Random Person's Tumblr says anonymous Sega Rep says Yakuza 5 is never happening
- Thread starter fvng
- Start date
It's not just Sega, unfortunately. Namco refuses to let other companies localize the Tales games they don't see fit to bring over themselves. It's like they'd rather make literally no money at all in the west than let another high quality publisher do it and get some profits.
fvng
Member
You can't be serious. Incompetent in what respect?
Incompetence and unwillingness are two entirely different things and they are financially justified on passing on a western release given western sales data.
it costs more money to develop for more platforms. since the game is already only really popular in Japan, the extra 2 xbox copies they would have sold probably wouldn't have offset the additional development costs.
Miku has a large world wide fanbase.
I do not know what else to tell you , are people buying out tickets to Yakuza concerts. OH wait those don't exist.
Azure Phoenix
Member
And to think a while ago I said that Sega seemed to rapidly be improving as a publisher. First they fuck everyone over with Phantasy Star Online 2 and now they refuse to localise this.
To be honest I'm sick of them at this point, they have so many amazing IPs that are not being used and still a number of great games coming out, yet in the West they may as well not exist any more as a publisher because pretty much everything but Football Manager is now too much of a risk for them to bother with.
Yeah, Dead Souls probably sold like stinking garbage, but it deserved to sell poorly because it is garbage. Well whatever, this just means I can finally get on and import the game, far less than ideal but at least I don't have to cling on for the tiny hope that Sega have any interest in publishing their own games any more.
Whoa now, let's not start hating on Miku. Yakuza has a far smaller worldwide fanbase than Hatsune Miku, plus Project Diva f required almost no translation work at all - just a few menus. The question up until now has been why exactly Sega waited this long to bring a Miku game over, not why they did.
To be honest I'm sick of them at this point, they have so many amazing IPs that are not being used and still a number of great games coming out, yet in the West they may as well not exist any more as a publisher because pretty much everything but Football Manager is now too much of a risk for them to bother with.
Yeah, Dead Souls probably sold like stinking garbage, but it deserved to sell poorly because it is garbage. Well whatever, this just means I can finally get on and import the game, far less than ideal but at least I don't have to cling on for the tiny hope that Sega have any interest in publishing their own games any more.
And yet theres a fanbase for shit like this:
Fuck SEGA.
Whoa now, let's not start hating on Miku. Yakuza has a far smaller worldwide fanbase than Hatsune Miku, plus Project Diva f required almost no translation work at all - just a few menus. The question up until now has been why exactly Sega waited this long to bring a Miku game over, not why they did.
Ragingnight
Member
you don't even need to mention the concerts. Just look at the dominos and toyota partnership. Look at the the merchandise being sold.
They expect the game to sell without even trying to raise awareness about its existence.
And they basically took Dead Souls as a meter of the interest in the game in the west.
They should just let another publisher manage the series.
SpikedGunner
Member
and I bought Miku to support nothing, thanks a lot there SEGA...pretty sure Ruby will avoid this as well.
and after everything, including the Operation Rainfall poll...you know, what? I'm just going to say it: FUCK YOU SEGA.
Punishing us for not buying Dead Souls? bullshit.
and after everything, including the Operation Rainfall poll...you know, what? I'm just going to say it: FUCK YOU SEGA.
Punishing us for not buying Dead Souls? bullshit.
fvng
Member
This presumes a 360 port would only see a Japanese release.
are you guys seriously so clueless that you think a higher number of unit sales = more profit? the game had literally >100x the cost of a localisation
Anticitizen One
Banned
Localize Shenmue 3 instead
YuriLowell
Member
I have bought every single Yakuza game on day 1, full price.
I am not part of the problem.
I am not part of the problem.
ThoughtsOfSpeaking
Banned
If you truly believe the problem with yakuza is sales "lost" due to the used market, I have a bridge to sell you.
Dont believe me? Ring up your local gamestop and ask how many used copies they have of dead souls. For the used market to be a problem, the game has to actual sell in the first place.
fvng
Member
No they look at historical sales data for the entire series, and the sales decreased with each release. That's not incompetence since the previous localizations are evidence they are more than competent in localizations.
I don't think any fan would ever even touch an english dubbed Yakuza.
Not surprised in the least.
General consensus is that Rosetta Stone is pretty much useless for Japanese.
poopninjamvc3mk
I sucked six dicks to get this tag.
Damn no yakuza black panther on psp localized and no Yakuza 5 localised...
INFINITE SADNESS.
INFINITE SADNESS.
I can understand the anger but please stop shitting on another game just because of this news. It makes the Yakuza fanbase as a whole look immature.
Instead, use your anger and turn it into something positive. Tweet @Sega, @giocorsi, make a petition, e-mail Sega, etc.
It may or may not be too late for Yakuza 5 but we can always bounce back and possibly get a future Yakuza game (like Ishin) localized.
As disappointing as this news is, this just gives us all the more reason to make some noise directed at Sega and not at a unrelated game series that happens to come from the same publisher.
Instead, use your anger and turn it into something positive. Tweet @Sega, @giocorsi, make a petition, e-mail Sega, etc.
It may or may not be too late for Yakuza 5 but we can always bounce back and possibly get a future Yakuza game (like Ishin) localized.
As disappointing as this news is, this just gives us all the more reason to make some noise directed at Sega and not at a unrelated game series that happens to come from the same publisher.
I'm not talking about incompetence in localizations, I'm talking about mismanagement of the series in the west. They just throw it on the market hoping it magically starts selling by itself.
YuriLowell
Member
Yakuza 2 was released late in the ps2 cycle at a budget price.
Yakuza 3 had a ton of content cut out and some people didn't buy it solely because of that reason.
I'm not quite sure what happened to Yakuza 4.
Dead Souls...well its Dead Souls.
StarCreator
Member
Uh, yes? How is it not?
Waldo Lydecker
Member
If they worry about sales they just have to release a Yakuza collection on Xbox and PS3 like Kojima did with Metal Gear. Just don't price it that high and don't bother dubbing the whole bundle, just translate it instead.
I never understood why they are always so busy with dubbing these games while a lot of players of Japanese games prefer their games (like their anime) in original Japanese voices.
I never understood why they are always so busy with dubbing these games while a lot of players of Japanese games prefer their games (like their anime) in original Japanese voices.
Yakuza is not even dubbed, everything except the first game is subs only.
Mainly because mainstream consumers don't, and catering to enthusiasts alone typically isn't enough to make bringing over such games profitable.
fvng
Member
Sega has never had the budget for a proper marketing campaign. Think of Sega as a niche publisher because that's where they're at now.
They rely mainly on social media to advertise games. Just look at Binary Domain, Bayonetta, VC, etc.
Sega isn't pulling in enough cash to launch full scale marketing campaigns.
SpikedGunner
Member
Localization takes time and money, it's not just translating text, it includes flow/comprehension and any graphical/programming changes.
lol if they were making a profit on localizing the Yakuza games they wouldn't have stopped. What's the point of maintaining the western Yakuza fan base when they are not even big enough to support the game?
Also Aliens was a good game to fund and it was looking amazing at first the fact that gearbox screwed them over is different. Even as terrible as Aliens was as another poster said it still sold more than Yakuza although still probably a massive loss.
YuriLowell
Member
Last I checked Sega had plenty of capital due to Sammy.
mrmickfran
Member
Why are so many people shitting on Miku-chan? 
This!
I do not know about what it is with blue things and sega, put people seem to severely under estimate their popularity
Haha, not Sega of America, I assure you.
Yakuza always was a niche and story heavy series, so it will probably get more and more difficult for newcomers to get into the series with each new game, thus they will sell less and less.
As much as I like the series I think it might be time to end it and focus on a new IP instead. Refine the mechanics and start from scratch with new characters and a new story.
As much as I like the series I think it might be time to end it and focus on a new IP instead. Refine the mechanics and start from scratch with new characters and a new story.
If we actually get a decent campaign to show support for it then maybe something could happen. Organize this and maybe something can be done.
Can't Sega kickstart localization or something? Limited copies? I've bought the majority of the games at launch to try and support it here in the West. I even liked Dead Souls for the most part but I'd really love 5 to come over.
Can't Sega kickstart localization or something? Limited copies? I've bought the majority of the games at launch to try and support it here in the West. I even liked Dead Souls for the most part but I'd really love 5 to come over.
Well, you know, they could try using the internet just like they're doing now with Miku.
SchleimanTank
Member
Nooooo!
RAGE.
;_;
RAGE.
;_;
fvng
Member
Ok we are venturing into armchair CFO territory
I just said they use social media to spread game awareness. They did so for all the aforementioned games.
Interest was lacking.
The sad thing is, I'm sure it could sell alright honestly. The issue is there's just no awareness what so ever. Course you aren't going to sell the game if no one outside your already niche fanbase knows it even exists.
Dead Souls really didn't help the matter. Releasing a spin-off(Spin-off's ALWAYS sell less than the main series) for a game which already has a small fanbase? Madness.
Dead Souls really didn't help the matter. Releasing a spin-off(Spin-off's ALWAYS sell less than the main series) for a game which already has a small fanbase? Madness.
poopninjamvc3mk
I sucked six dicks to get this tag.
What is this statement from? 2008?
The last few sonic games have been excellent and are actually bringing in sales for SEGA.