Super Monkey Ball creator promoted in Sega reshuffle
Sphere of influence grows.
Super Monkey Ball mastermind Toshihiro Nagoshi has been promoted to Chief Creative Officer, Sega has announced.
Yakuza 3 News
Sega creates Yakuza Studio.
Sega has announced the development of Yakuza 5 and the formation of Yakuza Studio.
Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi heads up the new team. According to Japanese magazine Famitsu (translated by Andriasang), Yakuza Studio is not a Yakuza-exclusive developer, despite its name. In fact, its first game is Binary Domain.
Following that game's launch, Yakuza Studio will create Yakuza Black Panther 2 for PlayStation Portable, the sequel to the PSP spin-off. In Japan it launches in spring 2012.
Yakuza series ships 5 million globally
Yakuza Of the End does 400k in 2 weeks.
Five million Yakuza games have been shipped globally, Sega has announced.
SEGA apologises for Yakuza 3 cuts
"I feel sorry for the fans" - producer.
Yakuza 3 producer Masayoshi Kikuchi has apologised for the cuts made to the Western version of the game.
Yes, another one.
There's yet another Yakuza game in the works, series director Toshihiro Nagoshi has confirmed.
According to Japanese mag Famitsu (translated by Andriasang), the new game has been in development alongside PSP title Black Panther Yakuza Chapter, and will be released on the PS3.
It looks like the fifth main Yakuza game, although Nagoshi refused to officially name it.
Yakuza 3 time constraints forced cuts
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.
Yakuza 3 has been edited for West
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.
SEGA inks Yakuza 3 special edition plans
Transfer tattoos sadly not part of the deal.
SEGA's revealed the various special edition bonuses planned for the European release of Yakuza 3 on 12th March.
Yakuza 3 gets March date for Europe
Tattoo this one in your diary.
SEGA's stamped a 12th March date on the European version of Yakuza 3.
Yakuza 3 dated for all the West
March 2010 for US, Europe, Australia.
SEGA has decided to bring Yakuza 3 to Western markets in March next year. The tricksy publisher told us earlier this year there were "no plans" for such a move.
Yakuza 3 won't go west, says SEGA
US launch ruled out, "no plans" for Europe.
The third instalment in the Yakuza series isn't going to make it outside of Japan, by the looks of things.
PS3 outsells Wii during March in Japan
Yakuza 3, Resident Evil 5 to blame.
Yakuza 3 and Resident Evil 5 helped the PlayStation 3 outsell the Wii in Japan during March for the first time in 16 months.
Sony's flagship console notched up 146,948 sales while Nintendo's premier platform managed 99,335 sales, according to Enterbrain figures posted on Reuters. Behind, but not embarrassingly so, was Microsoft's Xbox 360 with 43,172 sales.
The aforementioned games - Yakuza 3 and Resident Evil 5 - take home first and second place, respectively, in the software stakes. The other key titles are not disclosed.
You can download it too if you're tricksy.
A demo for Yakuza 3 is due to go live on the Japanese PlayStation Store today.