And Yakuza 4 and Yakuza: Dead Souls hit PlayStation Store
Today is a very special and exciting day for all of us at SEGA. Partnering with our friends at Sony Computer Entertainment, we just revealed our plan to bring Yakuza 5 to the US and Europe at PlayStation Experience in Las Vegas. We also announced that Yakuza 4 and Yakuza: Dead Souls are available on PlayStation Store in the SCEE region on 7th December.
We’ve received so many requests from our fans to bring Yakuza 5 to the US and Europe. Yakuza 5 also made the top of the list of Sony’s #BuidingTheList campaign led by Gio Corsi at Sony Computer Entertainment and we were moved by all the support given to Yakuza 5 by the PlayStation community.
Yakuza 5 continues the epic story of Kazuma Kiryu alongside four other protagonists, following their struggles and conflicts in the seedy underbelly of Japan’s Yakuza underworld. Featuring a new graphics engine versus its predecessor, Yakuza 5 takes players to five major Japanese cities to venture through a life of crime and power.
Yakuza 5 features more mini-games than previous titles, a modified battle system as well as enhanced customizations and interactions in the signature hostess bars of the series. In addition to these features, Yakuza 5 also introduces “Another Drama” which is a series of side stories that focus on each protagonist in-depth and are separate from the main story of the game.
Allow me to also share messages from Toshihiro Nagoshi, the Executive Director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and the General Producer of the Yakuza series and Masayoshi Yokoyama, the Producer of Yakuza 5.
Toshihiro Nagoshi (Executive Director and General Producer)
“After receiving so many requests from fans of the series, we have decided to bring Yakuza 5 to the US and Europe. This title was enjoyed by over one million gamers in Japan. I’m looking forward to seeing how Yakuza 5 will be received by the gamers in the US and Europe.”
Masayoshi Yokoyama (Producer)
“Yakuza 5 is the largest and most definitive version of the Yakuza series. The game is filled with depictions of the Japanese way of life, culture, trends, social issues and dreams. You will play as 5 different main characters with a range of different ages, genders and professions and experience their challenges through a variety of character focused, in-depth stories. I hope you can immerse yourself in our rendition of modern time Japan.”
Yakuza 5 will be available exclusive to PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network in 2015. Please stay tuned for more information on Yakuza 5!
So freaking happy to see Sega giving in to all the fans and release this in the west! Day 1 no questions asked. Need to support this so we might see future titles!
Also, heard the US was getting Yakuza 4 and Dead Souls digital release on PSN, will EU get that aswell?
PS3 still kicking ass :)
Yes, we’re getting the as well. Quoting this very blog post:
“We also announced that Yakuza 4 and Yakuza: Dead Souls are available on PlayStation Store in the SCEE region on 7th December.”
So tomorrow :)
@Finka_Karfein Whoops. Guess i shouldnt post when being tired as hell :p Thanks for pointing the obvious out! Good to see!
Best announcement of PSX :)
This is such fraking great news! Thought this was never going to happen!
Cool, Japan is always enthralling :p I want the one in Feudal Japan too, Yakuza Ishin :(
Best announcement of the event for me, did not see that coming. To think it has been nearly 2 years since I’ve completed the Japanese version, lol!
….wait no retail disc? digital only?
not cool. i want to own my games physically ._.
Yeah I’m quite disappointed to. The worst thing is they’ll charge £30+ for a digital-only 2012 PS3 game and then be surprised when it doesn’t sell as much as they wanted it to
I think it should sell for £20-£25 like alot of re-release do these days …but if there’s missing content cut like sega did with Yakuza 3 i’m gonna be soooo mad >:@
@MP they made that mistake with 3, but then kept ALL the content in 4 and Dead Souls, i think they learnt from their mistake lol
I hear you. I too really don’t like digitally distributed games. I’ve been collecting video games for 12 years now, and I have the whole Yakuza series on my shelves, so I want Yakuza 5 there as well.
As it is I just can’t see myself buying the game as a download. I’ve been hoping for Yakuza 5 for a long time now, but if it’s just a download, I don’t really want to support that. I’m extremely disappointed :(
SEGA, I’ll pay you up front for a physical copy of the game. Come on, I thought you were kewl!
I’m disappointed by the digital only release as well, wouldn’t mind paying a bit more for a physical release…
Cool. I want to own all my releases digitally, so that evens it out!
Yea i want a physical copy to! >_> i hate digital!
this is the reason i don’t want it digital only, psn is not as competitive as online retailers, the price will rarely go down and be too expensive for a ps3 game, i also have all of these games on disc and i really want yakuza 5 on disc aswell.
Yay! Had a great time with 4, so I’m really happy to see this one coming as well.
This alone makes this much more better than the whole E3 announcements put together.
Please, bring also 1&2 HD Edition for people who started their PlayStation Experience with PS3!
Guys, seriously. I literally can’t even right now.
<3
Finally, thanks Sony!
Bit disapointing that it will be digital only :/
the game alrdy had hype and all Sega could think off is a digital release sure is a big joke on fans
It will be digital only in the US as well. I’m less inclined to get annoyed if a title is digital only in both Europe and North America. Wasn’t that Hatsune Miku game digital in both US and Europe and then based on those sales released physical versions of the 2nd game?
Look at it like this we get Yakuza 5 which is what people wanted…a western release. Sega has other series I would like to see in the west PHANTASY STAR both 2 and Nova. If they are only released as digital titles in the west I’m going to be satisfied they released it at all.
@Izorpo
the first hatsune miku game was physical U.S i know i imported the game.
and i like 2 look ahead off thing buying Digital is like buying nothing cause first off when sony ever takes their servers offline i won’t be able 2 play the game anymore meanng i bought nothing if i get physical i can play it as long as my consoles works.
and if there is a ps3 emulator for pc i can always put my discs into a Pc and play em.
Awesome, the Hatsune Miku crap gets a physical release and the good game get the digital-only treatment. Great. Will only buy this if it’s 20 € or less.
Did you see the “Please stay tuned for more information on Yakuza 5!” part? Buy the rest new & sealed, buy digitally all games and DLCs and avatars – and demand together a physical release along with the rest of the series :)
I didn’t see that part, and it just means “look forward to some new trailers”, so nothing interesting there. I’ll stick with my japanese version.
I COULD HUG EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
EVEN THE SHILLS WHO I DON’T LIKE AT ALL. I WILL HUG EVEN THEM.
Yakuza is one of my favorite series that means a lot to me, but I was saddened that people in the West didn’t buy it at all. :( But all the requesting paid off!
Heh, I even bought Dead Souls… x_x
PLEASE SEGA/SONY: Do as much as you can to give the Yakuza series a boost. Now that 4 and Dead Souls will be on PSN, they could get featured on PS+ so that Sega will get some money.
Well, only 4 should be on PS+. People need a good impression of the series… >_>
ANYWAY, let us know what the price is and I’ll purchase it as soon as I can.
It’s understandable that this release is not physical because PS3 retail space is slowly dying, but in this case, I don’t mind at all. We should all do the best we can to give this series a final push in the West guys!
I can’t hug digital people but I can + 1 them, at least! X_X
Probably the best news of Playstation Experience! And if this sells well, I hope it opens door especially to Yakuza Ishin. I am mostly interested in that due to the samurai era. However, any Yakuza title in English will do (the only I am skipping is the zombie version)! If Yakuza 1 & 2 HD PS3 Collection would be released, I could start the saga from there.
So you want Ishin but not Kenzan…Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan wasn’t released in the west.
Yess, finally get to play this. Can’t wait
Nice, Zero Escape avatar :)
Everyone who made this possible are my favorite people on Earth right now
Yes. Yes they are. I don’t care if they are vegetarians, religious or left handed; I will hug them all.
YESSSSSSSS, never thought we’d get Yakuza 5 out of Japan ;*) Thank you SEGA & SONY. I’m so EXCITED Yakuza 1-4 were Amazing. Wish we could get the game physically but we can play it and thats the important thing. i’m sooooo happpppppppyyyyyyyy
Great, truly great.
I have them all physically here but I’ll be buying it again :)
….now I just need time to play them again :D
Still disappointed that I cannot get 1 and 2 for PS3… but I would take *ALL8 of them remastered for the PS4… please :)
The only thing possible is for PS2 Classics releases of Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2, but that’s more likely to appear in the US Store than in the EU one.
Normally i hate digital but in this case it makes perfect sense (if it keeps the cost down and means they release over here) plus i am just over the moon. Thank you Sega, i hope our Day of the Dragon campaign had something to do with it. I already bought the Japanese version and platinumed it but i will buy it again to show how much i love this series. It might be sad but i haven’t been this happy for ages (i know i need a life).
You’re a good man, we shall give it our best shot. Sega/Sony made an exception for us, the people who don’t usually buy digitally must make an exception once as well, if only for the sake of localized Yakuza in the future.
Now that it’s digital, they can easily track sales and demand etc. No more hassle with unsold copies on retail shelves and no extra costs like you mentioned.
That being said, if they sell it digital-only for €60…
…then that would be a kiss of death.
was hyped at first untill i read the Digital only meaning no buy from me. means i will import physical japanese version when cheap.
You can read Japanese? >_>
@zalwelgoedgaan
there are compleet translation walkthroughs for everything from it’s mini games 2 the whole story.
I’ve played loads of games that are in Hiragana and Katakana while not being speaking the language although the Musou games don’t really require knowledge of Japanese. dgnfly is correct though that there are loads of guides online of Japanese games and if the guides are in Japanese then you can just use a bad google translate to get an idea of what is happening.
GET HYPED WITH THESE VIDEOS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2TuS9AAQoI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghDpyJ2HN-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCLERldO3e4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lBKdU6zFJM
It’s 11 pm and I’m still excited sweet mother of caramel puddingw4et gwb$ETGVWA#^V
I’ve just made an audible “squee” sound. Finally. There is hope for the rest of them.
Great, been waiting for this for so long that I almost lost hope. By far the most exciting gaming announcement in the whole year. Definitely buying this, but need to finish Yakuza 4 first.
Shame it isn’t a physical release, if nothing else it would give a lot more visibility to the game.
It would make it visible, but it would also make Sony and Sega lose money because the games don’t sell well. Dead Souls was sold for pocket change at one point here in the Netherlands, and it still hogged bargain bins for quite a while…
True, but Dead Souls shouldn’t be considered a proper Yakuza game.
Also any chance of getting Yakuza: Kenzan! (Probably asking for too much)?
Yeah, Dead Souls was not worthy of the Yakuza name.
About Kenzan… It’s best to let that dream go. :(
YES YES YES!!! I read the title and my jaw literally hit the floor. Thank you so much Sony and Sega, i have been dieing to hear this news for AGES!!
Any idea when in 2015 we finally get to experience it?
Also, even if they are digital only (i have no problem with that, i bought a 2tb HDD for my PS4 as i want to go all digital anyway, but i realise quite a lot of people on here prefer physical) can you please please PLEASE release the other Yakuza / Ryuu Ga Gotoku games on PSN outside of Japan aswell? I would love to play 1 & 2 (there was a remake for Nintendo consoles…but not the console that made the series famous…) and the spin-offs Kenzan and Ishin.
Pretty please Sega / Sony? Will adding cherries on top help?
Retail or no buy.
Appears my other comment was deleted…
The basic point of it was… Sega / Sony, can you now bring Yakuza 1+2 and Ishin to the West as well please? I don’t understand why 1+2 went to Nintendo, makes no sense, but please bring them to the fans who love the series so much!! Please please please, with lots of cherries on top!!
Japan got 1+2 HD on PS3.
Yak producer said that it would get ported to Wii U with Gamepad map functions blabla. The game was a mere ‘experiment’ like he said.
It failed miserably, no more Yakuza for Nintendo.
Now, we must do our thing. I just bought Yakuza 4 with my remaining wallet account with my US profile and will do the same when it’s on the store tomorrow here in the EU. Try to vote if you can, even though the PS3 Store is notoriously awful.
Thanks, you’ve finally answered our calls! So excited!
Now we have your ear, could you give us Shenmue I & II HD? :3
1 thing i dion’t get sega is like bigger than NIS america and yet they can’t do physical release and also basicly never release games fans ask for.
and before ppl say look at what they brought let’s get our facts straight this game is most likely brought By sony not sega cause ppl been asking for these kinda games for years and all sega has done is ignore them and now suddently sony steps in and it get’s a westen lame release with that meaning digital only.
ppl these days act like certain publishers are gods yet they never even listen 2 their fans, if they did kenzan would have been released years ago.
If you watched the Japanese Sony conference then you probably remember the Sega head dressed like an extra in Miami Vice and I swear he used the Japanese word for foreigner which is I guess is Sega’s way of saying “region lock” on Phantasy Star Nova or maybe he was saying he would ban foreigners from Phantasy Star Online 2 (which I think they actually did)
I’ve heard that the heads of Sega are rather nationalistic, obviously nationalism isn’t confined to countries in Europe or *cough* US *cough*
Kenzan should have been released in the west it’s at least 6 years old now so I doubt that will happen. I guess people don’t care about it as it doesn’t have trophies. It takes place at the same time as the warring states (the period with Basara and Samurai Warriors). Ishin is the sequel to that Kenzan (dragon arrives) and Ishin (dragon restoration). Ishin takes place in the time of the Shinsengumi (later years of the Tokugawa Shogunate). It would be nice if they actually released both games outside of Japan although I doubt it.
@Izorpo
Phantasy Star Online 2 just showed how little sega cared my bet is they only did hatsune miku cause there were concerts off her in the U.S and they saw that quite a few ppl would go 2 it and the character was so well known.
if sega wants succes it needs 2 actually be more active in making these kinda blogs on a lot off websites more interview yet they hardly do a damn thing 2 make a game getting noticed only the hardcore keep track.
basicly we own sony for this digital release can’t say i’m all that happy i take it will stay japanese dub 2 save cost and i wonder how much they will cut this time Yakuza 3 had a whole lot off content cut and yakuza 4 also had content cut not that massive but some quest were taken out.
i just think it is a joke that sega would stop publishing Yakuza games after Dead souls first off it sold bad even in japan. how could they expect that game 2 even do well here it hardly had a story it’s like 1 off those anime fillers nobody wants 2 see.
it sucks sega has the rights 2 Valkyria chronicles cause another company would have tried another 1 off those it has cult classic writen all over it. meaning there is an audience.
So happy to see this, as soon as I did I was shouting YESSS! so loud someone came in to check I was alright heh.
Love the games but was majorly put off when I thought we were never going to be able to play number 5 and haven’t really been able to enjoy them for a while.
Totally have the urge to replay the series now and though I’ve got 4 and Dead Souls already on disc I think I may pick up the digital ones too just to show my support!
Very very good job Sony. Now THIS is what im talking about!!!!! :D. Now need to just dust off my ps2 and play through the series :).
So ecstatic that this is happening. But Sony/SEGA how about doing a limited pre-order for physical availability? The same way Class Of Heroes 2g is being done? That way gives all the hardcore Yakuza fans a chance to own and put alongside the rest of the Yakuza collection :)
Pretty please?
Amazing and long awaited announcement, but if over the course of the next few months there won’t be a physical copy announced, I’ll pass simply because this is a way too big of a game for me to download and pay and never properly own, especially since I own every other game in the series on disc. But still very excited never the less!
Sony, thank you so much for doing this, i’ve never been so happy in my many years as a PlayStation gamer!
I would like to thank everybody involved in the localization of this game, you guys have literally made my year and i cannot wait to experience the next installment of my favorite series of all time in all of it’s glory after 2 and a half long years of anticipation! Again, thank you Sony, Sega, Yakuza Studios and everybody else involved!
Thank you so much for bringing this over! You guys really do listen to your fans :D
I hope it does well and you can try for other sega-sony localizations like Valkyria 3, maybe Phantasy Star Online 2?
If there could be a limited edition physical run I’d love to throw more money at you <3
About time!!!
I’m happy that SEGA finally is bringing the Yakuza games to Europe. But they should remember that most of western players who buy new games are on PS4.
Not really, ps3 still has a much higher userbase than ps4.
Also to port this game to a different system would cost Sega a lot of money… Which means they wouldn’t do it.
With this and persona 5 incoming, I have no reason to upgrade for a fair while yet.
Best gaming news I’ve read all year. And just like that, my most anticipated game of 2015 is a PS3 game. Still got a fair chunk of life left in it.
Shame I have to upgrade my hard drive to be able to play it, as I have the 40GB model from 2007, but eh, I’ll live.
Now I just hope they do Yakuza 1&2 HD and Yakuza 0 too.
dont forget Yakuza Ishin! ;3
Since we’re in not forgetting Yakuza titles, don’t forget also about Kenzan!, Black Panther 1 & 2 for PSP (Kurohyou series). Maybe we could get a 1&2 HD for Vita/PS4 like Type-0? Dreaming…
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES FINALLY
Thank you, Sony and SEGA! Biggest gaming news of the year, for me.
I must say that I’m curious why this will only be a PS3 release. The PS4 port exists in Japan, gamers are getting rid of their PS3s to make place for their PS4s. However great a game it is, the player base is shrinking.
But it will include me. I will hold my PS3 tight until Kazuma Kiryu emerges victorious once more.
Thank you oh so very much.
i was expecting a ps4 port, i was disappointed that it was on ps3, maybe it’s a good idea to wait it out and see if anything else gets released?
Hi, I was wondering if Yakuza 1-3 will be coming to PS3 digitally as well, because I can’t get the previous titles at the moment even second handed, I heard Yakuza 4 is coming digitally but if that’s incorrect, please bring that one over too.
I won’t buy Yakuza 5 if I can’t play the previous games, please consider!
Yakuza 4 is available now, as is Dead Souls. Also, try nedgame.nl, they may still have the games.
There’s also Game Mania. Yakuza 3 and 4 are €15 and below second hand, maybe a store near you has them in stock.
Seems I can’t comment on people who commented on me.. so I’ll do it this way.
I tried at Game Mania, but they don’t offer the games anywhere close to me second hand, I really think they should make these games available digitally, there’s no downside to it, I don’t mind paying a little more, just want the games to be accessible, currently, they’re not.
(just comment manually, we’re all responding to your comment as if it was a mini-thread)
It’s understandable, yeah. This series is very story-driven, the titles need to be on the store for max exposure and strenghtening the name of Yakuza.
3 should be easy to find a second hand copy on ps3.
And it has an optional recap of cutscenes of Yakuza 1 and 2 at the start if you wanted to catch up in terms of story.
4 does the same with 1-3 but you might as well Play 3 first.
best news ever! you made me happy!
Awesome where are getting the game but why Noo physical release! DAMNIT i hate that!
GIVE US A DAMN OPTION! would love to pay more for a physical release!
If we can make this game profitable, then the chances are higher of the next localization getting a (limited) disc release. For now, we must do our best to buy Yakuza 4 and 5. Not Dead Souls. XP
https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/nl-nl/games/yakuza-4/cid=EP0177-NPEB02036_00-YAKUZA4000000000
Here’s a linkie to 4!
Best announcement in PlayStation Experience indeed (along with Suikoden I and II)!! It is our duty to buy and support it, now that we finally have what we’ve been fighting for the last couple of years. It is a shame it is digital only but it’s understandable since it wasn’t even planned to be released outside Asia. It also means it will come to us faster, and hopefully there won’t be any cuts from the original content! This is for the Players indeed!
Well thank you…so can we have Phantasy Star Online 2 and Phantasy Star Nova now…please
I don’t know jack about those series, but I read some stories that it shouldn’t be that difficult to bring it to the West, compared to the bible-sized Yakuza games, right?
MB PSNova but why PSO2 anyway? It’s meaningless with 3 years of content behind, no such collab events and maintenance would be montly.
ATTN YAKUZA FANS:
If you bought any Yakuza content digitally or physically, in the past or now, then take a picture/screencap of it. It’s time to show Sega/Sony TPR that we mean business. Tomorrow morning I’ll try to get things going. In the meantime, I’m going to collect relevant sites and twitter handles where you could show off your Yakuza goodies.
An image like this of your download list (WIP): http://i.imgur.com/Cyc0cRG.png
Hashtag not final, haha.
You could also show pictures of trophies and so on, there are many ways to show your appreciation for the series. I’ll be gone for the rest of the day, if you guys have any suggestions then I’d love to hear it.
This is a group effort. We have talked the talk, now we must walk the walk.
LONG LIVE YAKUZA
thank u Sega!
Best news I’ve heard in a long time! :D
Great but i would like to buy it as a retail version, i don’t buy digital games.
^It doesn’t mention what format Yakua 5 wiill be released in, it says that 4 and Dead souls will be avaiable on the PSN store.
As much as I want to congratuate sega, its my understanding that Sony are footing the bill for the localization. Now I just have to try and sell my copy that I bought when I visited tokyo in July.
And who knows maybe enough Y5 sales will garner continued interest in kenzan and Yakuza 1+2 HD (and technically those games were already localised on ps2 years ago)