SEGA of America and Europe have announced that Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will be releasing on March 20th, 2018 in the Americas and Europe for PS4. They also announced that, aside from a regular launch edition, the game will also be getting a premium “After Hours” edition:
SEGA of America have uploaded a new gameplay trailer for Yakuza Kiwami, showing both the game’s combat system and a range of mini-games Kiryu can participate in. You can view the new trailer below. SEGA have also released a third comic on their Yakuza Experience website.
A recent issue of Weekly Famitsu featured the results of a poll where they asked their readers to vote for their favorite games in a certain category. In the Simulation (Strategy) genre, the original Sakura Wars managed to take the top spot, ahead of the likes of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. The original Valkyria Chronicles finished in a respectable 4th place as well. The complete top 20 Simulation games list can be found here.
In an earlier Weekly Famitsu issue, SEGA’s Yakuza 0 also took the top spot in the action-adventure genre, ahead of Shenmue and Breath of the Wild, The complete top 20 list is listed here.
Yakuza 0 has been turning a lot of heads in gaming media, and SEGA of America have now released an accolades trailer that gives us an overview of what various reviewers thought about the game. It makes for another entertaining Yakuza 0 trailer, and you can watch the end result below!
Sega has released Yakuza 0 on the PlayStation 4 today in both physical and digital formats in the Americas and Europe. In the Americas, pre-orders and first run copies of Yakuza 0 consist of “The Business” Launch Edition, which includes a business card holder decorated with the tattoo designs of the game’s protagonists, bi-lingual replicas of their actual in-game business cards, and a special Hostess card. Sega have also launched English social media accounts for the Yakuza franchise, which you can view here:
SEGA of America has released a new trailer to promote the Yakuza 0: Business Edition release. All pre-orders and first print copies of the game in the Americas will consist of this Business Edition, which includes the game itself, a business card holder decorated with the tattoo designs of the game’s protagonists, bi-lingual replicas of their in-game business cards, and a special Hostess card. Sadly the video also confirms the Business Edition won’t be released in Europe.
A new post to the Japanese official SEGA website celebrates the 500k shipment mark being crossed for Yakuza 6 with regards to sales in the Japan and Asia region. This sales figure total covers both physical and digital sales, and is especially noteworthy since it has only been one week since the game’s wide release. It should also be said that, considering the prevalence of mobile gaming (particularly so in Japan), seeing the continued endurance of the Yakuza series is remarkable.
The above-linked post also mentions in its first paragraph that sales for the Yakuza franchise has crossed 9 million worldwide. What with the boom in Yakuza series localizations, we can hope to boost that number even further ourselves. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will release in the West in 2018, and Yakuza Kiwami will release in the summer of 2017.
It’s unfortunate that Yakuza 6 did not release earlier in the year, as it would have qualified for a Gold Prize. The more accolades, the merrier!
A new trailer for Yakuza 0 demonstrates the different fighting styles used by the main characters Kiryu and Majima. Both have three unique fighting styles. Kiryu’s “Brawler” style is a balanced mix of light and heavy attacks, while “Rush” focuses on delivering relentless consecutive attacks. On the other hand, the “Beast” style relies on raw strength to take down opponents. Kiryu can also use items from the streets (like bikes and signs) as a weapon to attack his enemies.
Every year, Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan and Asia conducts an award ceremony that honors games of particular commercial success released on PlayStation. Last year, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Yakuza 5 received distinction.
This year’s winners have been announced, and SEGA games are well-represented!
The new Media Create sales results are in, and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has topped the video game sales chart in Japan its first week by selling a total of 218,168 copies. It’s a low sales number for the PlayStation 4 exclusive game if we compare it to previous entries in the series, but one has to note that console sales in Japan have been on the decline for a while now. Back in 2012, Yakuza 5 sold 356,757 copies in its first week on the PlayStation 3.