Ryu ga Gotoku 5 (Yakuza 5) demo available for download on Japanese PSN

A demo for Ryu ga Gotoku 5 (Yakuza 5 in English speaking regions) is featured on the Japanese PlayStation Network on the PlayStation 3 console. In the demo, players will take control of Kazuma Kiryu and can test out new additions and tweaks to the games mechanics, such as the overhauled battle system and the new taxi segments. Please note that the demo takes up a total space of 1456 MB of the PlayStation 3′s hard drive.

A continuation of SEGA’s epic action role playing franchise, Ryu ga Gotoku 5 takes place across five different massive locations along with five playable characters in the most expansive game the series has seen to date. The title will be available in Japan later this week and although it has no announcement of a release in other territories at this time, anyone will be able to download the demo with a Japanese PlayStation Network account.

SEGA Tokyo Game Show 2012 Roundup

Compared to last year, SEGA’s showing at Tokyo Game Show (TGS for short) was hugely gimped by lack of multiplatform titles, something the publisher is greatly known for. A general shift in focus towards touch-based platforms is apparent with not just SEGA, but the entirety of the event across all publishers.

That said, SEGA has still revealed and demonstrated several titles, although as always it is unclear how many of these will receive English language releases.

After the break we have compiled a list of every title involving SEGA at the event.

Ryu ga Gotoku 5 fully detailed

(Screenshot from Yakuza 3, not 5)

The Japanese video game magazine Famitsu has revealed the full details on the upcoming Ryu ga Gotoku 5 (known as the Yakuza series in English-speaking regions). As expected, the game is going to be developed on a new engine and several of the concepts from earlier games have been been improved or altered.

The major news is that five characters are playable this time; Fan favorites Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama and Taiga Saejima all return from Ryu ga Gotoku 4/Yakuza 4, whilst retired baseball star Tatsuo Shinada and series veteran Haruka Sawamura becomes playable for the first time. Not only is Haruka the first playable female in the franchise, Famitsu reports that she is the main character (!).

The scale of the game is said to be one of SEGA’s most ambitious in years, with the game being over twice the size of previous games and the development time of this newest game being longer than any game in the franchise before it. With this, changes to how the game progresses from adventure segments to battles are said to be largely improved and increased in size. The controls are also said to be receiving a major overhaul.

The title’s original announcement confirmed the use of five major cities based on actual Japanese locations (Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Osaka), but the latest information explains how they will connect with the five playable characters.

Ryu ga Gotoku 5: Yume Kanaeshi Mono (Which roughly translates to ‘As Though A Dragon 5: Those Who Fulfill Dreams’) is planned for a December release this year exclusively on PlayStation 3. No discussion of a potential English Yakuza 5 is expected for quite some time.

[Source: Gematsu]

Yakuza: Dead Souls Review

Date Released: 13 March, 2012
Date Reviewed: 8 May, 2012
Players: 1 main game, 2 in select side games
Length: 40+ hours
Replayability: High

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Introduction

Yakuza: Dead Souls is the latest entry in the Yakuza franchise to be released outside of Japan. Rather than being a direct sequel to the last entry, Yakuza 4, it instead goes for a hypothetical story-line that acts as a non-canonical spin-off title, focusing on a zombie outbreak in the well known locality of Kamurocho, in Tokyo, Japan. Abandoning the beat em’ up style the franchise is known for, Dead Souls instead opts to create a 3D, third person action game focused on gun mechanics, akin to classic video games such as Zombies Ate My Neighbours, although with the aesthetics of the Yakuza franchise. The same game structure the series is known for is also present with its action story segments, its missions, and its open world full of shops and attractions. Created by the same developers in SEGA of Japan as always (ie: ‘Yakuza Team’), Yakuza: Dead Souls comes off as an experiment, seeking to provide a combination of horror comedy, zombies, and SEGA’s take on Yakuza in one title.

Personal View: SEGA’s March 2012 layoffs – A nail in the coffin or the makings of a bright future?

Last week, news from SEGA of America broke that saw numerous members of staff fired, games canceled and a general downsizing of the entire branch of SEGA of America. Initially, rumors ran rampant and confused a large amount of fans across the globe, the worst of which was that the entire United States branch of SEGA had completely shut down, which of course is not the case.

Immediate reconstruction has taken place going into their new fiscal year. They expect a net loss of ¥7.1 billion ($86.4 million) as part of the reform and news of this dropped their entire company’s stock 4%. However, the day after their stock rose 5% and is showing signs of continual growth.

After the break I discuss the potential cancellations, their effects, observe the negatives and positives of the change and attempt to discover if SEGA truly is in trouble or if the downsizing is the start of a brilliant strategy. The rest of the post should be taken as speculation from a dedicated fan of the company and game industry as a whole and not as a financial advisor.

Out of respect of those whom lost their jobs, any subjects around them will not be mentioned at all.

Free Japanese Binary Domain DLC of Yakuza characters works in all regions on Xbox 360

Free multiplayer downloadable content for Binary Domain was released on the Xbox 360′s Xbox Live Marketplace in Japan today. This content is accessible to all accounts on the system and works with all versions of the game, regardless of the player’s region.

This download will allow players to use three of the Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan) characters in the multiplayer modes from the normally PlayStation-centric series. It includes Goro Majima as the ‘Crusher’ class with a shotgun, Shun Akiyama as the ‘Gunner’ with a submachine gun, and Ryuji Goda is the ‘Defender’ with a heavy machinegun. Kazuma Kiryu is notably absent as he was a pre-order extra in Japan.

To download the data, players will need a Japanese Xbox Live Gamertag. There are many guides available online with how those from different regions can create an account. The single file is a surprisingly small 22mb and works in the game as soon as the download finishes. Here is a link to the download to queque the content onto your account.

Currently we are unaware if the PlayStation 3 version will allow players to access this without a Japanese copy of the game, but we will update when we find out. SEGA West has not commented on if anyone outside of Japan will be able to obtain this content, but we have contacted them on the subject.

UPDATE: The downloadable content does not work in all regions for the PlayStation 3 version. Thanks to George from SEGAbits for checking on it.

Yakuza: Dead Souls Now Available in North America

Yakuza: Dead Souls, an action-horror spin-off of the critically acclaimed Yakuza franchise, is now available in North America. Taking place during a zombie outbreak after the events of Yakuza 4, Dead Souls sees the series main cast fighting for their lives against ravenous hordes of the undead. In addition to revealing a launch trailer to accompany this release, SEGA has also released a remixed version of the game’s title theme for free on their blog. It was released in Japan in June of last year and will be released will be released in PAL television territories on March 16th.

Source: SEGA Blog

Hit the jump to check out the launch trailer.

English Binary Domain demo released, more Yakuza characters revealed as free DLC

The English language demo for the upcoming Binary Domain has finally been added to the Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 and PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 today to North American, European and Australian members of their services. The demonstration is somewhat shorter than the Japanese language demo released earlier this month, but has largely the same content.

Additionally, the Japanese versions of the title will receive free downloadable content (DLC for short) of the remaining playable characters from the upcoming Yakuza: Dead Souls whereas Kazuma Kiryu, the star of the franchise was offered previously as a pre-order incentive. Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms will support this content, which is unique considering the Yakuza game franchise (known as Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan) has only previously been available on PlayStation brand video game consoles prior. These downloadable characters have not been revealed for release outside of Japan, but typically this type of content is easy to move from one account to another. Regardless, we have contacted SEGA on this and will update this post accordingly.

Binary Domain was released just yesterday in Japan and will recieve a worldwide release on February 28th. After the break is the latest trailer for the game.

First details for Yakuza 5 revealed

The first major details behind Yakuza 5 (or Ryu ga Gotoku 5 as it is known in Japan) have been revealed by SEGA through Famitsu, the most well known videogame publication in Japan. A poll was held to see which location in Japan fans would like to see in the title, but every location was revealed to be included, certainly the biggest surprise for fans of the series.

Some new details on Yakuza 5 include:

» – Kazuma Kiryu will be in the game, the producer said the main series is largely about him.

» – It will be a direct sequel to Yakuza 4.
» – It will be exclusive to the Sony PlayStation 3 again.
» – The five new locations will be the same size or larger than all previous maps, Okinawa in Yakuza 3 is cited as an example.
» – Instead of hosting live competitions for real women to be hostesses in the game, SEGA will travel to the actual locations to find whom they believe should be included. They will also appear in commercials for the title.
» – Using techniques learned from the upcoming Binary Domain, the game will feature faster load times, better camera controls and character expressions.
» – Battles and conversations will now be seamlessly integrated with one another.

No word on if the game will receive a large playable cast like the past few previous titles in the series have had. No date is currently know either, making a 2012 release seem unlikely. This could ultimately mean English language fans may have to wait until 2014, but that is only speculation for now and should be taken as such.

[Source: Famitsu via SEGAbits]

Featured Video: Goro Majima Karaoke

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