Yakuza 3 Marches West

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Hey everyone! Aaron Webber here again – some of you may remember me from the Valkyria Chronicles 2 blog post a while back. This time, I have the privilege of bringing you guys some more exciting news – news that I know many of you are about to be extremely excited about!

After months upon months of requests, a myriad of rumors, and even full campaigns that speak to the unparalleled dedication of the fans, we can finally speak those words that all of you have been waiting anxiously to hear. So, here they are:

Yakuza 3 is coming West.

Yakura 3 Coming to PS3

Featuring the original all-star Japanese voice cast and subtitled in English, Yakuza 3 chronicles the next steps in the life of the man once known as the Dragon of Dojima – Kiryu Kazuma.

As Kiryu works to begin a new life running an orphanage in Okinawa, the world he left behind in Tokyo also moves quickly. When the chairman of the Tojo clan is shot and the rivalry between the families plunges the city into chaos, even Okinawa is not far enough away to escape the grasp of the mysterious forces pulling the strings.

Yakura 3 Coming to PS3

Then, when one of Kiryu’s close friends in Okinawa is found with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, things take a new turn for the worse. Driven to protect his friends, the Dragon is alive again – Kiryu returns to the dark city of Kamurocho, and will stop at nothing to find those responsible and give them his own taste of justice.

Releasing March 2010, the epic Yakuza saga continues, exclusively on the PlayStation 3.

Last but not least, we’d like to give special thanks to you guys, the Yakuza fans! Your passion and dedication has helped make this a reality, and we’d like to extend that thanks by letting you submit questions to the Yakuza 3 development team in Japan! To do so, just put *Dev Question* before typing your question here in the comments.

Until next time – we’ll have lots more news and in-depth looks at what Yakuza 3 has to offer very soon. Spread the word – Yakuza 3 is coming!

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273 Comments

11 Author Replies

  • Oh—-my—-God!!!

    Come on sony please stop the avalanch of amazing exclusive games, da**it i’m gonna buy them all, well except MAG, i don’t like FPS very much.

    Thanks a lot for releasing Yakuza 3 on west!

  • I would buy this game but I already have pre-orders for GoWIII and FFXIII, I’ll definitely try and get it soon as I have enough money. I would suggest moving the release date like many others have suggested, then maybe this would be a day 1 purchase for me.

    *Dev Question*

    What changes(improvements) if any will there be in the game compared to the Japanese version?

  • I love the idea thank you Sega!!!

    But Sega please reconsider it the March release window… there huge titles coming on March, please consider a new release date like July/August for this game to sells as it such be.

    I’m exciting :)

  • Best news of this year !!!!

  • This is amazing news, thank you Sega!

  • This is TERRIFIC news! Brilliant business decision. Listen to the war cries of your customers, deliver, profit. Now if only Sega could work on their new console and bring us Shenmue 3 sooner, lol.

  • This is seriously great news, Spring is going to be a great time to own a PS3 for sure.

    Good job securing this title for a Western release, here’s hoping for even more Japanese RPGs coming West next year.

  • Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I’ve been waiting to hear it be official since the rumors kept coming up. Well done, Sega.

  • Yes, my prayers are answered!

  • WOW glad I bought this system! I mean this line up is huge for next year:

    The Last Guardian
    ModNation Racers
    Final Fantasy 13 Versus
    White Knight Chronicles
    God of War 3
    MAG
    EyePet (Not my thing but it’s cool)
    Grand Turismo 5
    And now Yakuza 3!? OMG! What a line up! All only on the PS3!

    Now all we need is an announcement of the fallowing PS2 titles to get released like the GOW Collection did:

    Shadow of Collosus
    Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3/4
    Jack & Daxtar 1/2
    Ratchet and clank 1/2/3
    Final Fantasy 10/11/12

    I bet you that would boost sales in a huge way much like the GOW collection did…..

  • *Dev Question*

    Are there any plans to localize Kenzan in the west? If anything, it would probably sell better than the other Yakuza games as it’s standalone and very much a period game.

  • Dev Questions:

    Whats the combat system like?

    Will it have ingame cutsceens, or pre-rendered ones?

    Will the game feature English voice overs?

    Whats the new plot like for Yakuza 3?

    Dose the game use a new game engine?

    I think that about covers it for me…….

  • *Dev Question* Will the subtitles be big enough to read on a standard def tv? Also will their be a game install and if so how big?

  • Thanks Sega!! I’ll def buy 2 copies 1 for me and other for my cousin if he cant buy it just to contribute!!!

  • Yes! This is great news but I WANT SHENMUE 3!!

  • @ 114 that would be vary nice!

    I want that and a new Phantasy Star MMO, and the Next Sonic title to be only on the PS3! Sonic vs Eggman! A final Shodown and a wonderful end to the franchise!

  • Well I wanted it dubed but oh well. At least its coming. Iv been dieing to play this.

  • Sega, I am willing to support you here, but DAMNIT, another 2010 March/February release. Man, what the hell! Anywho, I hope these trophies are set to their own outside of Japan. I already have the game platinumed, and would like the challenge of Platinuming it again in English. NEW TROPHY SET PLEASE SEGA! D:

  • *Dev Question*

    Will this be hard copy or digital? I remember hearing rumores of digital in order for sega to save some cash.

  • Oh cmon Sega give the game some breathing room. GoW 3 and FF13 is coming that month. There’s no way Yakuza can compete. PLEASE push it back, I want the game to sell so that you can continue to bring the Yakuza games over. DO NOT DO THE SAME MISTAKE YOU DID WITH YAKUZA 2 (holiday 08 release? crazy talk!)

    Honestly Sega, you have some of the best games around. Don’t let them get lost in the shuffle. That said I’m EXTREMELY excited for Yakuza 3 :D

  • Woohoo! cant wait!

  • @ 118: It has to be hard. There is no way in hell a game that size will fit as a digital copy…..most people wouldn’t be able to take the download.

  • Looks like SEGA came through and is bring us Yakuza 3. I am looking forward to getting it next year. Although, it would be nice if all the hot releases where not all on the same month of March.

  • Wow, Sony. What’s your beef with March, eh?

  • yakuza 3 is coming = hell yes! i like you sega
    “Featuring the original all-star Japanese voice cast and subtitled in English” = hell yes! I Love you sega

  • yay! thank you! first day buy for me.

    Dev question: why did you guys choose march as a release date for the game? Its a time where there are some heavy hitters being released. I think thats what happened with valkyria chonicles and it took time for the sales of that game to go up. Although I shouldn’t be complaining because the sooner the better, but I’m one of the few who can afford to buy multiple games at once.

  • Awesome news! I already have the Japanese version, but now my friends can play the game, too. Thank you, Sega.

  • For everyone moaning about the release date…

    Remember that the target market for Yakuza isn’t going to be the same audience for God of War or Gran Turismo 5.

    The release date is fine. Sega is clearly doing this on the cheap (No English Dubs) and limited print run. I doubt there will be any real money lost if it only sells 5,000 copies.

  • Thank you so much for this amazing news. I’ve played both Yakuza and Yakuza 2 and these are my most favorite games. Actually I have gone to Japane twice and went to Kabukicho just to trace Yakuza locales. In April, I am going back to see Osaka from Yakuza 2 and will certainly go back to “Kamurocho”. Thank you and wil preorder as soon as it is available.

  • Great news (both the fact that we’ll get Yakuza 3 and that we’ll get it with the original voice-overs)! Great news indeed! I have Yakuza and Yakuza 2 and I’ll definitely buy this as soon as it’s available.
    However, I can’t help but take this as bitter-sweet news. While it’s great that we’ll get Yakuza 3, the fact that there’s no mention of Yakuza Kenzan (which came out before #3) pretty much means that Sega will never release it in the West, which is truly a shame.

    To tell you the truth, I have more interest in Yakuza Kenzan than I have in Yakuza 3 (which does look awesome, make no mistake about that). After all, I already have 2 Yakuza games set in Kamurocho. The simple fact that Kenzan is set in 17th century Kyoto would make things feel much fresher, wouldn’t you agree.

    Sega, if you’re reading this, I must say that I feel that I can speak for almost all of Yakuza fans when I say that we’d like to have Yakuza Kenzan too.

    Please?

  • While I’m thrilled that Yakuza 3 is coming to the US, I wonder about the timing of it all… why a March 2010 release (aside from fiscal calender reasons, of course)?

    From a competition standpoint, there are a lot of high profile games coming out that month… I’m concerned that Yakuza 3 is going to get slaughtered, and then Sega will say, “See, the game just doesn’t do well in the West.”

    I think the game could sell better and consequently have a more positive impact from a mindshare standpoint if it were released in late spring/early summer, a time when typically, there are fewer big name games being released.

    Oh well, I guess I should just be happy with a US release. But I only brought all this up because I want the game to do well!

  • It’s about time.

  • YAY! Finally! This can only mean that Yakuza 4 can’t be far behind. Thanks for finally realizing that western audiences love this franchise!

  • Amazing. This game is fantastic. I imported it, but you can be sure I’ll be buying the US version as well.

  • Amazing. This game is fantastic.

  • This is outstanding news. One of the games I was hoping would come here. Day one purchase.

    I have my fingers crossed for Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan as well. Even wanting that one more.

    Make it happen! Market it right as well!

  • niiiiiiceeee!!! yeah! this is a priority of mine, even more so than GOW3 and Final Fantasy XIII!! :D:D:D:D:D:D

    *Dev Question*
    Do you guys know how much I love you?? :D:D:D:D:D

  • *Dev Question*
    I have an imported Yakuza 3 game so will my save work on the NA version?

  • Also thanks for bringing this game over. Hopefully Yakuza 4 will follow the footsteps of this one and come over here.
    1 more developer question.

    *Dev Question*
    Haha I’m a big time yakuza fan and I have them all including Yakuza 3 and Kenzan. Soooo is there any chance of Yakuza:Kenzan coming over?

  • *Dev Question* Coming from a huge fan of the Shenmue series, is there anything you learned from those games that you were able to apply or iterate on for the Yakuza series?

  • Dev Question:

    Will those of us who haven’t played the first two games be lost? If so, how lost exactly?

    All the trailers for this game have made me want it, so thank you very much for bringing it over.

  • After a slow Fall 09 it looks like we are getting a huge dose of Japanese developed games just in the month of march next year. Monster Hunter 3, Final Fantasy 13, and now Yakuza 3! Hopefully these games will show western developers how it’s done, now that they have been on top for the last few years.

  • Could we get a HD compilation like GoW, that would do it.

  • Dev Question

    Are we getting Yakuza Kenzan?

  • Thank you Sega you are GODS among men! Now bring out that Valkyria Chronicles trophy patch lol.

  • March the greatest month to be a PS3 owner =D!!!

  • Yes! OMG thank you Sega!

    I really want you guys to release Yakuza 4 and Yakuza: Kenzan here as well!

  • @146: February too. Got 5 titles there people are after as well.

  • Can this be released in North AAmerica on a shiny Blu-ray Disc please and NOT a download only option on the PSN?

    If any DLC is out in Japan for this can we please also get that?

    Please also bring out Ryu ga Gotoku “Yakuza” Kenzen in the US as well.

    And for those asking about a English dub, the article says this will be Japanese Audio with English subs.

  • Wow. Honestly, this is the best news I’ve heard since Sakura Wars 5 was announced for the U.S. (Oh please let NISA or someone bring over the first four games of that series too).

    Anyway, it would seem that Yakuza 3 would be far too large to download, but there’s been hints that it might be download-only in the U.S. Could we get a confirmation of the delivery method? :)

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