While North America is still reeling from the fists of Yakuza 3's localized launch (one which wasn't without controversy, sadly), Japan is already getting its hands dirty with Yakuza 4: Heir to the Legend which was released earlier today in Japan. Director Toshihiro Nagoshi, the man with the sweet tan, confirms the initial batch of titles prepared for shipment to retailers will be the largest yet for the series.
The milestone proved to be a pleasant surprise for Nagoshi, who believes the PlayStation 3 platform itself has yet to even reach its prime. In an interview at the Shinjuku launch event, Nagoshi attributed Yakuza 4's record shipment numbers to a wider demographic of players for both the series and the PS3, specifically an increased number of users still in high school and college.
Yakuza 4 will once again put players in the shoes of tough guy Kiryu Kazama, who just happens to have a big heart and soft spot for kids. As players enjoying Yakuza 3 will know, when you're not being an all-around badass busting Yakuza heads, you can explore hot spots around Japan and get lost in all sorts of side quests and minigames. These areas are faithfully modelled [sic] on their real life counterparts, and even include promotional tie-ins to real life brands and retail chains. In fact, Yakuza 4 features partnerships with a whopping forty domestic and international brand names, the highest number yet for the series.
Sega of America's Assistant Community Manager, Aaron Webber, recently commented in a recent official PlayStation Blog posting that the chances of seeing Yakuza 4 localized as a result of North American Yakuza 3 sales is still up in the air at this point, but higher sales certainly couldn't hurt!
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