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Yakuza 5 Sounds Massive
The next Yakuza game may be the first to spur a complete overhaul of the series, upcoming Ryu Ga Gotoku 5 to offer five playable locations, seamless transitions between battle and chit-chat and an overall game of “massive volume”. [Andriasang]
By Luke Plunkett Published November 22, 2011 -
Prepare to Yakuza in 2012 With Dead Souls
You’ve survived the perils of Demon’s Souls. You’re fighting your way through Dark Souls hell. And next year? Next year you’ll likely breeze through Yakuza: Dead Souls, the newly-renamed North American version of Yakuza of the End, as it is a completely unrelated product. Sega picked an oddly appropriate time to announce a North American…
By Mike Fahey Published October 5, 2011 -
Let These Gangster Hostesses Welcome You to Sega’s TGS Booth
Sega’s booth is busier and better this year than it has been in years. Part of that is because there’s a Yakuzapalooza going down, with the franchise’s PSP sequel drawing crowds, but it’s also because this year Electronic Arts doesn’t have a booth of its own. So it shacked up with Sega, adding the clout…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 16, 2011 -
You Probably Won’t Play This PSP Game
Unless you live in Japan or import it, that is. The last Yakuza spin-off PSP title, Black Panther: Like a Dragon New Chapter, wasn’t localized for the West. With the PS Vita coming out, smart money says this one won’t be either. If there’s one thing that makes me happy about a new Black Panther…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 1, 2011 -
Sega Forms New Studio Just to Make Gangster Games
Sega’s Toshihiro “Brown Man” Nagoshi, the creator of the Monkey Ball series, has revealed today that he’s formed a new studio at Sega which will deal exclusively with games for the Ryu ga Gotoku (Yakuza) series. That studio’s name is Ryu ga Gotoku Studio (catchy!), and is currently working on two new titles. The first…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 31, 2011 -
But What Will the Yakuza Man Say?
Tomorrow, Sega’s Toshihiro Nagoshi, developer of Yakuza games and lover of tanning beds, is making a “serious announcement”—perhaps a brand new title? Dunno, sounds serious. Still, this is an announcement of that announcement. Consider yourself announced! [ファミ通]
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 30, 2011 -
After Yakuza Controversy, Street Fighter IV Studio Loses Celebrity Advisor
Shinsuke Shimada, one of Japan’s most famous comedians, retired from the entertainment industry this week after yakuza connections were revealed. Shimada was also an advisor at Dimps, the game developer behind Street Fighter IV, stepping down earlier this week. [Sanspo]
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 26, 2011 -
From Bikini Idol to Bloody Wrestler
Yuzuki Aikawa made her name as a pin-up model, appearing in glossies. The curvy bikini model also worked as a race queen, before joining an idol group and releasing a CD. Then she did something unexpected. She got her ass kicked. Aikawa made the leap to Japanese female wrestling. As a rule of thumb, Japanese…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 26, 2011 -
Maybe Yakuza Friends Are a Bad Idea?
Last night, one of the biggest celebrities in Japan, Shinsuke Shimada, abruptly stated he was leaving the entertainment industry. Shimada, a comedian and talk show host, is the Japanese equivalent of a David Letterman or a Jay Leno—if either of them appeared on six prime time shows and produced music albums. The country’s collective jaw…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 24, 2011 -
When Kissing a Dude Is Bad
People have sex. It’s a natural and normal part of being a human being. Famous folks have sex, too. (They also take craps and put on pants one leg at a time). In Japan, even pure idols snog and screw. Mind blowing, isn’t it? The most recent issue of tabloid Bubka purports to have indecent…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 28, 2011 -
Get Shitfaced with This Game Schwag
It’s not every day that you see a bottle of booze stamped with “licensed by Sega”. But this isn’t everyday. It’s Tuesday, May 31. Yakuza, Sega’s games about… yakuza, is once again collaborating with a Japanese liquor maker for its latest game, Yakuza: of the End. The last couple of Yakuza games got their own…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 31, 2011 -
Which Limited Edition PS3 Do You Fancy?
Japan is getting a new custom PS3, a limited Tales of Xillia one. This isn’t the first limited PS3 for Japan. There have been others. For example, Metal Gear Solid 4 got a “Gun Metal” PS3, while Yakuza got a yakuza-y one. Final Fantasy XIII got a white and pink job, and Gran Turismo 5…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 30, 2011 -
Adventures in Badly-Translated Japanese Video Games
Demian Smith had the (mis)fortune to get a job working as a translator on the very first Yakuza game for the PS2. If you haven’t played it, know that for a game set in Japan and called Yakuza, it wasn’t that Japanese. Instead, Sega decided that, to try and sell the brawler to the Western…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2011 -
When Game Box Art Encourages A Country
Yakuza: of the End is Sega’s zombie parody game that was originally slated for a March release. Then the earthquake hit, and the game was delayed to June. Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi said the June delay was the result of numerous reasons: “Cash flow, correcting the poster, buying new ad time, and the manual labor…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011 -
Make Games Or Porn? He Picked Games.
Back before Sega game designer Toshihiro Nagoshi turned golden brown, he was just another kid from rural Japan, moving to Tokyo, trying to make it big. Originally, Nagoshi wanted to make films. “I graduated with a film degree,” Nagoshi tells website ZakZak, “but at that time the Japanese film industry was in a shambles and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011 -
Delayed Yakuza Zombie Game Gets…Undelayed
After the Tohoku Earthquake struck, Sega decided it would be inappropriate to release Yakuza: Of The End and delayed it. The game is a zombie parody, setting in a ravaged urban center. The game finally has a new release date in Japan: June 9. A portion of the profits will go to the disaster relief…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 7, 2011 -
The Nintendo They’ve Tried to Forget: Gambling, Gangsters, and Love Hotels
Nintendo, the world’s family-friendly video game maker, formed under less virtuous auspices. Before Nintendo made video games, they made playing cards for gangsters and ran their own love hotel, which some assert their own president frequented—during work. Saucy! It’s deathly quiet. I can hear my footsteps as I trundle down a small side-street, where the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 22, 2011 -
Man Gets Full Yakuza Back Tattoo. It’s Valued At Over $9,000.
Back in 2010, Sega held a competition to promote Yakuza 3 with a very dedicated prize: a full back tattoo like the one Yakuza character Kazuma Kiryu sports. Somebody actually won that prize and got the tattoo. The winner was 46-year-old Australian Fari Salievsk, a MMA trainer from New South Wales. The process took six…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 22, 2011