Yakuza 3 time constraints forced cuts

By Robert Purchese Published 25 February, 2010

Localisation team had run out of time.

SEGA has explained that content was trimmed from the Western version of Yakuza 3 because the localisation team only had a limited amount of time to complete its work.

"Due to the limited time we were given we had to leave certain bits of the game out and we chose portions we felt didn't resonate with western culture, i.e. a Japanese history quiz show and the concept of hostess clubs," SEGA told Kotaku.

"We understand that this is not the optimum thing to do, but given the options of releasing the next chapter of a beloved game so that our fans can experience the story of Yakuza, versus not releasing it at all, we felt it was worth it to release it with 99 per cent of the content intact.

"We made sure that the story in no way, shape or form changed from the lack of the quiz show or hostess clubs," the rep added. "You can still go into cabarets and on dates with the ladies in the game, and Kazuma still kicks major ass."

SEGA won fan approval with Yakuza 3 by sticking with Japanese voice-overs and apparently favouring a more authentic approach. But removing hostess clubs appears to have undone some of that goodwill.

"Ultimately, the choice that had to be made was either no Yakuza 3 in the West, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia," wrote SEGA on its US blog.

"That said, our teams also understand that many of you guys love games like Yakuza because of that experience, and rest assured that we'll continue fighting on your behalf to make sure that going forward, we can provide as close to the full experience as possible - no matter how foreign.

Yakuza 3 will be released on PS3 here in Europe on 12th March.

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 (38) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Widge #1 2 years ago

    Welcome to the inverse Polyphony Digital

  • Beano #2 2 years ago

    They only had a year... A YEAR!!

    Lazy bums.

  • ZuluHero #3 2 years ago

    If the game was 99% 'complete' then I can't imagine why SEGA would throw in the "no Yakuzu in the west" comment. It almost sounds like an ultimatum. Also, If the game was that complete already then it doesn’t sound like a big ask to delay it by just a few weeks in order to get it to 100%.

    And let’s face it, it’s not the best time in the world to be releasing a relatively niche title, a few extra weeks translating the missing content would have appeased fans and might have given it better sales by attracting new people.

  • monkeylite #4 2 years ago

    So they always had a deadline to send it to the gallows.

  • Retroid #5 2 years ago

    Deeply stupid decision.

  • superjag86 #6 2 years ago

    Maybe they should give them more time, especially as it's coming out in between GOW 3 and FFXIII!
    Didn't someone at Sega think this might not be the best time to release a game which might not sell well anyway??

  • BabyJesus #7 2 years ago

    I'm annoyed with the cut content but what really pisses me off is the bloody time they are releasing it.

    March is the busiest month of the year thus far. Just Cause 2,BFBC2, FF,GOW3 and a fuckton of others.

    WTF are they thinking putting a niche title out in the middle of that shitstorm.

  • MavSkipper #8 2 years ago

    @BabyJesus It's called "release-as-much-games-as-you-can-before-the-fiscal-yea r-ends-this-March".

  • Whizzo #9 2 years ago

    One of the reasons I liked Yakuza was because it had these unusual Japanese elements in it, not bothering to put the effort into localising it properly and keeping everything that made it the cult title it is in the west seems very stupid indeed.

    Releasing it when a lot of big titles for the platform are coming out as well isn't going to help it either, Sega seem to be stepping on all the cracks in the pavement these days.

  • menage #10 2 years ago

    Cause releasing it between FFXIII and GOW3 will really help. Just push it back, this is bullshit.

  • BabyJesus #11 2 years ago

    @mav it doesn't really work well for your FY figures if it bombs though.

  • The_Inquisitor #12 2 years ago

    If an 18 month wait for Yakuza 2 is acceptable, than a few more weeks of localisation for Yakuza 3 wouldn't have killed them.
    IMO, they would have been better getting it to market last year when the PS3 wasn't swamped in triple A titles.

    I moan, but I'm still gonna buy it... and love it.

  • MavSkipper #13 2 years ago

    @BJesus I know... I don't really know why most publishers are squeezing as much games as they can this coming March. Probably they're still on 15% VAT or something. I should get one of those accounting qualifications. :D

    Either way... I only have 'nuff money for 2 games this March and it's for FF13 and GOW3. Just glad that 3D Dot Game Heroes is coming in May.

  • Doctor_What #14 2 years ago

    It's the financial year turnover - they need the profits from sales to fit into that period of accounting. Possibly they also have the duplication factory booked for a specific period and it would be enormously expensive to rebook that, taking a significant chunk of the profits out of what is realistically a fairly small release.

  • the_mtfr #15 2 years ago

    SEGA: "Due to the limited time we were given"

    Given by who? God? Because SEGA are on top of the pile, ordering down, not taking orders.

    It's like the UN complaining that they were given an order to do something.....

  • FabricatedLunatic #16 2 years ago

    Didn't EG report this yesterday? I vaguely recall making a comment or two...

    And, yes, Yakuza 3 being "99% complete" is obviously bullshit. What they've removed is hours of content.

    As I said in the forum yesterday, there are publishers like Atlus and Nippon Ichi who somehow manage to avoid removing content from games as, if not more, "niche" than Yakuza 3. And they dub most of them.

  • varsas #17 2 years ago

    @Beano: They didn't have a year; the decision to bring it to the West was late last year.

    @ZuluHero: I assume the 99% refers to the core of the game; by all accounts the hostess clubs are a significant portion of the content of the game but are optional in regard to the main story.
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/10 @ 10:30

  • dagas #18 2 years ago

    not liked SEGA since the days of Dreamcast anyway...

  • Cappy #19 2 years ago

    What a load of nonsense.

    Point me to all the other games that have had significant quantities of content cut because there was 'no time' to translate text in the last year or two. What we actually have here is an executive decision to localise Yakuza 3 as cheaply as possible, content be damned.

    It was pretty simple, you give me Yakuza 3, I give you money.

    If it has bits missing it's not Yakuza 3. I keep my money and walk away, considering that we're now missing Yakuza 3 I can't see myself being interested in Yakuza 4. After being treated like this I can't see myself being interested in anything Sega publish.

  • Nazo #20 2 years ago

    Dear Sega, send me a copy of Yakuza 4 when it's done and I'll set to translating the hostess bits for you straight away, thereby saving you lots of time and effort later on. I can't promise it'll be a great translation but it'll be better than nothing.
    We can talk terms for Shenmue 3 later.

  • raion #21 2 years ago

    It's unfortunate that they dediced to cut content for whatever (real) reason they chose to, but what works me up is the attitude "I'm gonna decide what you're interested in and what you're not". Hello? People that do not resonate well with japanese culture are not going to be interested in this game anyway, moreso if they didn't even play the previous ones.

  • LiamK #22 2 years ago

    "such and such are just lazy" is the new "such and such just want our money".

  • jefranklin18 #23 2 years ago

    Doesn't the Asian edition (as opposed to Japanese one) have the English subtitles anyway? I thought I read that somewhere.

  • aine #24 2 years ago

    @FabricatedLunatic - not exactly. Two recent examples I can think of off the top of my head: Nippon Ichi cut *all* the bonus content from the Western releases of Rhapsody for the DS, despite advertising it on their website, and Atlus cut the mahjong sub-game from Devil Summoner. No publisher is exactly flawless in this regard - at least Sega has actually told people what's missing before release, instead of letting them discover it after they've already parted with their cash.

  • Nadimalam #25 2 years ago

    SEGA is dumbass and a company that is a big FLOP ever since they didnt do SHENMUE 3 and instead focused on crappy 3d sonic games!!

    Not one of their games has even hit AVERAGE.

    SEGA take YAKUZA 3 back to drawing board and release it 3 months later with ENGLISH AUDIO option! If not for Y3 then you atleast better release YAKUZA 4 in english and in good time too. Its also the only way your games will actually sell and make a profit!

    Thinking of bringing Yakuza 3 to west in JAP audio and thinking it will sell is totally DUMBASS by SEGA!!!!!

    I can almost guarantee you SEGA that if Yakuza 3 had english audio it would prove to be a massive hit on ps3 here in the west! Automatically it would have appealed to x5000 of gamers and even non gamers.

  • WinterSnowblind #26 2 years ago

    It's not as simple as delaying the game to add in this content.. Again, they've purposefully translated the game with as small a budget as possible. Delaying it to finish this content (which is of arguable worth) means the guys translating it have to be paid more, when it's clear they don't want to spend anymore money.

    I'm not trying to argue that Sega are right for doing this, only that I can see their point. The game is unlikely to sell well even if this content was there. They're only doing it because of fan demand.. and clearly the fan demand is only strong enough to support the game on a certain budget.

    Boycotting the game isn't going to help, instead show Sega that the game WILL sell and that translating all of it in the future is worthwhile. Like they've been quick to point out.. It was this, or no game at all.

  • FabricatedLunatic #27 2 years ago

    Nippon Ichi cut *all* the bonus content from the Western releases of Rhapsody for the DS, despite advertising it on their website, and Atlus cut the mahjong sub-game from Devil Summoner

    Thanks for bringing that to my attention; obviously I wasn't aware of those instances. It's hard to comment on Rhapsody as I've never been interested in it, but I do own Devil Summoner and that would be disappointing.

    Though if all that Yakuza 3 was missing was its mahjong, I wouldn't be delaying my purchase. Hell, I even understand the removal of AnswerXAnswer. But 4-5 hours worth of content that contributes towards making Yakuza unlike any other game available? That's a different matter entirely.

    of arguable worth

    /kills self

  • Pacman8MyGhostkart #28 2 years ago

    Other than trying to meet fiscal duties couldn't it also be that Sega didn't want to pay more royalties to the AV stars who are digitally represented in Yakuza 3?

    Still, as the mod said, a deeply stupid decision. For God's sake editing out the eccentricity that people who supported the titles enjoyed in the first place.

    Jesus wept.

  • darc #29 2 years ago

    Well, if the game sells decently, they could always come round with DLC for the western market. But I doubt it's going to be a big commercial hit. So disappointing, but also undeniably sensible when you come down to it.

  • mr_shoe_uk #30 2 years ago

    Ah great, so they can use extra time to patch it in later.

    RIGHT?! ?! !?!?!? ?!?! !?!? ?!? ?!

  • Lord_Gremlin #31 2 years ago

    Preorder canceled. Simple as that.

  • KRadiation #32 2 years ago

    People are refusing to buy this game now just because they removed some Japanese history trivia game and a dumb useless club? I do see their point I guess - I mean without those 2 tiny pointless features this game is simply unplayable.

    Freaking idiots....
    Edited by 1 at 25/02/10 @ 17:56

  • Gaol #33 2 years ago

    I'm kinda on the fence on this. On one hand I never much liked the hostess stuff, and won't really miss the embarassing 'try to get her to like you' bits. On the other, it depends how much has been cut and how elegantly. If we now have lots of useless items, and the girls aren't properly introduced for the other events, then it'll feel half-baked or unfinished.

    I don't understand the cost argument either. Was translating these sections really more cost prohibitive than modifying the game code, trophys, tidying up affected sub-missions etc.? Appears from the outside like someone made a proactive decision based on the content, which was the impression given yesterday.

  • hilts #34 2 years ago

    Shame they cut this as this is a niche title here regardless , on the plus side , I guarantee this will be 17.99 on play.com , like bayonetta in no time :)

  • Carroceiro #35 2 years ago

    This game was never going to sell well (if the previous 2 are anything to go by). Now, even the fans aren't buying it. I know I won't and I love Yakuza.

    The hostess thing wasn't all that fun to me, to be honest. It's just that it pisses me off to get a butchered version of a game (at a full-price, to boot).

    It's the principle of it. Just as I refuse to buy abridged books, so I refuse to buy games with content cut.

  • MrSpew #36 2 years ago

    You say the fans aren't buying it..what people say and do are two different things. I'm buying it because I want to play it, and don't care for hostess clubs in a game.

  • reeferchief #37 2 years ago

    Sega need to take this game back to the drawing boards completely, after playing the demo, controls were rubbish and slow, game just felt very last generation to me in terms of characture animation and movement. Why bother when so many great games are coming out and this feels half arsed and dated?

  • firefly #38 2 years ago

    To be honest the existence of the series had more-or-less passed me by until now.
    With good word of mouth it may have been a title I'd have picked up. The decision to go with JP audio is something I applaud, but as others have said the whole "well you're not really interested in that anyway" attitude kind of grates. It's like Square-Enix's attitude towards JP audio in Final Fantasy XIII.