Asia. Yakuza: Kiwami is the first time the series has received a simultaneous Japanese and Asian release which should help offset declining Japanese software sales with increasing Asian sales.

Come back tomorrow to find out how Yakuza: Kiwami will be doing in it’s home territory of Japan when the latest Media Create charts are released.

[Source: GNN.Gamer]

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New Yakuza remake trailer details new “Majima Anywhere” system

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SEGA Japan’s upcoming Yakuza remake for Playstation 4 (due out January 21st, 2016) isn’t just some ho-hum rerelease of the original game in HD, it is a full-on remake with new modes and visuals that fall in line with the franchise’s latest releases. SEGA’s recent trailer, seen above, showcases how shiny and new the classic game looks and details a new “Majima Anywhere” system. “Majima Anywhere” is pretty much what it sounds like, as fan favorite character Goro Majima will emerge from just about anywhere to randomly attack Kazuma Kiryu. The developer’s reasoning for these attacks are because Goro wants “to awaken Kiryu’s intuition” after his ten year prison stint and because he wants “to enjoy more fights.” Also revealed, Goro will have four fighting styles to choose from: “Dancer” (rapid hitting), “Fight Master” (balanced), “Slugger” (hard hitting), and “the Mad Dog of the Shimano.”

Randomly fighting Goro is said to be the only way to unleash Kazuma’s “the Dragon of the Dojima” fighting style and if players clear certain conditions they’ll be able to use some of Goro’s moves as “Heat Actions.”

[Source: Tinfinite]

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SEGA says they’re in a ‘difficult place for something like’ a new Panzer Dragoon to sell

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SEGA’s Panzer Dragoon is one of those rail shooters with fantastic art style that blew lots of fans’ imaginations and many consider the franchise as being one of the most underrated SEGA games of all time. The Dengeki Playstation magazine decided to ask some SEGA developers some direct questions about the future of some SEGA entries, one being Panzer Dragoon. Satoshi Sakai (Producer Phantasy Star Online 2) was asked if the company would ever make a new Panzer Dragoon type game and he answered:

I would like to make it, but I’m sorry to say we’re in a difficult place for something like that to sell.

The other person that was asked a few questions for the magazine was Toshihiro Nagoshi (Daytona USA, Super Monkey Ball, Yakuza series) who was asked about making a new IP which he said is being considered, even though his team was making it seem like Yakuza franchise can’t last forever a few months ago.

As for Panzer Dragoon not ‘selling enough’ for a new entry, its hard to tell. There hasn’t been a new entry since 2002’s Panzer Dragoon Orta which sold 122,170 units in America alone. Its not a bad number (for being a early Xbox game) and its sad that SEGA never capitalized on it.

[Source: Gematsu]

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Could SEGA be planning to reveal a new Yakuza game on September 15th?

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The official Japanese Yakuza site (that’s the one for the SEGA games, not the official Japanese site for the yakuza) has updated with a banner teasing a September 15th reveal. The reveal is two days before Tokyo Game Show 2015, and the same date as the SCEJA Press Conference. So it is likely that this reveal will take place during the Sony press event. It is likely to be a game, but for what piece of hardware is unknown.

It’s important to note that the Yakuza series turned 10 this year, so perhaps it is an anniversary initiative or a boxed release of the entire series or a rerelease of earlier games or a new game. Earlier today we shared the reveal of a PS3 and PS4 title from SEGA named LEXUS, and while I speculated that this is a new non-Yakuza title from the Yakuza team, it could end up being that LEXUS is the code name for this reveal. Yakuza turns ten… the X in LEXUS could be the roman numeral for ten… who knows! All will be revealed on September 15th, and in the meantime we’ll share whatever news and rumors we come across.

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Yakuza creator talks about the future of the Japanese games industry

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The current issue of Famitsu Weekly held a discussion on the future of the Japanese games industry with the top tier developers from Japan. This post will mostly cover what Toshihiro Nagoshi (Daytona USA, Super Monkey Ball and Yakuza) said (cuz, you know, we are a SEGA news site).

Famitsu also interviewed Toeishi Ashihara (Cygames), Hideki Kamiya (Platinum Games), Yoshinori Kitase (Square-Enix), Akihiro Suzuki (Koei-Tecmo), Yosuke Hayashi (Koei-Tecmo), Katsuhiro Harada (Bandai-Namco), and Hiroshi Matsuyama (CyberConnect2). If you want to read their replies check out Nichegamer’s article on the the whole thing. Check out Nagoshi’s responses after the jump.

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Wonder Festival 2015 reveals new Jet Set Radio, Virtua Fighter, Yakuza, 7th Dragon, Persona 3, and SEGA Hard Girls figures

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It seems that this year’s Wonder Summer Festival 2015  was totally worth looking into if you’re a big SEGA fan since they got a ton of figures announced. How many? Seven figures spanning six franchises including Jet Set Radio, Virtua Fighter, Yakuza, 7th Dragon, Persona 3, and even SEGA Hard Girls got represented with a figure (a convention exclusive one no less). Here is the list of figures announced at the event:

As you can tell most of these are very early in production with some figures not being shown painted and some not even having a picture of what the figures looks like. This is a very early announcement and when more photos become available we shall post it on the blog, so stay tuned. I have to be honest, I’m a sucker for the old Virtua Fighter graphics, so I’ll probably end up picking those two figures up. What about you guys?

[Thanks: batfax]

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A look at SEGA of Japan’s Yakuza stage show

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Did you know that the Japanese love going to stage shows? Did you know that SEGA have made quite a bit of stage shows of their franchises including stuff like Phantasy Star Online 2 and now Yakuza aka Ryu Ga Gotoku? I have to be honest, the stage show doesn’t look half bad from Famitu’s photo gallery and most of the actors fit their roles unlike the Takashi Miike directed ‘Like a Dragon’ movie.

Below you can see a few of the photographs taken from the stage show’s debut. If you want more head over to Famitsu’s extensive gallery.

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SEGA and Sony team up to release a 10th anniversary Yakuza branded Walkman player

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SEGA and Sony have teamed up for the Yakuza franchise’s 10th anniversary to release a Walkman player sporting Yakuza branding. The Japanese exclusive Walkman, which unfortunately is not a throwback CD or cassette player, is planned to release on March 12th to coincide with the release of Yakuza 0 and will retail for 29,980 Yen (around $250 USD). As an added incentive for fans, the player is to come pre-loaded with twelve songs from the series including the new Yakuza 0 intro and outro tunes.

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Next Yakuza Title (Yakuza 6?) Website Revealed, Formal Reveal Incoming

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The teaser website for the next Yakuza title has just launched. It features text that steadily appears and fills up the screen, culminating with the image shown above. Gematsu reports that we can expect a formal reveal via niconico on the 24th of August at 9 P.M. Japan time. Details are scant on the game itself, but we do know that the game is in development for both the PS3 and PS4, and that it will not be a spinoff title.

The Yakuza franchise keeps moving forward in Japan, but outside of Japan the rest of the world still lags with Ishin and 5 not being localized. Please consider learning about and supporting the Day of the Dragon (August 8th) to show your support for bringing Yakuza games outside of Japan!

Credit to Gematsu for the teaser website image capture.

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Next Yakuza already in development

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While it’s a surprise to absolutely nobody, Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Masayoshi Yokoyama have confirmed to Famitsu that they’ve begun work on the next Yakuza game, following the release of Yakuza Ishin earlier this year.

Details are scarce, with a more formal reveal likely to take place in the near future. For now, the two mostly discussed the process of auditioning the game’s hostesses.

As has become typical, it’s unlikely that we’ll hear anything about a Western release, though I’d love to be proven wrong.

Keep it glued to SEGAbits for the latest on the Yakuza series and of course all other SEGA news.

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SEGAbits & Segalization partnership

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Hi SEGAbits readers! Some of you may have heard about Segalization, our new fan campaign that focuses on promoting the localization of Japanese Sega games. The project has already gone live a while ago, and today we’d like to formally announce a new partnership with our friends at SEGAbits. Other than having both websites link to each other, this partnership means you may find Segalization staffers occasionally contributing articles to SEGABits, which may or may not involve titles or news related to Segalization’s mission. In this first article, we’d like to talk a bit about the origins and goals of our campaign/website.

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New Yakuza Ishin video compares the PS3 and PS4 versions

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An exciting new video has hit promoting both the PS3 and PS4 versions of Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!, due for a release in Japan on February 22, 2014. The comparison video, shared in our forums by maakun2896, not only shows off gameplay footage, but they even detail the differences in controllers and package design. No word on a release to the West just yet, but the game is looking so good that many fans have already decided to import rather than wait. Are you planning on importing the game, or are you a lucky soul living in Japan? Sound off in the comments below, or discuss the game further in our dedicated forum topic!

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Sony’s Third Production Team receiving many requests for Yakuza, Shenmue

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A few months ago, Sony announced the formation of the Third Party Productions team, a new group within Sony’s third party relations meant to facilitate the localization or porting of content between regions or consoles. The first project announced by this team was the Vita port of Borderlands 2, which is a pretty major feat to accomplish in and of itself.

The team has since asked fans to send in requests for the kinds of games they’d like to see on their Playstation console of choice, and according to Sony’s Adam Boyes their top two choices were none other then SEGA’s Yakuza and Shenmue franchises. For what this means, please check out the full quote below the fold. For the full interview, please visit Kotaku.

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