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Sega of America Speaks: Yakuza 3 Not Coming to America
- Thread starter Pai Pai Master
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Segata Sanshiro said:
You're actually right here on a lot of this, and I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but at the same time, Ironman had lots of casual awareness and a movie tie in, whereas Yakuza 1+2 were new IP launches right at the end of the console lifespan, when most folks who would be interested in a new IP launch were playing their Xbox 360s. Hardcore games were coming out in 2006 and 2007, such as Persona 3 and God of War 2, but those were established series. I think Yakuza 1+2 were doomed to ho hum sales because of the console transition, but the new launch of a system is the perfect time to introduce a new IP, so I think Sega dropped the ball by not bringing over Yakuza Kenzan and Yakuza 3 earlier in the PS3's life.
Tiktaalik said:
:lol Dude... no. Persona 1/2: Eternal Punishment were NICHE as NICHE EVER NICHED INTO NICHETOWN.
Persona 3 was similar, it only GAINED WORD OF MOUTH acclaim to help it's sales. Same for P4 (and Giantbomb doing their "Endurance Run" on P4 *which is STILL going* has done nothing but helped the series grow).
Yakuza 3 could sell if it had that appeal/watchablity. Unfortunately, it kinda... doesn't. And like others have said, it has no appeal in the US.
SEGA has to release that the gaming world was a very different place back in the days of the PS2. Games destined for Asian markets only didn't even exist in the eyes of Western gamers, very different these days.
Tis alright SEGA, you just save your YEN to put into another 'awesome' Sonic sequel...
Tis alright SEGA, you just save your YEN to put into another 'awesome' Sonic sequel...
RomanticHeroX
Member
I'd be surprised if this ever came over under anybody but Sega. Even if they were willing to let someone localize it I imagine what they ask for licensing would be prohibitively expensive. Like Sakura Taisen as long as the game is popular in Japan I think Sega would make it unreasonable for anybody to try to pick it up. But hey, also like Sakura Taisen maybe once the series is dead in Japan they'll relent and we'll get an NIS port on the Wii 2.
Augemitbutter
Member
distantmantra said:
hope isn't lost yet. every sega gamer learns to wait and hope at some time in his life.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Tkawsome said:
Other PS2 games did fairly well in the same timeframe though - Persona 3 and 4 are the big ones, and those are even more of a niche genre than the Yakuza games.
I don't agree - I think Y3 can easily have the same appeal/watchability with a decent dub job like P4. The Yakuza games have a similar mix of serious, cool, and funny parts that something like P4 has. If Sega wouldn't blow all their voice budget on big names like Atlus and just try to get good sounding actors it could be ok.TheSeks said:
TheSeks said:
Yeah it was niche, but look on this board and you'll find the handful of ultra JRPG fans that make glowing threads for any obscure JRPG that comes out because they know it and they love it. Persona had that going for it and Persona had a niche fanbase that could get the ball rolling.
Yakuza I think tried to appeal to a lot, didn't have any such fanbase and got largely lost in the shuffle.
I'm not going to argue that Yakuza 1 & 2 were anything other than what they were or that they could have gotten better sales or whatever, I just think that a console transition is always a good opportunity to introduce new IP, and Sega could have and should have taken advantage of that. Maybe they should have skipped Yakuza 2 and released Kenzan for example.
Persona 4 as of March 31 2009 (4 months) shipped ~100k according to Atlus, which was 50% below expectations. PS2 just can't sell games any more even at $40, people have moved on. 100k seems good but you have to consider even Valkyria Chronicles sold ~80k in its 3 best months (which was Nov, Dec, and then May when it got a price drop.)XiaNaphryz said:
I'm not sure the problem is platform. It's just the game is too Japanese, however, it isn't anime style so the people who usually buy Japanese things look over it. And it isn't just a brawler, it has lots of other things that Sega fails to market or pushes people away. Things like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4yBCI_0O2c make the game awesome to me but I can see how the US just has no interest.
XiaNaphryz said:
Nooottttttt, really....
For the western market Yakuza is a very niche series, subject matter wise anyway. It's not anime influenced like Persona so it doesn't really hit that market, and it's a game focused on the "real" culture of the Japanese underworld, a subject that doesn't necessarily overlap with the anime subculture. There haven't been any recent popular films or other media dealing with Japanese mob crime, so it's not a topic hot on people's minds.
I like the Yakuza titles but they are definitely not made with western audiences in mind.
Also Yakuza 3 isn't a bad game, but it's not the second coming. There are plenty of issues with it. Graphically it can look like a mess too. I actually prefer Kenzan myself.
grandjedi6
Master of the Google Search
source?kay said:
GreyMatter
Member
KTallguy said:
Too true. Persona has done as well as it has because it's doing a great job satiating the starved anime-style game community. Yakuza 3 doesn't have that power since its presentation is about the grittier side of Japanese culture and not sharp designs, common mythology, or a somewhat fanciful tale. Concepts such as host clubs alone confuse anyone who isn't familiar with their culture; having to break down aspects of japanese society in a game where one should already be familiar with the concepts presented just doesn't fit into the overall design and just serves to alienate any potential players.
XiaNaphryz said:
See, this is where I have to respectfully disagree. I never gave SMT a thought before but after a bunch of word of mouth about Persona 3
Notable: Guns to head. Mara/Penismon
For me, voice acting is a non-factor (I can't hear, so...) the gameplay/relaxablity of the game and how it was totally different from other JRPGs helped sell me on Persona 3/4 (and hell, it helped me get into Persona 1/2:Innocent Sin *I need to complete Eternal Punishment*).
I tried the demo of Yakuza 3, and it just... didn't appeal to me. It didn't click, and I can see why many people overlooked it. In fact posts after yours explains it pretty well:
KTallguy said:
In fact that Youtube scene kay linked probably wouldn't fly over here in America that well (mostly with parents, I'm sure the teenage boys would be into it even if it's slightly bad/very Japanese in "sex appeal"). Yakuza has a lot of things going against it for American audiance consumption. It's a matter of it being too Japanese for it's own good.
Which falls into the "it's not really watchable" category I mentioned earlier. Could you imagine how GiantBomb's audiance would accept it? Who knows, it may be recieved more, but I wouldn't bank on that too hugely.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
And for me, I wouldn't have bothered at all with Yakuza without all the word of mouth hype it got here on GAF.TheSeks said:
distantmantra
Member
Augemitbutter said:
Dude. I had a Master System, a Genesis, a 32X, a Saturn and a Dreamcast. I've waited and hoped a whole lot. I think it's time to face facts and just import the game like I did with Kenzan.
Reallink
Member
You know the industry is fucked up when it apparently costs over $3,000,000 to sub a completed game, press a few thousand discs, and get them in stores (this game could move 50,000 units). I mean it's not like Sega has this catalog of upcoming blockbuster releases this would be cannibalizing resources from. SCEA still cock blocking this with their "Dub Onry" bullshit?
stawnkald
Member
GreyMatter said:
But this is a total side objective and it never has to be done.
I mean really, you know how easy this game should be to market?
In Yakuza 3 you play as a majorly badass motherfucker who wanders around and beats the living shit out of other people who try to fuck with him, and when the time arises, punches tigers in the face. Once, he went undercover as a "male escort" just to fuck up some assholes...for fun.
Just make that the box quote.
duckroll said:
From Giantbomb also posted on wikipedia
"Since its release in December of 2008, it has sold over half a million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Megami Tensei game to date."
http://www.giantbomb.com/shin-megami-tensei-persona-4/61-21373/
TheSeks said:
Dude I never even heard of Persona 1 and 2 before 3 came out. Hell, I barely knew the SMT brand existed. I mean I saw Nocturnes game over screen on youtube, and thought it was amazing, but I knew shit about the series. Atlus actually put a lot of love into their games, and I saw so much promotion for it. The word of mouth hype before the game even came out was huge.
Look at me now. I own all the PS2 SMT games, and I bought Nocturne w/ soundtrack when it was out of print for $100. A SCRATCHED COPY NONE THE LESS. God I love Atlus.
GreyMatter
Member
stawnkald said:
:lol
I like how you put that, but I'm speaking more from first-hand experience of how people I've come across perceive the extraneous yet awesome side missions available in the series. I just know that consumers, especially gamers, don't like not understanding a product after they've purchased it; it leads to bad word of mouth even after a massive marketing push.
BarrelMakingPenguin
Member
I'm kind of glad in a way. I was holding out hope that it might be brought over so I held off importing it. Now I know I can stop waiting.
Blast Processing
Member
Hey, it's just like old times, when I imported Final Fantasy V for $90!
Sega really knows how to tug an oldschool gamer's heartstrings!
Sega really knows how to tug an oldschool gamer's heartstrings!
distantmantra
Member
BarrelMakingPenguin said:
Same here.
grandjedi6
Master of the Google Search
Sourcing wikis that anyone can edit is not the most reliable of ideas one can have.MoogPaul said:
Night_Trekker
Member
I don't care what the reasoning is being the decision. This sucks. Fuck you, Sega.
MoogPaul said:
And again we have to ask, just how accurate are leaked NPD numbers from anonymous sources, since no one wants to lose their jobs anymore? Regardless, I think we'll find out how well P4 sold in the US in October, when the next financials from Atlus Japan are released.
Psychedelicide
Neo Member
If they're not going release this game outside Japan, then at least allow for English language options.
I don't mind if recorded speech remains only in Japanese since I always opt for that anyway,- but give me English captions and text.
I don't mind if recorded speech remains only in Japanese since I always opt for that anyway,- but give me English captions and text.
Segata Sanshiro
Member
Fuck you, Sega, for no Yakuza.Night_Trekker said:
Fuck you, Sony, for no Vib Ribbon.
Fuck you, Nintendo, for no Mother 3.
Fuck you, Capcom, for no Okami 2.
Fuck you, Square Enix, for no Seiken Densetsu 3.
Fuck you, Konami, for no Rondo of Blood.
Fuck you, Namco, for no Breakdown 2.
Fuck you, Atlus, for no Persona 2: Innocent Sin.
Fuck you, XSEED, for no Retro Game Challenge 2.
Fuck you, Ubisoft, for no Beyond Good and Evil 2.
Fuck you, every company, for not bankrupting yourself by trying to cater to my specific whims over and over again in the face of near-guaranteed financial loss.
distantmantra
Member
Zyzyxxz said:
Why deny yourself the pleasure? The walkthroughs for Kenzan and RGG3 at Gamefaqs are both really good. Import time, baby.
Psychedelicide
Neo Member
distantmantra said:
how does that work? -do I have to sit there with a 600 page script on my lap?!
Segata Sanshiro
Member
Bring it up on your laptop. Make liberal use of CTRL+F, tab, and page up/page down. If you don't have a laptop, print the FAQ. Leaf through it like you would an encyclopedia. Who knows, you might even learn some Japanese while you're at it!Psychedelicide said:
Entertaining and educational, SEGA brings it all!
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