Yakuza 3 has been edited for West

By Robert Purchese Published 24 February, 2010

Hostess bars "wouldn't make sense".

SEGA has edited Japan-based organised crime game Yakuza 3 for release in the West. Some content, it was felt, "wouldn't make sense" to gamers in America and Europe.

"The content between Yakuza 3 US/UK and Yakuza [3] JP is a little different in that we took out certain bits in order to bring the game to the West in the time allotted for us to do so. The parts we ended up taking out were parts that we felt wouldn't make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn't resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club)," SEGA told IGN.

"We didn't replace the parts we took out, but we made absolutely sure that the story continuity stayed intact so that the story experience was the same as the Japanese version and that it didn't take away the human drama so inherent to the Yakuza series."

Hostess clubs are places businessmen and women go to be entertained by attractive members of the opposite sex. Hosts chat, flirt, pour drinks and light cigarettes. Physical romance is not part of the job description.

Yakuza 3, a PS3 exclusive, will be released in Europe on 12th March. We'll sift through our copy to see what else has changed.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (89) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • erp #1 2 years ago

    THIS IS THE WORST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

  • StrayBezza #2 2 years ago

    Demo was shit.

  • ZuluHero #3 2 years ago

    They should have added 'massage' parlours in their stead. Im sure "the west" would get that.

    I'm still looking forward to Yakuza 3. I've not played any of the previous titles (bar a demo of each on OPMUK). I will have to download the demo when i finally get a ps3 this friday (yay!)

  • AphoticCosmos #4 2 years ago

    We aren't all cultural retards in the West. I guess someone forgot to tell the Japanese that.

  • reality_cheque #5 2 years ago

    What's not to get about a hostess bar? Weirdos.

  • Duchessprozac #6 2 years ago

    Didn't they have the hostess clubs in the first Yakuza?

  • Doctor_What #7 2 years ago

    In the words of LOLcats: "Japanese Game is Japanese". Apparently that would have been unacceptable to US and Europe. Let's face it, other bonkers Japanese oddities (such as their obsession with collecting stuff) never converts well to the west - just look at the complete flop that was Pokemon.

    Hey...

    Wait a sec...

  • FabricatedLunatic #8 2 years ago

    Didn't they have the hostess clubs in the first Yakuza?

    Yes. And the second one. But, to be fair, they didn't have time to localize the content they removed. It was far more important to Sega to release the latest entry of a franchise which hasn't sold particularly well in the West within days of Final Fantasy XIII and God of War III.

    /slow clap

  • dl0ad #9 2 years ago

    FAIL

  • jellyhead #10 2 years ago

    Great, now i'm stupid too. Thanks, Sega :(

  • UncleLou #11 2 years ago

    Weird. The (admittedly Japanese) trailers I've seen a while ago seemed to think the hostess bars are of enormous importance for the game.

  • Scimarad #12 2 years ago

    "We aren't all cultural retards in the West. I guess someone forgot to tell the Japanese that."

    They probably just had a look around the internet and (understandably) formed that impression.

  • Meho #13 2 years ago

    Yeah, too bad. As Yakuza series is one of the rare games we get in the west that actually take place in modern day Japan without fantasy or science fiction stuff, one of the great things about it was always immersion in the Japanese culture, depicted through a pulpy action-packed lens. Hostess bars were in both previous games and were fun. And, of course, rushing to get the game out in the west in the same window as God of War III and FFXIII is probably going to do more harm than good... On top of everything, with both previous games selling poorly in the west, it is clear that whoever buys the third one is probably a fan and THEY are not going to react positively hearing that hostess clubs were cut out. And if SEGA later announces that this stuff will be available as PAID DLC then you can expect the outcry to reach high heavens.
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 09:05

  • menage #14 2 years ago

    So they basically removed pretty girls from the game.

    That makes sense.

  • Salato #15 2 years ago

    Very irritating being automatically treated like an idiot by Sega. I like Japanese history, and the hostess bars worked fine as a side mission in Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2, it wasn't confusing at all.
    I was going to buy Yakuza 3 on its long awaited western release, now I really can't be bothered after such a needless and insulting cut.

  • Cadence #16 2 years ago

    SEGA fuck up again. What a surprise.

  • sarcasmoidosis #17 2 years ago

    Pretty girls pouring drinks and chatting.... Nope, no sense whatsoever.

  • Retroid #18 2 years ago

    Oh
    For
    Fuck's
    Sake

    Yes, Japanese game is Japanese, as already said. As if most of the people who want to buy this *won't* have at least a passing interest in Japanese culture, even if that just extends to the yakuza themselves.

    This is impressively badly-judged.

    WELL DONE: Make it LESS likely for people who *are* interested in a western release of this game by removing content because it's "too Japanese". THAT'S PART OF THE POINT OF THIS SERIES FOR ME.

  • WinterSnowblind #19 2 years ago

    I don't know why anyone finds this surprising.
    Many of the hostesses are real people, most of which are quite famous in Japan. Considering this is a super cheap translation, they were never going to go to the expens of liscencing them, or even take the time to edit the models.

    I also have to say the hostess minigame was dire in the previous two games, and nothing of value has been lost here. Even the Japanese got sick of them and removed them from the 4th game replaced with something significantly more interesting. I can understand why some are upset that we've lost some content, but this is the price for finally getting a game that's proved unpopular in the past.

    Boycotting it now will only mean we never see the 4th game.

  • TILT #20 2 years ago

    The things that he said would make no sense to western gamers were the history quiz, whereas he referred to the hostess bars as not resonating as much... which is still weird, given the worldwide predilection for attractive members of the opposite sex. And they had whole trailers dedicated to the hostess club features. But I guess western gamers might actually be out of their depth in a Japanese history quiz. So I don't think he assumes you're stupid.

    Anyway, I guess that was just fancy talk for "We wanted to rush out the game, so something had to go. Nyaa!" After all, they could have added "massage parlours" and quizzes about some other topics if they really felt the original ones inappropriate.

  • WinterSnowblind #21 2 years ago

    @EarlBassett
    Actually, I think a better comparasion would be removing a similar tedious minigame from ME for the Japanese release.
    Like say the mineral scanning? And I'm sure they'd be just as up in arms about the loss of that, as we are here.

  • Nazo #22 2 years ago

    Ah bugger, looks like I'll be importing it after all then. So glad I waited for the Western release :(

  • FabricatedLunatic #23 2 years ago

    Boycotting it now will only mean we never see the 4th game.

    And what's to say that won't be edited even more heavily? Apparently there's even more side content in that game, and if Sega think we don't mind, what's to stop them doing an even more half arsed localization?

    Also, the hostess management is not a minigame. It's an extensive side mission that, in the JP version, yields XP.

  • SClaw #24 2 years ago

    This game doesn't seem to have much going for it, given the competition. What it did have going for it was an authentic Japanese feel, which for me is the only reason to buy this game (being a sad Japanophile). The hostess bars seems like an odd thing to exclude, but I'm not that miffed, but the history quiz I was actually looking forward to!

    Anyway, I guess what this means is: translating those parts was too expensive. You can have them as DLC when we've milked enough cash from you.

  • WinterSnowblind #25 2 years ago

    Sidequest, minigame, whatever you want to call it.. It was horrifically tedious in the previous games, and was apparantly no better here, which was why it was removed from the 4th game. Not even the Japanese liked it.

    I'm not saying they should skip out on the parts which show more of the Japanese culture, because I do really like that aspect of the game, I just feel that the hostess stuff isn't that necessarily, especially when it involves an incredibly long and uninteresting side mission.

    Yes the localization has been half-assed, but who do we have to blame for the poor sales of the previous two? I think we should be grateful we're seeing the game at all. The fact they didn't want to spend more money on liscencing and cut out one very tedious part of the game, is fine by me. The other option is no game at all. Perhaps if this one sells, they can translate 4 with a slightly bigger budget. The 'fans' boycotting the game are just shooting themselves in the foot.

  • kinky_mong #26 2 years ago

    Have they removed the "Buying used girl's panties from a vending machine" mini-game as well?

  • FabricatedLunatic #27 2 years ago

    Uh, hostesses have been removed from Yakuza 4? 1500 candidates, apparently. This is a huge part of the game in Japan.

  • jellyhead #28 2 years ago

    "Yes the localization has been half-assed, but who do we have to blame for the poor sales of the previous two?"

    I say we blame Sega for crappy marketing and a limited release especially considering I and most of us here have the previous two games. Sorry, i meant blame me for buying it and giving them money in the first place. Consider me told.

    Please Sega, i'm really grateful. Can we have Yakuza 4 with all the minigames removed just in case i can't understand them with my culturally blinkered and closed mind?
    / tips cap

  • andywilkie35 #29 2 years ago

    Can Sega remove the title of the game please? I'm not Japanese and do not speak the language and do not know what this Yakuza is

  • Blerk #30 2 years ago

    What are they thinking? Taking a niche product that appeals to a small but dedicated group of fans and then gimping it so that even they don't want it?

    For shame, Sega! :-(

  • varsas #31 2 years ago

    I love how the comments take the extreme view with SEGA taking out all the minigames out of future iterations if they ever see the light of day over here. The hostess bar aspect does add richness to the experience but it's hardly a game breaker since it is a side quest/mission/minigame; unlike the other minigames it also requires work to translate or alter, like the history quiz, whereas all the other minigames don't so I don't see why they would be removed.

  • Pac #32 2 years ago

    @EarlBassett

    I laughed :)

    @andywilkie35

    Alright, you've gone too far now :)

    To be honest I wasted too much time in Y2 in the hostess bars with little result. The Karaoke stuffs good for a laugh anyway.

  • MasterNameless #33 2 years ago

    "To be honest I wasted too much time in Y2 in the hostess bars with little result. "

    That makes me wonders what you were trying to do in there, eh? ;)
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 10:18

  • FooAtari #34 2 years ago

    "We aren't all cultural retards in the West. I guess someone forgot to tell the Japanese that."

    But as with everything else in games industry it's catering to the lowest common denominator to maximise profit potential and all that bollocks.

    A bit like how niche genres are catered for less than less. Games are dumbed down, sorry, streamlined to make them more "accessible". Etc etc. Everything has to appeal to the broadest range of the market as possible to the point where every game feels the same as the next one.
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 11:38

  • the_mtfr #35 2 years ago

    What the shit? The game is called FUCKING YAKUZA! What would the American buyer expect, a Bronx thug simulator? Fucking retards......

  • FabricatedLunatic #36 2 years ago

    I love how the comments take the extreme view with SEGA taking out all the minigames out of future iterations if they ever see the light of day over here.

    I'm going to assume you're referring to me since I'm the only one who mentioned anything like that. What I said was what's to stop them removing more content from the next game if they think they can get away with it? I'm not talking about minigames. The host club management in Yakuza 2 was a major side mission, and the "hostess coach" part of Y3 is supposedly even more in-depth. They are not minigames, and certainly in no way comparable to Mass Effect's planet scanning.

    Besides, how is saying that content might be cut from future localizations any different from saying "boycotting it now will only mean we'll never see the 4th game"? Both supposition. And I'm not boycotting, incidentally, but waiting for a price cut.

  • Weebleboy #37 2 years ago

    Hear that Sega? That's the sound of my money staying in my wallet. Good work.

  • mr_shoe_uk #38 2 years ago

    Graara r ar rarraaaargh

    I knew there had to be a caveat somewhere in us actually getting this game, somewhere deep down I knew it, I just couldn't bring myself to admit it until it.

  • Meho #39 2 years ago

    The thing is, of course, SEGA's handling of the franchise in the west was pretty crappy to start with. Yes, both previous games sold poorly but they had next to no promotion and even a lot of the websites reviewing it farmed them off to the reviewers who failed to understand what the game was about and slammed it for being a poorly designed GTA clone. So, a solid seller in japan becomes a niche title in the west and someone in SEGA figures that this is due to cultural differences rather than due to the lack of marketing brains behind the games. I mean, I bought the original Yakuza and then pestered the shops here to get the sequel when it came out and they didn't even know what the hell was I on about. Yakuza 2 was released almost in secrecy here in the west, so no surprise that it sold poorly.

    To top it off, both Yakuza 1 and 2 apparently have some problems when running on Playstation 3 (especially damning when you realise when the second game was released). I've read more accounts here of people saying that they couldn't complete Y2 on PS3 due to the game failing to load and I have exactly the same experience with Yakuza on my 60GB PS3 - a copy of the game that works PERFECTLY on my ageing PS2.

    So, SEGA really dropped the ball on this series in the west and they keep dropping it... Too bad.

  • Machetazo #40 2 years ago

    "Boycotting it now will only mean we never see the 4th game. "

    Sega's inventive new angle of entertainment rustling/ransom seems to be proceeding very well for them. They're 2/2, so far!
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 10:42

  • Pac #41 2 years ago

    @MasterNameless

    Yep, took me ages to realise there in no physical contact in Japanese hostess bars.

  • WinterSnowblind #42 2 years ago

    @FabricatedLunatic
    I'd still call it a minigame.. It's not related to the main story, it's a series of small tasks to make the hostesses like you more. It's a money sink, it's tedious and losing it doesn't really impact the game.

    Again, the game has been translated by a very small team on a very small budget, I'm really not surprised to see this cut, especially as the hostesses are modeled after real people. If this game actually sells well, I'm sure they'll raise the budget for the next game which should ensure we don't see anything cut like this, especially after all the complaints Sega have been getting about this already.

    But boycotting it, waiting for it to hit bargain bins, buying it second hand or whatever, will simply mean another lazy transaltion or far more likely.. we never see Yakuza 4, Kenzan or any future games in English, ever.

  • bushwod #43 2 years ago

    well bang goes any reason I might have bought this game

  • funkateer #44 2 years ago

    Aren't people in the west interested in Yakuza just *because* it's so very japanese?
    Taking that stuff out just makes it less interesting.

  • neonemesis #45 2 years ago

    Way to go Sega, way to go...

    I couldn't believe that this game would even get a release over here but it will. Then you go and remove one of my favourite time-sinks in a Yakuza game?

    Obviously we Westerners are all gay and don't understand the 'cultural' pastime of chatting up women.

    I'll still be getting the game but I'm not happy Sega, not happy at all.

  • jellyhead #46 2 years ago

    Sorry, WinterSnowblind but that's supposition. Maybe if we don't buy it and let Sega know why then they'll actually put some effort into the next games in order to garner some sales? Saying "Buy it or we won't get another" is fearmongering as we don't actually know what their future plans are.

    They are offering a game, i am under no obligation to buy it if i don't want to.

  • Shotaro #47 2 years ago

    And the word of the day is....

    supposition

    yay!

  • FabricatedLunatic #48 2 years ago

    I'd still call it a minigame.. It's not related to the main story, it's a series of small tasks to make the hostesses like you more. It's a money sink, it's tedious and losing it doesn't really impact the game.

    Then you'd be wrong. You seem to be getting confused between the chatting to hostesses (which pretty much is a minigame) and the far more extensive management aspect. What you're basically saying is "I don't care about it so why should anybody else?" If you want to buy it, fine. I have no problem with that. At least do the same courtesy to those of us who aren't happy paying full price for a game with a substantial sidequest removed.

    I bought the unedited Yakuza 2 on release for £15. I wasn't expecting another budget release, and was happy to pay £40 for the sequel, I just wanted a full game for my money.

  • dudefella #49 2 years ago

    SEGA failing to understand what makes Yakuza interesting and unique. It's BECAUSE everything is so Japanese, retards. Sega's fail never ceases to amaze me.

  • Rajin #50 2 years ago

    @Dudefella

    And it never fails to amaze me such naivety that some people pose. There're far more reasons for cutting this(i don't like the idea of it being cut though)

    1: More localisation costs
    2: Some say it will even fail more now(ever seen the sale numbers from the last 2?)
    3: Avoiding Fox News and whatever supidity that's involved with things like hostess
    Edited by 3 at 24/02/10 @ 12:44

  • varsas #51 2 years ago

    I'm going to assume you're referring to me since I'm the only one who mentioned anything like that. What I said was what's to stop them removing more content from the next game if they think they can get away with it? I'm not talking about minigames. The host club management in Yakuza 2 was a major side mission, and the "hostess coach" part of Y3 is supposedly even more in-depth. They are not minigames, and certainly in no way comparable to Mass Effect's planet scanning.

    Besides, how is saying that content might be cut from future localizations any different from saying "boycotting it now will only mean we'll never see the 4th game"? Both supposition. And I'm not boycotting, incidentally, but waiting for a price cut.


    There is nothing to stop any company from removing content from a game and it's fine to complain but I don't see how boycotting the game is a good idea especially in this case when we're lucky to even see it released. Additionally I agree with WinterSnowblind in that if it isn't part of the main story then it isn't so important that it makes boycotting a good idea. It looks like the interest from fans has prompted SEGA to attempt to bring the game over on a minimum budget but do you think that they would do it again if sales don't at least cover those costs including publication and distribution?

    I've only played Yakuza 1 extensively and the bars are a nice diversion and I know that it's now a whole management sub-game but does it affect the story?
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 11:39

  • Beano #52 2 years ago

    "Demo was shit."

    Err... no.

  • MasterNameless #53 2 years ago

    "3: Avoiding Fox News and whatever idioticy tha'ts involved with things like hostess "

    That's called free publicity, and pretty much always results in increased sales. It certainly didn't do any harm for Mass Effect, it even helped that the idiots had to apologise on air for the drivel they were spouting. :D

  • LR100 #54 2 years ago

    Oh dear God I am just going to have to cancel my preorder and import the bloody Japanese version. Sure, it'll be hard to work out, as my Japanese isn't very good, but at least I know I am getting the full content (and better box art)!

  • FabricatedLunatic #55 2 years ago

    I don't think the host management part of Yakuza 2 was tied into the main quest. But it's nonetheless a substantial part of the side content and its removal from Yakuza 3 also renders useless all those shops where you buy gifts as you'll have nobody to buy them for!

    Also, the argument about having to license the girls, who are based on real hostesses, would be relevant if they weren't still in the game. One of them calls you in the demo. You can still take them to karaoke. But how the game will go about having Kazuma meet them if you can't access the hostess clubs is something that remains to be seen. Maybe the socially awkward oaf has become something of a stud between Yakuza 2 and 3, with all these girls just calling him up out of the blue.

    If there's no Yakuza 4, so be it. I'll play something else or use a walkthrough with the Japanese version. Sega are releasing Yakuza 3 for profit, not as a favour, and I want to send a message that they can't rely on the fans to just take what they're given.

  • LR100 #56 2 years ago

    Is there any feedback email address to SEGA we can contact to express our dissastifaction over this news? Not that they'll listen or even really have the time to put the content back in (and change the box art back), but I think we should let them know that we wanted the game as is straight from Japan (just with subtitles) and not a chopped up version for us westerners! I know about japanese culture, I have spent time in the country too! I know full well what a hostess bar is and for them to assume it wouldn't make sense to Y3's audience is stupid. I guarantee that almost all sales of this game in the west will be from fans of the originals and people who know japanese culture.
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 12:19

  • neonemesis #57 2 years ago

    3: Avoiding Fox News and whatever idioticy tha'ts involved with things like hostess "

    There wouldn't be any bad publicity anyway. With the countless GTA style scandals, Madworld bloodbaths and COD Terrorist level type things, hostess bars which don't really go any further than innocent chatting are hardly a major issue that the press would bother with.

    This is a series that just isn't handled well at all. The first game should have sold well since the violence and free-roaming nature should have appealed to the GTA generation. All it needed was some proper advertising to get that across and then perhaps the sequel wouldn't have tanked the way it did.

  • Cheapshot #58 2 years ago

    What the f**k have they done!? I reckon Sega simply couldn't be arsed to translate the reams of text that come with the hostess sections, it's gotta be true. Men have wined and dined with females of our speicies since ANTIQUITY! At one point in Yakuza 2 I couldn't even be bothered with the main quest when I was having a laugh having my lothario wisper sweet nothings to all the sexy Japanese Ladies! It's easily the best thing to do off the beaten track in Yakuza and Sega have just BUTCHERED a perfectly good game of features a Neanderthal could f**king fathom!

    This is worse than the Alan Wake PC news: "Uh...uh...uh...you can ONLY enjoy this game sitting on your couch eating a Cornetto, fact!". Stop reffering to us as IDIOTS and tell it how it is, you're not politicians - you make entertainment that is enjoyed by people all around the world, stop telling us what we want and f**king LISTEN! (and breathe...!)

  • chrisola #59 2 years ago

    I doubt i'll miss the ability to spend my leisure time sitting in a virtual bar spending virtual money while chatting scripted lines to a virtual girl my virtual character has no chance of going anywhere with.

    I mean, it's bad enough in real life with real money!

  • The_Inquisitor #60 2 years ago

    Fuck!! The hostess bars in Yakuza 2 were fun, even when you worked at one and then got the opportunity to become the manager.

    This is a misstep by SEGA!!

  • Rajin #61 2 years ago

    EarlBassett:

    naivety, my grammar fell short sorry:p
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 12:44

  • bigtechno #62 2 years ago

    glad i cancelled my pre-order, I liked the 1st one chatting up the burds might buy it on import

  • DarkStrider #63 2 years ago

    This is simply unjustifiable; I'm canceling the pre-order, maybe I'll get it second hand or I'll wait till my japanese is good enough to play the original version. Not to mention they waited till now to say it.

  • ShanksForTheMemories #64 2 years ago

    To quote IGN "The good news? Even though the hostess clubs are out, you can still go on dates with the girls. Better news? The strip clubs are still in Yakuza 3, so plan on dropping some Yen there."

    Frankly I'm insulted that Sega removed Hostess Clubs because they thought it'd make no sense to us Westerners that in Japan men can enjoy going to places to flirt and buy drinks for attractive women but don't expect said lovely ladies to drop their knickers for them.

    Wait a minute, those Japenese fellas are bloody crazy!!! If I wanted no action I'd stay at home with the missus!!

    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 13:28

  • TafKas #65 2 years ago

    Still going to wait for reviews to see how much of an impact this really does make to the game, cant say that all this bickering has changed my mind about it yet....

  • jefranklin18 #66 2 years ago

    Um, is not possible that the hostess bars were taken out to avoid "controversy" in the West? Sega Japan probably look at Western newspapers getting a flea in their arse about the Hot Coffee feature in GTA:SA, thought "weirdos" and decided to pull it before the Daily Mail wanted it banned outright.

  • FabricatedLunatic #67 2 years ago

    No. The rep explained why the hostess club has been removed, and that's because for some reason Sega didn't give themselves enough time to localize everything. Besides, it's not as if anything untoward goes on in hostess clubs. They're not brothels. Also, the strip club has been left in.

  • trubadman #68 2 years ago

    Demo was poor, graphics average, but the thing that put me off the most is the fact that you interacted by text, is this actually how the game will pan out or will there be 'real talking', cos if there aint thats another game off preorder, i really hope that i am mistaken and the text was just for the demo

  • wanderingkid #69 2 years ago

    It is a damn shame, the hostess bars were a definitely a fun distraction from the main story. It was a charming/funny little game for me and not tedious whatsoever - the hostess's looked amazing in this installment too it really showed off the creators graphical prowess.
    Also like someone else here mentioned; what will be the point in having all the gifts for sale in Don Quijote's etc. and will the girls still send texts to Kaz ? Did they remove that element too ???
    However it won't stop me from buying it, get real. There's still so much to enjoy in this game, it's likely to be the last of the series we see over here too so no way am I cancelling my pre-order just because of this !

  • lavalant #70 2 years ago

    They made sense in the first 2 Yakuza games so now I am confused, also games like Shenmue and Yakuza are partly fun because it makes you feel like you're in a different country surrounded by a different culture, that's part of the charm.

    Perhaps Sega's western arm ordered it to be removed as hostess bars might cause an uproar amongst feminists, that makes more sense to me that this bullshit.


  • Fidjit #71 2 years ago

    "we took out certain bits in order to bring the game to the West IN THE TIME ALLOTTED FOR US TO DO SO."

    The guy himself says it was a necessary evil in order bring the game out this financial year : I'm guessing localisation & audio for these sections would have scuppered the release date. So basically they ( the Sega dev team) didn't want to do this but had no choice.

    Still, shame though, I'd have preferred they cut out the fighting & left the hostesses...

  • VibratingDonkey #72 2 years ago

    Oh Sega... They said they were bringing it over due to fan demand. And then Sega pisses those fans off by cutting stuff they have come to appreciate and expect, in order to "resonate" with those who've never shown an interest in the series before, and to make the release date of the same day as FF13, in the middle of Bad Company 2 and God of War 3.

    This is senseless. There is no sense. The sense is gone.

  • toy_brain #73 2 years ago

    Well thats a shame, as having to cut content always is.
    Mind you, I never bothered with the hostess bars anyway. Too much of a money-sink, and there was that 'sad lonely bastard playing dating games' vibe to it. So I tried it once, and never went back.
    The host bar management game in Yakuza 2 was ok though. It would be a shame if something on that scale was cut.

    In the end, its going to come down to price. With such a down-and-dirty attitude to localisation this needs to be £30 tops. £40 would be taking the piss for a game that is old, not dubbed, and cut.

  • coomber #74 2 years ago

    Internet-users angry about being denied the chance to flirt with graphical representations of women who would not have sex with them anyway.

    Never saw that coming.

  • NonniR #75 2 years ago

    @coomber - Man, you are too cool for teh internetz d00d. Try not to set the world aflame with your awesomeness.

  • nasanu #76 2 years ago

    What a f*ck up!

    The game is set in JAPAN. There are aspects that should be foreign. Billions are spent each year by people travelling to far away places just to experience something that does not make sense in their culture. Personally I spent last year in japan and I am very glad a team of absolute idiots did not run along in front of me covering anything that might damage my virgin western eyes.

    Yakuza 3 was a no brainer purchase for me. WAS.

  • GundamJehutyKai #77 2 years ago

    This is complete bullshit!!

    Others have mentioned this before, but the main reason why SEGA said they are releasing Yakuza 3 in the west is because of fan demand!! You know? those fans who have almost certainly sat through one, if not both of the previous games??

    The Japanese history quiz I can partially understand but the hostess club thing just reeks of laziness and a desire to bury the franchise in the west with their own hands.
    They are shunning the very group who they claim made this release possible and are treating them like idiots! Not to mention, the fact that they are releasing a niche title in between 2 MASSIVE releases is a sales disaster waiting to happen!!
    This isn't about gamers being unable to flirt with virtual girls by way of a very small selection of prompts, this is about SEGA and how they seem to be amazingly capable of unbelievably retarded decisions based on "facts" which they made up themselves (apparently they think that girl gamers would like to try a turn-based strategy war game. Which is why Valkyria Chronicles looks the way it does!)

    Their excuses are also right up there for the "reason" microsoft gave for no PC Alan Wake!

  • WinterSnowblind #78 2 years ago

    @FabricatedLunatic
    Obviously I have underestimeated how many people care about the feature.
    Personally I'd liken it to the dating system from GTA IV.. made worse by the amount of time you had to spend grinding for money. Perhaps I'm missing something about the culture there, but I really don't see the appeal.

    But again, I can't blame Sega for wanting to spend as little as possible on the translation, and I'd like to think if this one does sell well, they'll be able to spend a lot more time and effort on the translation for the 4th game. I'm disappointed that we likely won't ever see that game now because of fanboys raging over the removal of some very trivial aspects.

  • FabricatedLunatic #79 2 years ago

    Good lord. You just don't get it. You're still talking about "dating" and completely ignoring what I said about the management aspect (though even the dating leads to exclusive items and other sidequests). In Yakuza 2 you can managed your own host bar. This is hours worth of content. Yakuza 3 has you take the role of coach for a hostess as she strives to be... well, awesome. Again, hours worth of content that I wanted to experience and now cannot.

    You also don't seem to understand that "trivial" is subjective.

  • coomber #80 2 years ago

    @ NonniR: Awesome? Me? Mate, you're the one *I* bow down to. Kudos to anyone who can use a joypad one-handed.

  • jellyhead #81 2 years ago

    winterSnowblind, There's no guarantee they'd spend any more money on Yakuza 4's localization especially if this one sells after they've spent so little on it as you keep stating.
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 19:41

  • hahayou #82 2 years ago

    "Wouldn't make sense" is a hilarious justification from the company that introduced the world to blue sprinting hedgehogs and playing pool with bottled chimpanzees.

  • Lord_Gremlin #83 2 years ago

    Preorder canceled 2 minutes ago. I'm not buying a mangled game. Get the content back as a patch, SEGA, or I won't buy it at all.

    Morons.

  • Alestes #84 2 years ago

    It's like Sega wants this game to fail miserably. They cut out content and let it compete against FFXIII, GoW3 and other blockbuster titles.

  • Bangaioh #85 2 years ago

    Yes, this is such a load of bollocks coming from Sega! OF ALL THINGS YOU TAKE OUT THE HOSTESS BARS!? What are these guys on, ffs?! I'm tempted to boycott and just not buy it.

  • Bangaioh #86 2 years ago

    Nice feedback by the way to Sega in these comments... are you reading these Sega wise guys? I'm calling GS now and dropping my pre-order too!
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 22:37

  • Bangaioh #87 2 years ago

    Can anyone post a Sega email we can flood with protest mails?

  • DarkMoon #88 2 years ago

    is that why there's only one edition, which is the special edition? is that all the extra stuff for? oooohhh bad sega, i would have rather had the game fully uncut than all that extra loot.

  • Razorus #89 2 years ago

    My friend was sorely disappointed by the demo because he was expecting something along the lines of Shenmue. To be perfectly honest, I've known about the Yakuza series for a while and was pretty underwhelmed by the demo.