Yakuza 5: Open World Action Across 5 Cities in Japan

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Yakuza 5: Open World Action Across 5 Cities in Japan

Yakuza 5 will be coming out later this year, and we have some more information for those of you eager to jump into the seedy underbelly of Japan!

Let’s start of with stuff you probably know about: Yakuza 5 has five protagonists, and takes place across five major Japanese cities. Important to note — each protagonist engaged with the criminal organization in the past, and are about to get pulled right back into the midst of it.

Yakuza 5: Open World Action Across 5 Cities in Japan

But like any good open world game, it’s the little things that matter. So between the story plot, you can occupy your time by relieving stress at the batting center, and test your luck and skills at the UFO Catcher (Claw Machine) mini-game! Or if you’re more of a people person, Yakuza 5 also has options for poker, sea fishing, and bowling!

Lesser known about the western release of Yakuza 5 is that includes all the Japanese DLC, including “Another Drama” which is a series of extensive sub-plots that focus on each protagonist. Whether you are training for dance battles, ferrying people around as a taxi driver, or even helping out as a temporary ramen cook, there’s a whole world to explore! Head into CLUB SEGA and play some Virtua Fighter 2 with your friends over PSN. If you prefer to play something more rhythmic, you can check out Taiko no Tatsujin and drum to the beat of some music.

Oh, and not to mention that the battle system and customization system have been enhanced from Yakuza 4, so players can fight with the best of them!

Yakuza 5Yakuza 5

We also have the final installment of the interviews with Yakuza 5’s developers answering the questions fans sent to #Yakuza5PS! Learn more details about the music in Yakuza, the developers’ thoughts on the Western release and the overall themes of the game.

Finally, Yakuza 5 is now available for digital pre-order! Every pre-order comes with the Yakuza 5 “Fulfiller of Dreams” static Theme, featuring the five main characters in the game!

Yakuza 5

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97 Comments

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  • I’m guessing you are still hammering out a release date. Thanks again for bringing this over, been really looking forward to it.

  • Easily my most anticipated release of the year. I really hope this sells well so we see more Yakuza games localized.

  • Thanks for bringing the game to the US. We hope Yakuza 0 will also make it here.

  • Wait, what exactly is ATLUS’ involvement in this project?

  • So many good “5” games. Final Fantasy 5. Metal Gear Solid 5. Mega Man 5 (I really liked this one), Dragon Quest 5…

    Will be pre-ordering this as soon as the store page goes live :)

  • Thanks Mister Hardin for bringing this exclusively Digital to us, so I can put a whol lotta nothing to my Yakuza Collection. Well, yes, call me ungreateful or give me names but I don’t care. Like many others, I’m with this Series since day 1. And don’t make a secret about it, you won’t sell Millions of Copies because the Game is most likely made for the guys who played the first 4 because of it’s deep Storyline. And since all these silly Indie Games receiving a Retail Release nowadays, a major company like Sega/Atlus is telling us you can’t even handle a limited Retail Release in the US for the Hardcore Fans? That’s just disappointing and I won’t support this, sorry to say that in such harsh words.

    • I agree. I loved Yakuza 4 enough to get the platinum and was really looking forward to this, only to be disappointed by the digital only release. I would gladly support this franchise Day 1 if I got a physical copy to add to my collection, but I’m not doing digital only for this game for various reasons including not having the hard drive space for a 5 city open world game of this scale (don’t know size specifically).

    • Add me to the list of physical only customers who actually values consumer rights.

    • Thanks for the approval SliK6SiK. Thought I’m the only one here who really demands a Release here the Game deserves.

    • Sega rep John Hardin confirmed below that this game is ~22 GB’s which means one will need ~44 GB free. I have the original 120 GB hard drive with only around ~12 GB free without significant amount of music or video files. I can try to make room but to reach ~44 GB free is improbable. Even if I do, this is a long game which means I won’t be able to install other games etc. during that time and I like to go back and replay from time to time as well. Maybe I should just upgrade the HD but the PS3 lifecycle is almost at an end anyways, I don’t know.

      Please Sega, have a physical release. Maybe you can do an exclusive partnership deal with an online store such as Amazon so the physical media doesn’t take up space on retail shelves but sits in a warehouse. I can see that being an intermediary step between full retail and digital only. Their pre-orders would give an estimate of how many discs to press and cut down on other costs associated with retail through the default channels.

      In addition, I wish you plan to advertise. Too many Japanese games don’t get even the bare minimum amount of media exposure and it falls on the consumer to be proactive, resulting in mostly the hardcore fanbase finding out during the release period.

    • I too am a Hardcore fan of the Yakuza series. Which is why I agree with you 100%. We most definitely need a physical copy. I own all my Yakuza games physical copies. Even if Sega and Sony opted for a limited physical release og Yakuza 5 through GameStop. I would be compelled to buy it. Sorry buy not buying this digital release. Physical>Digital. Always. GIVE me that disc release please.

  • I don’t care how you justify it – no physical release is an instant no sale and a huge slap in the face to consumer rights.

    You guys are massive, massive jerks for cutting out the physical release.

    This is the equivalent of not getting the game at all for me and I sincerely hope it bombs.

    No disc, NO SALE!!!!

  • Hm ATLUS? I thought Sega or Sony was doing the localization of Yakuza 5. Well whatever I can’t wait for this game get here.

    • Sega bought ATLUS, that’s the only reason Yakuza 5 is coming outside of Japan, I guarantee it, because ATLUS publishes a LOT of niche Japanese games for others to enjoy (Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, Catherine, Disgaea, and Trauma center, to name a few).

    • bt1234567892010 Sega Sammy may have bought Atlus but the main branch still operates Sega and Atlus as different companies. Anyway it looks like they fixed it and Sega is in charge of the localization on Yakuza 5.

    • Nope! ATLUS had zero involvement with this title. Just a mix-up since there’s a John Hardin at ATLUS too. Sorry for the confusion!

      This was all thanks to the #Buildingthelist campaign and Sony!

    • I personally own all the Yakuza games physical copies. I will only buy yakuza 5 disk release.

  • Yakuza is one of my favorite series, and I’m happy to see 5 localized. I’m halfway through my import copy and am trying to decide whether to finish it, or just get this one and finish it in my native English. Oh, and I just beat Dead Souls this week, which I liked a lot.

  • Still no release date? This is like torture. :p It would be great if you’d at least give an indication of whether we’re talking sooner (September) or later (November/December).

    • We don’t have it fully locked in yet, but it’s looking like it won’t be “sooner” :(

      We should have a solid date in a few weeks though!

  • Just give me a release date so I can give you my money.

  • Looking forward to it, should be pretty cool.

    • I can see the QA people playing it from my desk and it’s realllllllly hard to do my work and not watch them play. Looks awesome!

  • I, like the others, am very ticked we’re not getting a physical release, this thing is surely to be a beast. God of War Ascension required..like 80GB free space to install, I imagine this will require that much or MAYBE a bit smaller, not everyone has the big 500GB hard drive, or bigger (whatever the PS3 can hold max). I know that for all intents and purposes, Yakuza hasn’t been the must successful outside of Japan, but this one could change all of that. I still plan to get it ASAP either way, but you know, physical would be better.

  • This is the best game in the series and one of the best games for the PS3 in general. I can’t thank Sony and SEGA enough for localizing this gem. Sadly, I’m broke right now, so I’d use a promo code, but since I most probably won’t get one, I’ll try to get the cash somehow. I must play this game!

  • Digital only and full price?

    No way.

    • FWIW, it’ll only be $39.99. 15% off makes it $34.

    • Of course $59,99 is not an Option anymore for a Playstation 3 Game.

      And even with the $34,99 for an almost 3 year old game. But the money is not the most importan part here. I would pay 15 Dollar more if this is getting simply a Retail Release. I would love to support the effort and the Series in the West, but I have to do what is the best for me as a customer. I can get a factory sealed Import from Japan for 25 Euros and I can use one of the good English Guides out there (which is not my prefered Option).

      I’m from Germany. I not even ask for a Retail Release in Europe. I can just import it from the US. Just give the people who love this Series and supported in in the past a choice. And by the way, it’s impossible for me to load a Game with over 20 Gigs or more. My Connection is horrible and my Playstation 3 Space limited after all these years. Sega can’t be that broke they can’t afford a bigger Release.

      You put a lot of effort in a western Release just to trash it in the Playstation Store. Maybe I’m really getting old or sentimental here, but these really are my honest words.

    • Digital only? No way.

  • I don’t even have the right words to explain how pumped i am to hear this.

  • Thank you for localizing this game for the west, you guys are the best.

  • I’m glad the PS3 is still getting some love!

  • Came just to say, “Yes, finally!” Thank you for bringing this over. I really hope we’ll get to see the PS4 iteration too.

  • “Digital-only”

    I mean, I’ll still buy and play the heck out of it, but I sure hope the sales expectations are drastically lower than that of any previous Yakuza release. Because saleswise this one has way more things stacked against it than the others. Coming out 3 years after it did in Japan, low import fee plus well done translation guides, 2 years after the console generation switch, no copies in retail stores… Yeah this is going to sell worse than Dead Souls, and no, not because 10 or so fans/former fans are anti-digital. But those people will undoubtedly be used as a scapegoat because gamers are angry and directing anger towards “people” on forums and such is easier than looking at the facts and admitting the series is a dud outside of Japan/Asia.

    In any case… Yakuza 1 & 2 HD localization, when? :p

  • As in coming here?

    I really hope ps4 is the era where sony finally gets its **** together and starts porting over most of their Japanese online titles like they used to do for ps2!

    Just give me english subtitles and i will throw money at you.

  • I can find the game on the US PSN store (but no purchase or preorder button), but not on the UK store :(

  • I’ll do the honor for this game to deserve support and attention is by buying this game digitally

    Let’s do this everyone! Let’s give this game the support and attention it needs

    Just waiting for the pre-order button and price to show up in PSN

    • I do hope for a physical copy. I’m fine if it gets a limited physical copy run. I’ll do anything to support this

  • For those asking/wondering, the install size of the game will be ~22GB on your PlayStation 3.

    • Thanks for the info regarding file size. With my PS3 being 5 or more years old now, disc space is becoming a premium, no matter what files i delete from games, music and films…time for me to start uninstalling all those old games methinks !

    • Hmm…probably good enough I guess

      Still waiting for the pre-order button to go up

    • We hate digital releases. I hate them personally. Please kindly give us fans the physical release. Heck make it a limited run through GameStop. I will gladly buy a physical release of Yakuza 5. Please make this happen Mr. Hardin. Please listen to your HARDCORE fans.

  • I mean seriously guys, this is getting too much. I desperately need to give you my money for this game. I usually wait 6 months or into a game’s release before i buy it, but this is a Yakuza game we’re talking about here. I am SO desperate and sad, that i am currently playing through the Japanese release of this game, even though i can barely understand a single word of the dialogue. That’s right, i am even happy to have bought the game TWICE, once for a grotesque amount of money, having imported it from Japan :) Can you please release it this coming Thursday,… just because Yakuza ?

  • @ John Hardin
    “We don’t have it fully locked in yet, but it’s looking like it won’t be “sooner” :(”

    Seems like Yakuza 5 and LoH Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter are in a race to the bottom in terms of “how long can we keep making people wait?” heh. I have a feeling my UMD copy of Summon Night 5 will arrive in the mail before either of those make it to PSN :p

    • Wow, I thought I was the only one (other than my best friend) waiting for Yakuza 5 AND Trails In The Sky SC, glad to see someone else that loves these two amazing series :D

  • $39.99? $34 at launch? Bargain!! Thank you, Sega/John and Sony! I’m BEYOND excited for this game. While I’d absolutely love to have a physical copy, it’s very important that we support this, guys.

    If we don’t show our love and support, things certainly aren’t going to get any better in the future. If you’ve played Yakuza 0, you know we have a lot more to look forward to, so please support this!!!

    While I was always optimistic about 5’s content, I must admit that I am genuinely shocked that no content is being cut. I am a huge Taiko no Tatsujin fan, and I’m so happy that it’s still in the game! Going into a Club Sega and sitting down at a Sega Blast City cab to play Virtua Fighter 2 online via PSN? Man, sign me up for that. All day.

    • Technically, it’s only $34 ($33.99) for digital pre-orders (in the Americas, at least). Just wanted to clarify!

    • Thanks for the clarification, John. I’ll keep refreshing the store until it shows up! I can’t give you my money fast enough! >_<

      *Shows off new Yakuza 5 avatar* :D

  • Only 39.99? Wow I had 60 in my PSN Wallet expecting to pay full price lol. Btw the blog says “pre order now” But I just logged into the abysmally slow loading PS3 PS store and theres no option to preorder Yakuza 5… Now I would think its because the store isnt updated but I can buy Madden 16 just fine in the store which also released today so because thats in there I would assume the store IS updated, sooo why cant I preorder Yakuza? Was that a mistake in the blog?

  • I have question why I can’t pre-order it in Canada yet? Due to Store update or something else?

  • @Sega

    No box, no buy. Simple as that.

    @PS4Whiners

    PS3 is alive and well in Europe. MGS5 preorders are strong.

    • I mean, I understand that sentiment and everything, but we’re just glad that the people who want to play it in English will soon be able to.

    • The problem is you’re not giving *everyone* who wants to play it the chance.

      You’re only giving the people who are willing to buy digital the chance.

      Not good enough.

  • @Bijatron
    “If we don’t show our love and support, things certainly aren’t going to get any better in the future.”

    Nah, no. Sorry. Not buying it. We’ve had these “tests” countless times last gen from countless large japanese devs/publishers (capcom, sega, squeenix) and where has it gotten us? Nowhere. Dragon Quest localizations? Dead. Ace Attorney Investigations 2? We got straight up lied to. PSO2? Ahahahaha. Wii owners surely remember all the “surely if you want a mainline game from Series X, you’ll first buy half-baked spinoffs, right?” The big guys aren’t going to deliver no matter how much “support” is thrown at them, barring Sony interference in this one slim case.

    Yet we’re seeing a huge resurgence in localized japanese games thanks to the smaller guys. Aksys, XSeed, Gaijinworks, Natsume, Koei-Tecmo, and so on. The future, heck the present and recent past is looking darn good for fans of japanese games.

    • I agree with what you said earlier about Sega and Sony having realistic expectations for this game’s sales.

      I’m happy you’re still going to buy and enjoy the game. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Yes, the smaller publishers and localization companies have been doing an amazing job bringing over niche titles, but I still want to be optimistic that this partnership with Sony makes this scenario that “Slim case” you referred to.

      More than anything, I just don’t want this to die on the vine, and if everyone gives this release the cold shoulder because of the digital-only release, things are only going to get worse. They certainly won’t get better, and that was my only point. I’d take digital-only Yakuza over no more Yakuza.

  • SEGA, will you PLEASE consider releasing this at retail, I have a PS3 with a 500GB hard drive with 34 PS2 classics & 119 PSone classics and this game will be over 20GB. What happens if Sonic Heroes comes out as a PS2 classic and I would not have enough room for both that game and Yakuza 5.

    or if Sony is reading, please release a 1TB PS3 & discontinue the 500GB one so we can store a crap load of games if SEGA wants Yakuza 5 to be digital only.

  • Riichi!

  • Incredibly happy this is being brought over and I hope it will be successful enough to bring the two Japan-exclusive games over too. I’d kill for any form of physical release for this but I’m just happy to get to play it.

  • @Bijatron
    “I’d take digital-only Yakuza over no more Yakuza.”

    Ditto. Just as I took digital AA5 over no AA5, among others. Still, I can see where people are coming from. A large number of previous digital-only games have gone on to later get retail disc releases. The Last Guy, PAIN, Shovel Knight, MM Legacy Collection, Mighty No. 9 (err, someday), Ducktales Remastered, Back to the Future, TWD, and many more. In a world where these games, along with countless niche japanese games on uber niche systems (hello vita owners) see retail releases yet Yakuza 5 cannot, understandably some people will be confused to say the least. In the end however, said people are few in number. I empathize with the vocal minority but whether they bought the game or not will have almost negligible bearing on the series future in the west.

  • Also as a reminder to fellow Yakuza fans:

    Kazuma and Majima will both be appearing in Project X Zone 2 which comes out in a month or so! :D

  • Definitely Pre-Ordering to show my support. Love the series and super hope SEGA decides to let us take Yakuza Zero for a spin!

  • Is there going to be a physical release?

    • Not sure if trolling….

      But no, there will not be a physical release.

    • The question is *why* isn’t there going to be a physical release.

    • I am not trolling. Please Mr. Hardin. A physical release for Yakuza 5. Your fans of the Yakuza series have no reason to troll you sir. We just want the tangible physical product in our hands. Do this for us and we will support and buy more physical SEGA and ATLUS games. And please we want to see a PS4 physical release for Yakuza Ishin! and Yakuza 0.

  • Will You need to play yakuza older series to get what the 5th one is about? and thanks for bringing this title to the USA

    • I think you’ll be able to understand the general plot and be able to enjoy the story and everything without having played a Yakuza game before.

      Knowledge of the previous games definitely add flavor/depth to the interactions, but it’s not a prerequisite for understanding this one.

      Oh, and that’s just for the main story. The sub quests and the [included Japanese DLC content] “Another Drama” side story are entirely self-contained!

    • @KentoMaiku

      If it’s anything like the previous games, it will include story cutscenes that you’re able to select from the main menu. If you watch everything from Yakuza 1, it’s probably over an hour…

      @John Hardin, will this “Reminisce” feature from previous titles be in this release Yakuza 5?

  • Anybody know what the bonuses for having Yakuza 3/4 save data present are?

  • I will support the preorder for Yakuza 5 right now. :)

    But is this a mistake with the Release Date of Decembre 31st 2015 / 31.12.2015 on the PSN Store Preorder Page ?
    I thought the Release will be Fall ? @John Hardin

    And thanks ! :)

    • Noctaris1985 – I would like to hope that it’s a generic placeholder. I pre-ordered anyway. It is going to happen for me regardless.

    • @BurnUnit83

      I hope so too.
      But on my PSN Page is displayed : This Price is only available from 8/21/2015 03:00am to 12/31/2015 05:00am.
      This full game is expected to be available in 128 days on 12/31/2015.

      I hope this is really a placeholder i want finally play Yakuza 5 and support the franchise further !

    • It’s a placeholder. We’re trying to get the date locked in and should have a solid release date in couple of weeks.

  • John, thank you very much for the update and all of the hard work you folks have put in. I now have it pre-ordered (awesome pricing for the pre-order) and am patiently awaiting release. However, I think that generally we Yakuza fans have some concerns over Sega’s approach to how this release is being handled though, and if you could assist with some clarifications that would great and could quell these apprehensions.

    The main concern that a lot of us are seeing, is that this is now a title that is two years old, being released only digitally on an older platform, and it is coming out in one of the most crowded holiday seasons of the past decade. And there are some worries that if this title doesn’t do well, that this could spell the end of localization for the series. That’s something that none of us want to see, but given these circumstances it does seem like quite a precarious position for the game to release under.

    • My questions are as follows…

      Aside from the interview videos between Gio and Nagoshi, what else are Sega/Sony going to be doing to help spread the word more and get others interested? Is there an advertising campaign planned, or any other approaches the publisher(s) will be making toward spreading the word? Can you make any comments if there have been any talks of a PS4 re-release for this game eventually, or the possibility of a PS4 HD Yakuza collection? Is there any chance that you could give us some re-assurance that we will continue seeing Yakuza titles getting localization treatment, regardless if they are only digital releases or otherwise?

      If you could help answer even just some of these, I know that quite a lot of people would be relieved. There are a lot of us who understand all the work and effort everyone has put in to get this localized, and we really appreciate it. I’m sure that a lot of the behind-the-scenes folks are just as passionate about the series as the most hardcore fans. Again, each of your efforts are greatly appreciated. As some others have said, not having a physical copy is a little bit disappointing, but I’d much rather have a digital Yakuza 5 release than no release at all. Thank you again.

  • Later this year?! I was hoping to play this before MGSV comes out, and sell my PS3 afterwards to buy the PS4 and MGSV:TPP.

  • Thank you Sony and SEGA for bring this over!

  • Ah PS3 only still… They really don’t want to tap into the new market do they. Sucks cause I’d love to play yakuza zero but I’ll probably just import it. Though I do plan to get this to show support just want a physical limited release or something.

  • When will digital preorder be available for UK?

  • Hopefully sales are amazing for Yakuza 5!
    I dream of a world were there is also an English PS3 digital download of Yakuza 1 & 2 HD too.

  • I’m as much of a fan of physical media as the next guy but with the PS3 reaching the end of its life cycle and this being a niche game. I can understand. Plus for $33.99.. kinda hard to argue with that price.

  • Pre-order completed! Want 1 & 2 so bad…for at least a ps2 classics release :)

  • Thanks for releasing Yakuza 5 in the west side. I hope you guys are considering releasing the previous installment Yakuza 3 digitally on the PSN store, and hopefully 1&2 HD in the future as well. It would be cool having the whole main saga available around. Thanks again.

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