Posts tagged Yakuza
Team Yakuza’s Toshihiro Nagoshi wants to make an online game
Jul 26th
I always love when developers reveal the games that they most want to make, regardless of money, publicity, potential for franchise, yadda yadda yadda. It’s refreshing to get the unadulterated, honest truth of their passion projects, and even if they aren’t always that likely to come to fruition.
Nintendo-centric site GoNintendo recently posted a handful of projects that developers are reportedly interested in making. Most of them are kind of assumed: Capcom wants to make a sequel to their recent fantasy game Dragon’s Dogma, Team Ninja wants to do something new with Ninja Gaiden, etc.
But one project has this Team Yakuza fan’s ears perked. Apparently, Toshihiro Nagoshi, mastermind behind Yakuza and Binary Domain, expressed his interest in making an online game. Even more interesting is that he clarified that the game would need to be more than just “Yakuza Online.”
Obviously, this is all just wishful thinking, but I’m always interested in seeing Nagoshi’s new ideas. For now, I’ll just keep all my chips on Yakuza 5 coming to the US, but I’d love to see what the man has swimming around in his brain.
[Source: GoNintendo]
The Sega Addicts Kids Table: Episode 46 – Carrotblanca Noire
Jul 19th
Yet again like an oncoming freight train The Sega Addicts Kids Table shows up to bombard your ears with another podcast of delights! And this week is very different as we take an edgy ‘noire’ approach to the week’s topics. What does that mean? Not much really although we do come up with a great idea for an LA Noire spin off. I won’t spoil it for you but it has a lot to do with wacky prop comedy.
But that’s not all! Being a Sega podcast the gang (Stevie, Josh, and John) also chat about the recently announced Yakuza HD collection, as well as Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed. If that doesn’t tempt you we also talk about the usefulness of Megaman X at a party and John’s awful movie experience. What did he watch? How much did it suck? Why on Earth would he watch it? Tune in to find out!
Also: Carrots.
Or go to our iTunes and subscribe! And I know that you just listened, and this is crazy. But that’s our podcast, so review us maybe?
And remember to answer this week’s Newey Needs To Knowey What You Think question on the Sega Addicts twitter! Your answers will be read out on next week’s episode so keep ‘em coming!
Yakuza 1 and 2 HD confirmed by Famitsu
Jul 18th
Before you say it–hell, before you even think it–no, this is not the official “major announcement” from Yakuza’s official website. The Japanese gaming mag Famitsu is reported to reveal the HD re-release of the first two Yakuzas in their newest issue, along with a Japanese release date of November 1st and a price of ¥5,290 (which would be approximately $67 in the US).
This new edition will boast reduced load times, and a more convenient item management system that allows you to manage your inventory at the phone booth/save room. Pre-orders will also come with special packaging that updates classic games’ original package in the PS3 style.
While this news still isn’t 100% official, it is very likely to be the major announcement we should be hearing about in the near future. Unfortunately, no word yet on whether we’ll be seeing this in the US, but even if that does happen, I’m really concerned about that price tag. If we do ever see these on US shores, asking for that kind of green for two PS2 games would be nothing short of insanity.
[Source: Andriasang]
Major Yakuza announcement coming tomorrow
Jul 17th
A lot of exciting and…not so exciting Sega announcements have been making the rounds over the past couple of weeks, and it seems that the company’s Japanese gangster epic is not being left out.
Mere days after a leak outed the Yakuza 1 and 2 HD Collection in Japan, Yakuza’s Japanese site is now promising a “major announcement” for the series come tomorrow.
Logic would dictate that this is just making the leaked announcement official, but this little blogger just wants his Western versions of both the HD Collection and Yakuza 5. What can I say? I’m greedy. This news was only posted on Yakuza’s primary Japanese site, so glean from that what you will.
Whatever the case, we’ll keep you updated as we hear more about this tomorrow.
[Source: CVG]
Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition has been leaked
Jul 13th
It’s a hit classic!
You read right, there’s a Yakuza 1 & 2 HD release on its way to the PlayStation 3. A listing for it went up over at Sega’s site and was taken down soon after, but as we all know, the internet never forgets. The game is scheduled for a December 1st release in Japan and costs the equivalent of 65$, which makes me think it’s a combo pack.
I’ve only recently started playing the very first Yakuza, but Yakuza 2 is a brilliant game that I loved playing for every single second! It seems that Sega has finally realised that those HD re-releases are another cash-cow they can milk. And if they need anything, it’s cash.
[Via Destructoid]
Yasuhiro Noguchi leaves Sega of America
May 25th
Some sad news to report. Yasuhiro Noguchi, a senior producer at Sega of America, has left the company today. Yakuza fans should know him as pretty much the series’ greatest champion at SoA, being the guy who pretty much convinced the company to bring Yakuza 4 and Yakuza: Dead Souls over stateside. He was also a Senior Producer on Sonic Generations.
What this means for the future of the series stateside is unknown at this point, but hopefully someone else at SoA is willing to fight for the series as much as he did. We wish him well in all his future endeavors.
You can see his farewell post on Sega’s forums, or after the cut.
Source: Sega Forums More >
Japanese Yakuza 5 website opened
May 24th
Following the other night’s news about Yakuza 5, the game’s official Japanese website has been launched. While most of the info is in Japanese, there’s still a pretty nice chunk of screens and character renders up right now.
I’m ridiculously impressed with how the game looks at the moment, especially the locales, and it should only get better as time goes on.
Source: ryu-ga-gotoku.com
More details on Yakuza 5; Main characters revealed
May 22nd
More details have come out from the Famitsu reveal of Yakuza 5. Earlier, the five cities in the game, as well as the reveal that Kazuma Kiryu would return as a playable character, was revealed, and now we’ve got the names of the other four joining him.
The playable five are the aforementioned Kiryu (now a taxi driver in Fukuoka), my personal favorite Shun Akiyama (in Osaka on business), habitual prison inmate Taiga Saejima (serving another sentence when he hears of Akiyama’s trip), newcomer to the series Tatsuo Shinada (a dishonored baseball player looking to clear his name. think Pete Rose), and last and most surprising, Kiryu’s adopted daughter, Haruka (who has moved to Osaka to become an idol singer, although her talent agency has other plans for her).
The article also states that Yakuza 5 has had double the development time of last Yakuza games, and the scale of the game is bigger than ever seen before in the series, with huge improvements to the scenarios, transitions into battles, and controls.
The team is currently 70% done with development, and they’re shooting for a December release in Japan, on the PS3. Naturally, word on an English localization hasn’t come yet, but after hearing all these details, fingers are crossed. Who else is hyped? Tell us what you think in the comments, or the Yakuza 5 forum thread.
Source: Andriasang
Yakuza 5 announcement happening next week?
May 18th
Those who have been waiting for news on the next installment of the Yakuza series are about to get their prayers answered. The series’ official site was updated earlier today with an new look, showing a construction area with Kiryu, Haruka, and Majima on the site. Adding to that is a video that recaps the first four main games in the series, finishes with a teaser that says “And then…” followed by “First look on May 24″.
So mark your calendars, folks. Next Thursday should be a very interesting day, and you know I’m hoping to see my favorite loan shark make an appearance. What are you folks looking forward to in the announcement? Tell us in the comments or in the Yakuza 5 forum thread!
The Top 10 Games That Have Similarities to Shenmue
Apr 21st
This week’s feature is part of a new series where we take a look at a popular Sega game or franchise and try to find other games that have something in common with the game we’re highlighting. At the moment the Shenmue series is in a limbo of sorts with no proof that we’ll ever see a third game in the series. Thus, we felt it was a good candidate this feature where we highlight other games Shenmue fans may enjoy.
So hit the jump and check our list of games we feel have something in common with Shenmue or used various elements as inspiration.
