Yakuza 3 Localization Is Still A Possibility

Keane Ng

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Yakuza 3 Localization Is Still A Possibility



Contrary to previous reports, Sega has not abandoned the idea of bringing mob epic Yakuza 3 to the West. In fact, the game "remains a big point of discussion" for the company.

Sometimes you just can't believe what you read on the internet. Though the internet had it on good word [http://kotaku.com/5325991/yakuza-3-so-not-coming-to-america] (straight from Sega) that there wasn't a chance in hell that Sega would be localizing its big-in-Japan mobster action game Yakuza 3 to the West due to the lackluster performance of previous titles in the series, well, the internet was wrong.

"Yakuza 3 is not cancelled - and the possibility for localizing it does, in fact, still exist," Sega's Aaron Webber US release [http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/09/valkyria-chronicles-ii-coming-to-psp-next-summer/comment-page-2/#comment-272020]. "The original news story that went around about Yakuza 3 being declined for the US was false, and localizing the game still remains a big point of discussion for many people here at SEGA, and especially those of us on SEGA's community team."

So Yakuza 3 isn't just not canceled, it's being talked about in a major way in some parts of the Sega headquarters. That's good news, but don't get your hopes too high just yet. "I know it's far from an announcement, but I just felt you should know that the chance does still exist," Webber said.

Yakuza 3 was released in Japan this February exclusively on the PS3, and performed pretty damn well on the sales charts and with critics too. The series, which last appeared in the West last year with Yakuza 2 on PS2, hasn't really caught on in a major way over here, with Yakuza 2 only selling some 40,000 copies. It does command some following though, and with the cult success of Valkyria Chronicles translating to long-term strong sales [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92294-Valkyria-Chronicles-Sales-Suddenly-Up-400], perhaps Sega will think it can do the same with Yakuza. Fingers crossed.

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Nutcase

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The game is done. If it sells even the 40,000 copies the predecessor did, then how on Earth would it not be worthwhile to get it translated and slap on some English subtitles, release to US, UK and everywhere in continental Europe where people are fine with English subtitling (Scandinavia, ...)? Srsly. I can understand not releasing in France, Germany and other places where they'd have to redo voice acting, but holding back elsewhere is just silly.
 

hansari

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Nutcase said:
Srsly. I can understand not releasing in France, Germany and other places where they'd have to redo voice acting, but holding back elsewhere is just silly.
Slapping on subtitles would be fine, I'm sure, but shipping the units overseas may not be worthwhile if only a few purchases are made.

(I don't know the number of sales necessary to make transporting games in a shipping container profitable, but I suppose 40,000 isn't enough)
 

Nutcase

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hansari said:
Nutcase said:
Srsly. I can understand not releasing in France, Germany and other places where they'd have to redo voice acting, but holding back elsewhere is just silly.
Slapping on subtitles would be fine, I'm sure, but shipping the units overseas may not be worthwhile if only a few purchases are made.

(I don't know the number of sales necessary to make transporting games in a shipping container profitable, but I suppose 40,000 isn't enough)
That's nonsense. Crappy DVDs, obviously equivalent in shipping costs to keep-cased games, are still worth shipping despite selling for peanuts. A game that costs you $5 to print and sells for $60 could be shipped in individual envelopes by mail and still make a profit.

Also, I noticed just now that Yakuza 2 sold 40,000 in North America alone. More importantly, it was
- a PS2 game
- released in Japan and Korea in late 2006
- released in US and EU in late 2008

So they localized an obscure last-gen console game two years after original release. 40,000 sounds like a lot in that situation. There's no way the sequel would fail to outsell it by far.