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 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!
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.
This is most exciting news. I’m so psyched for this!
Having finished & enjoyed Yakuza 1,2,& 3; I will happily pre-order this to add to the series. I can only hope the most care with this game is considered when brought to North America.
Great news. Because of the cuts in Yakuza 3 (the single biggest omissions for me was mahjong… of course I missed most of the cut side-quests too), I waited few months and picked it up from a bargain bin. But if Y4 will be uncut, it’ll be day 1 purchase for me.
I have some hope and question
1.will you release fix or somekind of dlc for yakuza3 cut content?
2.what chance are kenzan released in the west?
3.will sega bring NEPTUNE to the West?
my hope for future sega release:
1.always Keep the japanese voice acting and themesong for all your localized japanese game(especially if it has anime style/art, or japanese culture and history)!,altough dualvoice is the best option japanese voice+ subtitle is a must, what you do with valkrya chronicle and resonance of fate is the right thing(the dualvoice option)
2.please don’t cut content
if yakuza 4 willcome intact than day 1 for me!
I was a big fan of thhe 1st Yakuuuza game on the PS2, but when Yakuza 2 & 3 came out i n Japaese, I was turned off by it. I really hate reading subtitles.
Will Yakuza 4 fearuure both English & Japanese Language options this time?
Hi Aaron,
Thanks for bringing back the hostess clubs and the hostess girls in Yakuza 4!:)
I do hope that mahjong and shogi won’t be cut as well!
My question:if the hostess clubs are back,the hostess dressing-customization sidequest is in the game,isn’t it?
Thanks for the answer!
I’m glad to hear that Yakuza 4 is getting localized, I love the series.
Am I the only one that liked that the hostess clubs were cut from Yakuza 3?
I have all the Yakuza games. (kenzan also)
It’s good to see that the series is becoming more popular. Finally. They need to keep it fresh now though so people don’t get bored with it.
Keep up the good work with the communication with the fans.
Oh and Kiryu needs a new suit already.
Uncut = Day 1 Purchase for me.
If its missing quests or anything, basically if its chopped up like someones doing some yubitsume or seppuku or hara-kiri…and I’ll wait to get it from the bargin bin.
But great news on the exclusive.
I still don’t see why Sega doesn’t just make Shenmue III using the Yakuza engine. Most fans would be perfectly content with it.
Or better yet, release a Shemnue 1 & 2 collection with trophy support like the God of War collection.
@Psikorps
So you would rather play the two 10 year old games with absolutely no improvements on your PS3 instead of actually getting the story finished? You sir are no Shenmue fan.
Had it ever occurred to you that there are some people who have never played either of them? Me, for example, despite having owned a Dreamcast, never got around to buying it.
I think with Sega releasing Dreamcast titles on the PSN, maybe Shenmue will be one of them (although personally, Skies of Arcadia is the one I am pulling for), and those of us who never played it can get the chance. So, then maybe we can be pulling with you for a part three. Right now, I’m indifferent about the series.
@clupula668
With all due respect, I (as have most other Shenmue fans) have been waiting for the conclusion to the series (after that BS Cliffhanger) since 2002. I’m not saying it would be a bad thing to rerelease them, I’m just saying that saying a non-updated rerelease of the first 2 games would be better than the 3rd chapter that Shenmue fans (including myself) have been DEMANDING for 8 years is just wrong. If you are that desperate to play the first two you can get them used for $12 & $8 respectively on Amazon…. truthfully that is probably cheaper than what Sony would charge on the PS Store.
sorry to hear about no English dub, because the seem like good games, but with subs I’m always 3 lines behind, would it really kill you to put a dub in for those that need it
wow that’s great.. I’m sure I’ll buy it eventually, the fact you guys brought one of the most popular games in japan to the west is nice, I just wish you guys would push it more to the mainstream world, since the game offers such great and unique things that american’s have yet to really experience.
day 1 bay for me fo sho.
Great news! You can count me in as another buyer… and i’m happy to know that hostess clubs are back for good.
Thank you so much SEGA! Yakuza series has become one of my all time favorites, up there with Metal Gear and Final Fantasy. I own all the games, and I even seen the movie that released in Japan! Yakuza 3 was my most anticipated game of last year, despite all the other big releases. I put 100 hours into my first playthrough and had to tear myself away from the game, otherwise i’d have not played anything else. I talked so much about the game I sold at least 10 copies to people around me. Anyway, just want to say Thank you sega for showing faith in the western fans
Thank you for creating such an amazing series
As long as you guys keep making Yakuza games with same level of quality I will gladly buy them day 1.
YAKUZA 4 FTW YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
i am a big fan of sega works such as madworld, shenmue, and of course yakuza. and i was worried 4 was not coming to na. but now im relieved now. just waiting for shenmue 3 to be announced. then i can die happy.
I just finished Yakuza 3 and it was a fantastic game with an unbelievably great cast and story. Wow at the ending. Easily my favorite game of the year. Thanks again for bringing the next game over.