Random Person's Tumblr says anonymous Sega Rep says Yakuza 5 is never happening

This is thoroughly upsetting. I am a massive fan and own all the games, including the Japanese version of Yakuza 5 and the HD Remakes.

...Wonder if there is any hope for the SONY 3rd party production team to localize it.
 
SwiftDeath said:
So how do they measure fanbase?

What metrics do they collect for it?
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They released a bunch of games of this franchise in the west. They see the sales numbers. So yeah, maybe they have to make a choice some people might not like, but it sure beats losing money on a localisation, marketing and staff time. Wise decision in my eyes, series never really became the household name in the west as it is in Japan. It's a budget franchise in the west at best.
 
Is it really that expensive to just add subtitles and translate menus?

I don't know anything about the costs, but I don't see how a small team translating a game to English could really cost that much.
 
Pyscho_Mantis said:
And yet theres a fanbase for shit like this:

tumblr_mb5i3d4vkA1r6u8v3o1_400.gif


Fuck SEGA.
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That hasn't bombed yet. Yakuza has bombed multiple times. They tried going sub only, going digital, etc.

CambriaRising said:
What are you even saying? Are you implying that people who like Yakuza don't buy Yakuza games?
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Or that there isn't enough of buying fanbase.
 
Can't say I would have purchased it, love the games but same reason I missed part 2. I had moved on the ps3, no interest in a ps2 game. Now at best I hope we see a port to ps4, maybe dl only I would grab it in a heart beat.
 
I don't mean this as a slight in any way (to the staff or fans) but it always amazed me that the Yakuza games got so many localized entries. They must be massive undertakings for the teams who bring them over and they seem like very, very, very niche titles.

I dabbled in the 1st game for PS2 and was really into how truly SEGA the entire game felt.

Hopefully avenues such as KS can be used to help this one see the light of day outside of Japan.
 
poopninjamvc3mk said:
What is this statement from? 2008?

The last few sonic games have been excellent and are actually bringing in sales for SEGA.
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Even the crap ones are. Sonic and crews games , TV shows and merchandise do well. I do not see why people are bring up sonic and MIku in a conversation, like yakuza sells anywhere near those media franchises.
 
Einbroch said:
Is it really that expensive to just add subtitles and translate menus?

I don't know anything about the costs, but I don't see how a small team translating a game to English could really cost that much.
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This is what drives me nuts, there are plenty of games where they state localization costs, well don't hire english voice actors, don't localize weird Japanese works, just translate the menus and do subtitles. I bet the costs would be dramatically lower.
 
LuchaShaq said:
This is what drives me nuts, there are plenty of games where they state localization costs, well don't hire english voice actors, don't localize weird Japanese works, just translate the menus and do subtitles. I bet the costs would be dramatically lower.
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Not to mention this game takes place in Japan, right? Just adding subtitles makes it more authentic than English VA. The fanbase for these games isn't going to grow. It's a small, but very dedicated community that will purchase the game without voicework and would actually probably appreciate it more.

But what do I know.
 
Ziltoid said:
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.
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The HD edition of Yakuza 1 & 2 would be a great place for newcomers to start with the series...but of course it wasn't localized despite the English translation being done already for the PS2 releases.
 
LuchaShaq said:
This is what drives me nuts, there are plenty of games where they state localization costs, well don't hire english voice actors, don't localize weird Japanese works, just translate the menus and do subtitles. I bet the costs would be dramatically lower.
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Every Yakuza since 2 has been menus and subtitles only.

There is just a shit ton of text.
 
Typical japan, keeping the best game of the franchise for themselves. It happened with Front Mission 5, Seiken Densetsu 3 and Dragon Force 2.
 
Guess I'll just officially sell my PS3 then. I was keeping it mostly because of Yakuza, now that I'll never finish the series I don't even care anymore.
 
fvng said:
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.
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I barely saw anything on Binary Domain, apart from a (very) few trailers... though I'm thinking using it to our advantage, Yakuza Fan had this image out for a while:

562281_483365031718403_1711511297_n.jpg


Problem? I never really saw it tagged/forwarded to SEGA (like they started with Miku), I say turn the tables on them, forward it to them on FB/Twitter and maybe even @giocorsi...show them what a "few fans" can do.

that and I wish the Galian Liberation Front would do something similiar with VC3.
 
Fucking sucks, hey at least I'm learning Japanese now in college. So I'll be able to play it in a few years when it's in a bargain bin in Akihabara for $10.00
 
Why not do what Ghostlight did with Devil Survivor 2?
Allow us to pre-order and then look at the numbers and make a decision.
Talk to us damn it! At least give us a chance.
 
LuchaShaq said:
This is what drives me nuts, there are plenty of games where they state localization costs, well don't hire english voice actors, don't localize weird Japanese works, just translate the menus and do subtitles. I bet the costs would be dramatically lower.
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Exactly, translations + digital, people aren't asking for more. If we can get otome adventures for the PSP why can't we get a series like Yakuza 5 through digital distribution? There are no excuses.
 
chaostrophy said:
The HD edition of Yakuza 1 & 2 would be a great place for newcomers to start with the series...but of course it wasn't localized despite the English translation being done already for the PS2 releases.
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I think it's more the fact that many people don't want to play trough all the games. I've been a fan since I played the first one in 2006, but I don't really think I'd bother to get into the series at this point.
 
Tohsaka said:
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.
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The big companies are terrible. I can't believe Nintendo is the one that's progressive in this with the two lesser known Operation Rainfall games.
 
This series was doomed from the start. I blame game "journalists" and their stupid comparisons of the game to GTA.
 
LuchaShaq said:
This is what drives me nuts, there are plenty of games where they state localization costs, well don't hire english voice actors, don't localize weird Japanese works, just translate the menus and do subtitles. I bet the costs would be dramatically lower.
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To be fair, the games aren't dubbed in English anyway.
 
What these companies should start doing is working together with a very small team of translators. Get rid of region locks, have an English subtitle option in the Japanese game, and allow people to import it. Don't need full localization, just English text.
 
Dragon1893 said:
Why not do what Ghostlight did with Devil Survivor 2?
Allow us to pre-order and then look at the numbers and make a decision.
Talk to us damn it! At least give us a chance.
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Favorite idea so far.

This in conjunction with a PS+ release of Y3 or Y4 would be a good way to increases awareness.
 
Really sucks since Sammy bought Sega, Sega hasn't done anything. Yakuza and publishing Total War has been about it really. Sega should take a page from Atlus or Xseed, and sell the game to the market who wants to buy it. Hell make it a DD only game. DD only sucks, but if that's what it takes, then I'd be fine with that.
 
casmith07 said:
What these companies should start doing is working together with a very small team of translators. Get rid of region locks, have an English subtitle option in the Japanese game, and allow people to import it. Don't need full localization, just English text.
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At that point, they might as well go the anime route and sell it for the 80 bucks or whatever it goes for there. Or, if Sony would get off its ass and remove region locks on their online store, just let you pay in Yen with an American credit card.
 
Pyscho_Mantis said:
The Miku game fanbase is bigger than the Yakuza west fanbase? A crowd at a gaming expo doesn't mean much.
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Well: http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/05/10/toyotas-new-u-s-saleswoman-virtual-idol-hatsune-miku/

Wall Street Journal said:
Toyota Motor Corp. debuted a new U.S. ad campaign for the 2011 Corolla to rev up customer interest with a new, eye-catching pitchwoman: a virtual Japanese pop idol. The Japanese auto maker teamed up with Hatsune Miku, a busty pop princess with ankle-length aqua-colored pigtails, in its latest promotional push for the Corolla. It is the first time the auto maker has employed the services of a digital avatar to sell a car.
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So Miku had a North American ad campaign used to advertise the 5th best selling car in the US.
 
I really don't think any of the Yakuza games did well in the west, with the zombie game being a bomb of epic proportions.

There really aren't many people in this country who care about this franchise. I am one of them, but I can understand why Sega is done trying to sell it here.
 
I feel if Yakuza was published here by Atlus the series would get to so much more instant exposure to a market who Japanesee games.
 
It's a niche series that Sega has surprisingly localized numerous entries for America. I hate the current penny pinching and largely creatively bankrupt Sega as much as anyone, but I don't blame them for this, just an unfortunate business decision for a company that can't take risks anymore.

And some people want nintendo to go third party, lol.
 
Localization takes a long time and can be expensive. The fan base in the West is loyal and vocal but small. Sales have not come anywhere close to those in Asia. I dunno if a big name company like Sega would ever consider kickstarter for any project, even one that might benefit like this.

I don't blame Sega either, as they certainly tried in the past....
 
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