Next Yakuza Title in Development

Gematsu reports that a recent Famitsu article reveals the development of the next Yakuza title to the public. Series director Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Masayoshi Yakayama spoke about the next game in an interview with the magazine. Details are scant as of this article’s writing, but apparently the interview mentions auditions for the game’s hostesses. Whether this title is a mainline entry or a spinoff, this next game could mark the Yakuza series’ departure from the PS3, even if major titles like Persona 5 are yet to be released. What sort of Yakuza game do you want to see, and where do you think it will end up?

It bears repeating that the Yakuza franchise is sorely absent in the West, with both Yakuza 5 and Yakuza: Ishin remaining unlocalized.

edit: As an aside, It should also be noted that Yakuza 5’s localization was foregone in favor of focusing internal resources on Yakuza: Ishin. Toshihiro Nagoshi has gone on record several times saying that the script for Yakuza 5 is significantly large in comparison to previous Yakuza titles. Ishin’s development was public knowledge a few months after the fifth title came out; if the localization was to be handled in-house and by select Yakuza team developers in Japan, there would be conflict. Some fans noted that localization rumors for the third game only began to circulate six months after that game was released in Japan, giving some merit to the idea of waiting out an announcement.  With more than a year since 5’s release in Japan, and with a possible sixth entry in development, if Sega does indeed prefer to handle localizations in-house the West risks falling further and further behind on Yakuza titles.