In Other News...July 30

[DoctorFinger]

- Sorry all of you fans of the Japanese underworld, but Sega has announced that they won't be bringing (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175369) Yakuza 3 to the States, due to lackluster sales of Yakuza 2

- The PSP version of LittleBigPlanet will feature "Cross-Talk" (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/29/littlebigplanet-psp-to-cross-talk-with-ps3-unlock-bonus-conte/) with it's big console brother, which will unlock some unspecified bonuses in the handheld title.

- Just to make sure everyone is clear: Gearbox is NOT developing a Halo game. That is all.

- It hasn't even been released yet, and the XBLA version of TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is already getting a price cut (http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/100/1009409p1.html): from 1200 MSP/$15 to 800 MSP/$10.

- Rumors are swirling (http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/26979832/cipher-complex-canned.html) that Sega has canned Cipher Complex, their long in development stealth shooter.

- In their never ending quest to piss off each and every music-buying consumer in the world, record label EMI has announced that they will no longer sell their products (http://www.zeropaid.com/news/86637/emi-quits-selling-cds-to-indie-record-stores/)directly to independent music stores. The Mom 'N Pop stores were told to go buy the CDs at Wal-Mart or Best Buy if they want to sell them. This is being called a "cost cutting" measure. Which is apparently the new way of saying "sales cutting" measure.

[JayK47]

Sega can kiss my...

Anyways, no good news from Sega.

[Xerxes]

Update.... (http://www.examiner.com/x-12218-Providence-Video-Game-Examiner~y2009m7d29-Yakuza-3-US-release-date-announced-Never)
However, the statements made earlier are not official Sega statements. Based on Yakuza 2 sales figures, it’s his personal opinion that the game will not sell if it sees release stateside.

I'm still deep inside of Sega they'll bring it over just like deep down in Nintendo/Tecmo Fatal Frame 4 will make it over.

I so wanted Kenzan and 3 to come out.

[KamaItachi]

The discount makes TMNT a lot more palatable. Not that I needed any convincing to buy it.

[Talanvor]

Dang, I didn't play the Yakuza games on the PS2 but I was looking forward to the PS3 ones. I wonder if they have any versions with English subs/menus, I'm fine with Japanese voice work.

[Xerxes]

Dang, I didn't play the Yakuza games on the PS2 but I was looking forward to the PS3 ones. I wonder if they have any versions with English subs/menus, I'm fine with Japanese voice work.

Naw... I ordered Kenzan! and it's so fucking awesome looking. I don't understand a lick of what's going on. Yet...

[Talanvor]

So my only hope is if they release a European version? Damn!

I know some people will learn Japanese just so they can understand the original dialogue in games/anime, but I am not anywhere close to that hardcore of an otaku/weeabo.

[Xerxes]

http://twitter.com/rayalmeda/status/2927522990

Not Sega's stance, just some dude in marketing. Fuck him!

[Mike Kelehan]

Honestly, Yakuza 3 could sell really well if they just drop the 3 and call it something else entirely.

[mister slim]

Bah! I bought Yakuza 2. They owe me.

[Xerxes]

Honestly, Yakuza 3 could sell really well if they just drop the 3 and call it something else entirely.

Shenmue 3?

I really don't think the title is the issue. The marketing is. It's always been lacking. If anything Ray Almeda should saying, how much he fucked up on marketing the first two and that's why we won't get a third. :p

[mister slim]

And it's not just Yakuza either. Sega NA does not know how to launch new franchises. Almost everything just gets dumped in the marketplace to die. Total War would have failed if Sega had published the first entry.

[jeffbax]

http://twitter.com/rayalmeda/status/2927522990

Not Sega's stance, just some dude in marketing. Fuck him!

And my response...
http://twitter.com/jeffbax/status/2945811534

Quite accurate, I believe. Christ I miss the real Sega, not this publishing ghost we have today.

[Xerxes]

And it's not just Yakuza either. Sega NA does not know how to launch new franchises. Almost everything just gets dumped in the marketplace to die. Total War would have failed if Sega had published the first entry.

They did sort of ok with Condemned, but I think that was because it was a launch game. Condemned 2 did get a good deal of marketing.

[Xerxes]

And my response...
http://twitter.com/jeffbax/status/2945811534

Quite accurate, I believe. Christ I miss the real Sega, not this publishing ghost we have today.
You should of told him to do a better job at marketing. :D

[Orca]

Does anyone REALLY believe it would sell?

Killzone 2 didn't sell. Yakuza 3 wouldn't stand a chance.

[Xerxes]

Does anyone REALLY believe it would sell?

Killzone 2 didn't sell. Yakuza 3 wouldn't stand a chance.

Killzone 2 did 1.75m according to VGChartz. They also aren't comparable. I don't know what is. He's right about the other not selling but again, I don't think I know about these games until Spigot did a right up. Marketing for Sega should be taken out back. Kenzan did do ok in Japan. Considering how well the others did and it's a offshoot fitting the Way of the Samurai shoes, which already had Way of the Samurai 3 out.

But both America and Europe have more PS3 than Japan. With the right marketing.... can't let the hope die.... ~_~

[Orca]

VGChartz numbers? Might as well just guess on your own. :P

In any case, it hasn't been announced as crossing a million in the US, and that's a number that Sony would announce. The last LTD I saw was from two months ago and all I'll say is that it was under 800,000. That's with a decent number of ads and a ton of free publicity from mags, sites, and podcasts.

It seems unlikely Yakuza 3 would get any of that without Sega shelling out considerable cash, and that makes the port even less likely.

[Xerxes]

VGChartz numbers? Might as well just guess on your own. :P

In any case, it hasn't been announced as crossing a million in the US, and that's a number that Sony would announce. The last LTD I saw was from two months ago and all I'll say is that it was under 800,000. That's with a decent number of ads and a ton of free publicity from mags, sites, and podcasts.

It seems unlikely Yakuza 3 would get any of that without Sega shelling out considerable cash, and that makes the port even less likely.
It did sell a million worldwide. (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23253) I'm including Europe because they'd leech off a english version as well.

[Gorvi]

It could sell, they'd just have to actually market it. It's not going to sell amazing numbers, the game is far too niche, but it could sell enough. Hell, release it as a download if it's that big a risk.

[Kelegacy]

I think I need to buy the $5 copy of Yakuza at my local store. I played a bit of it before but not too much. Never played 2. But this sucks. A next-gen Yakuza could be sweet. But I agre with Kelehan, a name change could work wonders.

And a price drop on a not-yet-released XBLA game? Awesome! Much more palatable now.

[Virtual Pariah]

Wasn't Y2 released at the end of the "realistic" life of the PS2?
Seeing as a lot of games get lost in the generational transition, they should give Y3 a real launch here to see if it has any fans.

[MosBen]

Man, I was really hoping to get in on the Yakuza series. I was a big Shenmue fan, but I never had a PS2 and my PS3 isn't BC, so I've never had a chance to play the first two. Gah!

[Tayaya]

Wasn't Y2 released at the end of the "realistic" life of the PS2?
Seeing as a lot of games get lost in the generational transition, they should give Y3 a real launch here to see if it has any fans.

Yes, Yakuza 2 came out long after the next-gen systems had a well-established foothold in the US market. I'm sure no PS2 games really sold exceptionally well during that same timeframe, unless they were things like multi-platform releases of popular franchises, movie-license, or lego games, since a lot of families with young children still rely on the PS2.

This is kind of a shame, though.... I bought Yakuza 2 earlier this year, and it's truly one of the best games I've played in a long time.... great story, fun gameplay, lots to do, characters you actually care about, and echoes of the ideas originally started upon with Shenmue. I would even go so far as to say it's more of a grown-up Shenmue, or a Shenmue with a more adult theme.

I have the import of Yakuza 3 and while it's been relegated to the back burner for a bit, it's really good. Takes Yakuza 2 and amps up the visuals and makes the world even more believable, but retains that same great gameplay.

There is a great walkthrough at GameFAQs that even includes rudimentary story translation, so you have an idea about what's going on (but miss out on the series' great writing, sadly).

[Spigot]

What really gets my goat is that Sega will have no problem dumping another awful Sonic game into the market but putting the dough behind a localization of Yakuza 3? Phooey.

Just give it to Atlus and let them do all the heavy lifting. Hell, just having the Atlus name on it probably guarantees higher than usual sales.

I still hold out hope that Yakuza 3 will see the light of day over here. Don't bother trying to do an English dub and just port it with well-localized subtitles and I'd be happy.

[Xerxes]

What really gets my goat is that Sega will have no problem dumping another awful Sonic game into the market but putting the dough behind a localization of Yakuza 3? Phooey.

Just give it to Atlus and let them do all the heavy lifting. Hell, just having the Atlus name on it probably guarantees higher than usual sales.

I still hold out hope that Yakuza 3 will see the light of day over here. Don't bother trying to do an English dub and just port it with well-localized subtitles and I'd be happy.

For you and many other games, yeah, but to give it a real go they should do a English dub. If they did a dubbed version though like say an Asia version I could still see it doing decent import numbers. Surely that Y2 40K number.

We need a grassroots marketing movement. Show Sega, "yes we can"!

[Spigot]

I already did TTS's for the two games, so I've done my part :)

[Xerxes]

I already did TTS's for the two games, so I've done my part :)

Yes you did...

[shodan2020]

Man, I just got a look at some screens for the updated "Turtles In Time" game, it looks like Playdoh St. Brawler. Ugh.

[JayK47]

Yakuza is one of those games that I am surprised I never purchased. It seems like the type of game I would buy and enjoy. It probably came out during a time where I was swamped with other titles. I guess it is good I didn't get into the first two since Sega has decided that I should not play the third. I hope Japan doesn't get half of the US games. See how they like it.

[Xerxes]

Yakuza is one of those games that I am surprised I never purchased. It seems like the type of game I would buy and enjoy. It probably came out during a time where I was swamped with other titles. I guess it is good I didn't get into the first two since Sega has decided that I should not play the third. I hope Japan doesn't get half of the US games. See how they like it.

Or you join the movement and enjoy the first two. :D

We will have 3 and 4....

[Tayaya]

Yakuza is one of those games that I am surprised I never purchased. It seems like the type of game I would buy and enjoy. It probably came out during a time where I was swamped with other titles. I guess it is good I didn't get into the first two since Sega has decided that I should not play the third. I hope Japan doesn't get half of the US games. See how they like it.

You can get Yak 1 for like $10 at Gamestop (I saw one at my local store yesterday), and Yak 2 for $20-40 depending on your luck (Amazon got rid of a bunch for $15 right after I bought mine for $39 from Fry's). Do yourself a favor and buy them.... or at least buy the second one.

Yakuza 2 has a "digest movie" that plays at the start if you so choose that will recap the events of the first game, without the bad English dub. For those that care, Yakuza 3 does it for both Yakuza 1 and 2 also, so if they DO port 3 here, you can still get the jist about what's going on even if you don't play them on PS2.

You should though... they're worth it!

[Variable Gear]

- Sorry all of you fans of the Japanese underworld, but Sega has announced that they won't be bringing (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175369) Yakuza 3 to the States, due to lackluster sales of Yakuza 2
I love that justification. Sega's all like, "Remember that game we released with no fanfare whatsoever, lacking an English voice track, and relied upon the sales figures to determine whether or not to release the next game in the series in North America...? Well, no one bought that game." I would be surprised, if this weren't Sega.

[Spigot]

Yeah, that's what irks me the most about that justification. Not to mention the fact that they released it on the PS2 2-3 years into the 'next-gen' cycle. Lots of people would have been more than happy to play it if it had been on the PS3 but lots of people are HD snobs and won't touch an older title these days.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Farm out the localization for Yakuza 3 and Fatal Frame 4 to Atlus and you'll see sales go through the roof, if only for the crazy bunch of gamers who will buy anything Atlus puts out.

[Tayaya]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Farm out the localization for Yakuza 3 and Fatal Frame 4 to Atlus and you'll see sales go through the roof, if only for the crazy bunch of gamers who will buy anything Atlus puts out.

I'm glad I absolutely despise just about anything Nipponichi makes except for Marle de Jigsaw and Prinny, or Atlus would put me out of a lot more money. They're a great company that isn't afraid to take a gamble on a niche title if it's jut quirky enough to spark a little interest or touch a nostalgia nerve (half minute hero, anyone?). They're quickly becoming the new Working Designs, with their nice little touches on their packaging and inclusion of bonus items, often at no extra charge. I applaud them for what they do, even if I only buy about 1/5th of the games they release annually.

[Spigot]

Yeah. NIS pretty much lost my love with Prinny. It's overpriced, broken and wore out its welcome way too soon. The fact that they seem to overcharge for everything and not include much in the way of extras irks me these days.

Gooo Atlus!

[Gorvi]

Yeah, Atlus = awesome, NIS = meh lately. That makes me sad, too, because I love the Disgaea games......

[Spigot]

Yeah, Atlus = awesome, NIS = meh lately. That makes me sad, too, because I love the Disgaea games......I think that's the problem. NIS built a lot of good will with the Disgaea games and their spin-offs. Then they basically put out a lot of overpriced misfires and squandered their goodwill.

Oh well.