Yakuza 4 Coming Exclusively to PS3 in Spring 2011

122 27

Alright Yakuza fans — time for some good news.

After some amazing passion seen across the board from fans regarding the release of Yakuza 3, SEGA is proud to announce that the fourth installment of the Yakuza series is heading West, and will be releasing exclusively on the PlayStation 3 in the spring of 2011!

Yakuza 4 for PS3

Yakuza 4 also builds on the style of the original Yakuza foundation by adding three new playable characters, each with a distinct personality and fighting style. They all have connections to the Tojo clan — but what those connections are, and what they mean with regard to a man named Kazuma Kiryu, is just one part of what will truly make things interesting.

We’d also like to confirm what we feel is important news for our fans: the Hostess Clubs will be returning in Yakuza 4!

Yakuza 4 for PS3

Finally, we’d like to let you guys field questions to the man whose name goes hand in hand with the Yakuza (or Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan) series himself: Nagoshi-san! Write your questions in the comments below, and with a bit of luck, your question will be among others asked after next week’s E3!

Good luck, and we hope all you Yakuza fans out there just found your day got a little brighter. If you’ll excuse us, that plush cat in the UFO Catcher at Club SEGA has been making fun of us all morning, and it’s about time we showed him our perception skills.

Comments are closed.

122 Comments

27 Author Replies

  • Graphics look a little bit better than Yakuza 3, is that really the case?

    • Yes, it most definitely is. The environments are richer, the game is more detailed, and on the whole a lot of elements have been improved graphically.

  • Woow really good news, i haven’t picked up Yakuza 3 yet but i will during the upcoming weeks, Thanks Sega :)

    • I’m a little biased, I think you’ll really enjoy it. :)(Especially if you like RPG’s, brawlers, or anything Japanese.)

      If you haven’t played the past games, there are also two built-in movies that will recap the past two games (PS2 exclusives) to get you up to speed.

      Thanks for supporting the series!

  • O and a question, will there be any removed content from the NA version like what happened to Yakuza 3? i really hope nothing will be removed, just keep it the way it is

    Bring on more games on ps3 thats all i need :)

    • One of the things I’m happy to confirm here is that the Hostess Clubs, which weren’t in Yakuza 3, are returning here in the west in Yakuza 4.

      And yes, that means both the hostesses and the club itself!

  • I’m ususally not excited for games anymore unless it’s something that really peaks my interestes, but this game I CANNOT wait for!

  • old news?

    i have never play a yakuza before, im watiting till the price drop to try it

    • Have you played Shenmue? The two games are still fairly different, but it’s a far more accurate comparison than the often overused GTA, I think.

      There’s a demo for Y3 out on PSN right now – definitely give it a whirl and check it out, if you’re interested!

  • Is Sony leaving anything for E3?

  • Oh yes!
    Can’t wait!

    Hopefully this means there will be no cuts, and the release date is in more favorable position than the last one. Competing with popular titles like god of war III and Final fantasy seemed pretty risky considering the past success of the game.

  • *crosses fingers for Shogi*

  • Should be good.

  • Awesome! Glad that you guys aren’t cutting out content on this one since I was really disappointed that some content was cut out of Yakuza 3. Thanks for the great news Aaron.

  • Will this game have the option for English dubbed voice tracks?

    • Like Yakuza 3 and 2, this game will feature the original Japanese voice actors, and will offer subtitles so those of us who aren’t fluid Japanese speakers still understand what’s going on.

      Personally, I think this is a major positive. The Yakuza series has always had an all-star cast of actors in Japan, and the polish and attention to detail they put in is something you can hear even without knowing the language.

  • Hooray for hostess clubs!

    Can’t wait! I preordered this bad boy yesterday as soon as it showed up on Amazon.

  • Question, are there any new features that could be announced as of right now besides the return of hostess clubs? And I love the inspirations on the cell phone, that is genius!!! Any chance thats returning?

    • The inspirations are back, and they’ve even extended to the new characters, too!

      If you think cell phone blogging is awesome, wait until you see some epic on-the-spot-wood-carving inspirations.

  • Dear Nagoshi-san,

    Are there any other types of games you’d like to make?

  • @xAllanKx Its already been dropped to like $40 at Best Buy in NA. It’s well worth the $40 but $60 was entirely debatable.

  • Will I be able to understand Yakuza 4’s story despite not playing the 3rd one (in fact I’ve never played any Yakuza game)? :P

    • You’ll be able to play through it and still understand a lot of it even if you haven’t played the older games. That said, people who have played the older games (or even just caught up via the movies in Yakuza 3) will appreciate a lot of the finer touches, and will have a deeper connection with a lot of the characters.

      In short, yes, but I’d highly recommend playing at least Yakuza 3 so that you see where the story left off. Other people in the comments – back me up on this if you agree. :)

  • YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Yakuza is my favourite game series ever, I actually wrote a letter and posted it off to SEGA asking for Yakuza 4, and for it to also have Hostess Clubs, wow! I am so happy, this is the best news all year so far!

  • Hello, I am wondering if there is any chance there Yakuza Kenzan will eventually be localized and released in English?

  • THANK YOU SEGA!!!! I bought the special version of Yakuza 3 NEW and I will do it for Yakuza 4 to keep supporting your awesomeness!

    Really appreciated!

  • now the money question for sega. will we get another valcyria chronicels game on the ps3??
    last you said: buy the dlc and we’ll se about that and a trophy patch. i bought all the dlc.. and then “snif” you made VC2 on psp… whaaaaaaaaaaaa..

    ohh well yakuza 4 is awsome! stil havent completet the last of the 101 quest. he is mean, you know who ;)

    • Valkyria Chronicles 2 for the PSP was actually something that was planned and in development in Japan long before the fans came together for that amazing reheat last year. In Japan as well, the popularity of the PSP is also a great way to try and expand the fanbase of a series or a relatively new IP (ie, Valkyria.)

      Having played VC2, I feel personally that the game really delivers on what fans are looking for in the series. I suppose that’s another blog for another time, though you can be sure that Jeff and I have got it covered. ;)

  • wheres my shenmue 3?

  • Are you guys going to exclude the overly Japanese stuff again?

    • Based on fan feedback, we’ve made a lot of changes this time around – and for the better. Hostess clubs, which I mentioned above, are returning, and in the future we’ll be able to talk in even more detail about the ways we’re making Yakuza 4 a much more authentic step into Japan.

  • Yakuza 3 platinum is mine! 80+ hours of gameplay. :D

    Needless to say, I’m looking forward to this.

  • Yes Yes yes yes Yes Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Yakuza 3 is one of the best games I have ever played. More of it is always good. Thanks Sega!

  • Thank you Aaron! I hate to look a gift-horse in the mouth, but any chance we can get Kenzan!? Pretty please with a cherry on top…unless of course you’re allergic or don’t like cherries.

    Also, thank you for keeping the hostess clubs in. That means a lot to the fans.

    • Not a prob, I’ll pass that on to all the teams at SEGA.

      Thankfully, I’m not allergic. (and actually do like cherries) With regard to your question about Kenzan, I don’t have any news to pass along at the moment.

  • Hell yea Yakuza 4! Woke up to this news the other day on the Sega Blog so was a nice way to start the day.

    After Yakuza 4 is released here, can you guys consider bringing over Yakuza Kenzan pretty please?

    • Hearing that a new Yakuza game is coming west is always a nice way to start the day. :)

      I’ll ask for you about Kenzan, but right now I know the focus is very much on doing a good job with Yakuza 4.

  • Have there been any tweeks made to the fighting controls compared to Yakuza 3, I know you said there’ll be new characters with different fighting styles but I mean more like additional combat technicques, perhaps stealth gameplay?

    • The fighting in Yakuza 4 is similar to the other games in the series, so generally once you enter a fight it’s just a matter of skill and wits to see who goes down first.

      Stealth gameplay isn’t something you’ll really see (since you and your opponents are generally just a few feet away and looking each other in the eye), but the differences in the combat style of the four main characters make them feel really unique when you play them.

      In this way, I think even old fans of the series will be able to enjoy the new experience of learning the strengths, weaknesses, and the always-awesome heat moves of all the characters.

  • Is this one going to be butchered as well? What of the upcoming PSP Yakuza installment?

    • The Hostess Clubs will be returning in the western version of Yakuza 4. We’ll also have more news about other game features in the near future.

      No word right now on Japan’s recently-announced PSP installment, but time will tell!

  • YES!!! Much sooner than I expected :D

    Thank you SEGA! You’re doing the right thing!

  • *Doing his best Marv Albert*
    “Yeeeeeessssss!”

  • yay for hostesses and hostes cub returning woot day one purchase i have yakuza 1 2 and 3 now geeting yakuza 4 next year

  • i hope there will b a demo for yakuza 4 on the ps store in the future

  • Thank you.
    I admit, I didn’t pick up Yakuza 3 even though I was really interested in it simply because you unfairly cut content out.

    If you leave it as is, I’m pre-ordering Yakuza 4 stat.

  • It wasn’t so much the Hostess Clubs, but the MahJong Clubs for me. I love that game and it’s a shame that they were removed. Are there any in Y4?

  • I avoided buying Yakuza 3 because of cut content – it’s a practice I don’t want my money supporting.

    Will Yakuza 4 have content cut as well?

  • Thank you Sega!

  • still waiting for the hostess club to be put back in y3 before i buy it, does not look like i will be playing either untill then, good for people that dont mind cut content from games though

  • hey plz do u know what day is naruto ultimate ninja heroes 3 coming on the PSN plzzz!!!!

    • Kazuma Kiryu would like you to know that he does not approve of Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 requests on his manly and Hostess Club focused Yakuza 4 blog.

      If Google doesn’t have the answers, it’s very likely the internet simply doesn’t know. :)

  • I really Gotta pick Yakuza 3 up before 4 comes out I wasn’t to happy with the demo for 3 tho it had English subtitles ughhh

  • I played the japanese Y4 demo and the graphics and details were definitely better. Can you guys get rid of the 5 gig install?

  • I watched the Japanese demo subtitled on youtube, looks like the story and characters are a big improvement over Yakuza 3, and Yakuza 3 was pretty good. :) I’m glad to hear we’re getting the hostess clubs again, and I assume we’re getting the hostess training mission since it’s part of the storyline… so what aren’t we getting? Onsens? Mahjong? Something else that gives it a uniquely Japanese feel but doesn’t require much effort to localize?

    Question for Nagoshi-san: The new characters seem to give the series a new freshness, but the setting stays the same. Is Kamurocho the real main character of the Yakuza series?

  • Oh also want to mention that playing ping-pong with a super sexy girl in Y4 is awesome. if you do good you can zoom on her “parts” as you play but you might miss to hit the ball.

  • Sweet! I just finished Yakuza 3 this week. Will be picking this up for sure.

  • Please don’t go back on your word about this being exclusive! :]

    • No worries there. The entire Yakuza series has been Sony exclusive, and Yakuza 4 isn’t about to break that mold. It is and will remain exclusively on the PS3!

  • I just started 3, and am really enjoying it. Bring on 4! And while your at it, bring us Valkyria Chronicles 3 back to the PS3, too, please! :)

    • 3 is pretty fantastic, especially when you start building up to the final climax. There were a couple moments where I just couldn’t help but smile at how awesome things had become.

      With Valkyria, my focus right now is on making VC2 a great success here in the west. Given the passion of our fans for that series, and the amazing quality of the games, I’m certain we have the potential to do it.

  • I’m playing Yakuza 3 right now actually. I like that you guys included Yakuza 1 and 2’s story breakdown and assume you’ll have all 3 story wrap ups included in Yakuza 4 right? Also, please keep the original Japanese VO in the 4th game as well.

    • I’ll check about the story wrap-ups and see if those are planned. To confirm once more, we will be keeping the original, authentic Japanese voice-overs in Yakuza 4.

  • Thanks for the news, Aaron, and also for all the great stuff you do for the SEGA community. Along with the announcement of Dreamcast games coming to PSN/XBLA, this has been a great week to be a SEGA fan!

  • Bought.

    12

  • Hostess clubs AND the chance to earn another shiny new Yakuza series related platinum?

    Count me in!

  • Day one buy second year in a row.

Please enter your date of birth.

Date of birth fields