Comment # 1

Nope. Not buying a censored version.

Posted by Velsper on February 24th, 2010 at 11:06 am

Comment # 3

You guys better put the hostesses back into the game or I’m not buying it.

Posted by blizzardjesus on February 24th, 2010 at 11:17 am

Comment # 5

DONT REMOVE THE GOD DAMN HOSTESS BARS

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?

ARE
YOU
OUT
OF
YOUR
GOD
DAMN
MINDS?

I AM NOT BUYING THIS GAME WITHOUT HOSTESS BARS

YOU HAVE ALSO CRIPPLED CURRENCY IN THE GAME BECAUSE ITEMS YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BUY HOSTESS WOMEN ARE USELESS

HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE

Posted by YOU IDIOTS on February 24th, 2010 at 11:27 am

Comment # 7

Isn’t the idea of bringing Yakuza 3 overseas partly to share Japanese culture?

I loved the hostess part in the demo, but now I’m waiting to get this at a cheaper price. I don’t support cut content unless it originally didn’t flow with the game’s pacing.

Posted by Ohsoroful on February 24th, 2010 at 11:29 am

Comment # 9

I advise Sega to read some gaming news sites while there’s still time:
http://kotaku.com/5478862/sega-you-are-once-again-making-a-giant-mistake
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/107/1071367p1.html
http://www.destructoid.com/yakuza-3-hostess-bars-cut-out-of-western-version–164765.phtml

Read the comments particularly. My guess is that you managed alienate 30-60% of the potential sales with this decision, so good going there Sega. It’s like you don’t even want us to buy the game.

Posted by Syvere on February 24th, 2010 at 11:30 am

Comment # 11

Please put it back in to stop the whining.

Posted by GTC0 on February 24th, 2010 at 11:35 am

Comment # 13

Will not be buying it. Will wait when it hits the bargain bin. I won’t support content being removed.

Posted by arthas on February 24th, 2010 at 11:37 am

Comment # 15

Free DLC with the cut content later down the road would be great! Cutting it completely stinks especially after playing Y1 and Y2 with no cut content!

Posted by chifanpoe on February 24th, 2010 at 11:40 am

Comment # 17

No hostesses no buy. It’s not that hard to understand Sega. I’m not paying full price for a half game and many other fans too.

Posted by Ryu on February 24th, 2010 at 11:44 am

Comment # 19

At least you finally came out.

If it’s just the Hostess stuff and Quiz. I can deal with that (but I do understand people who are disappointed about this). For example, if Mahjong was removed from this game, that would really piss me off. Not because I wouldn’t be able to play Mahjong (I do that every day, anyway), but because I want the main character, Kazuma Kiryu, to play it. I want him to walk into a shady Mahjong Parlor and be a boss. Some other people might want Kazuma to experience Hostess Clubs.

I might just add that I wouldn’t know to miss Mahjong if it wasn’t part of the earlier games and the original Japanese version. The same way people will miss Hostess Clubs because they have always been a part of the Yakuza game series.

Posted by KKiryu on February 24th, 2010 at 11:46 am

Comment # 21

SEGA, please, please, pleaseeeee give back the hosstess mini-game!!!! i had a lot of fun with this part, even this mini-game doesn’t have anything to do with the main story T_T

This is the last chance, i’m still buy this, so u can translate Yakuza Kenzan and 4 in future. Be sure u not cutting content again with those 2!

Posted by Joe_Musashi on February 24th, 2010 at 11:48 am

Comment # 23

Yeah this is not good Sega, you admit you did wrong. I don’t think many of us really cared for the quiz, but a VERY large part of Yakuza series is based around the hostess clubs. Fact, a large part of the story in Yakuza 1 + 2 is the hostess/host clubs. If it was edited out for nudity or profanity I understand that but then again you left the strip club in it (fail) AND there’s nothing bad in the hostess mode!!

So GO BACK in a meeting and get people to unlock what you locked and capped. I’m assuming you left the data on the disc you just capped it off. Get out and announce that you’re going to fix it at a much later date. Even if it was 2+ months from now you would solve this situation and all of us will buy the game. And it can’t be that much to translate..because it’s all answer and question like the rest of the game!

Flip, fly me out there and i’ll do it. I need a job..

Posted by matt on February 24th, 2010 at 11:50 am

Comment # 25

On one hand I sympathize, I am happy to see Yakuza 3 make it to NA (even if it is incomplete). I also WILL still be buying Yakuza 3. However, a lot of people will not be now. You really should have made this public knowledge months ago; it would have minimized the negative press. Releasing this info two weeks from the time the game hits the shelves was, in my opinion, far from an intelligent decision. However, all is not lost. Commit to DLC in the future and you will minimize the damage this news has caused. Either way you need to make sure to avoid this in the future.

Posted by James on February 24th, 2010 at 11:52 am

Comment # 27

I’ve been a staunch supporter of Yakuza 1 and 2 for the PS2- bought both on launch days, and have talked it up to all my friends. I was extremely excited to hear about the Yakuza 3 making it to the US.

But with this move, I’m canceling my preorder for Yakuza 3. Removing parts of the game is a huge disincentive for me to buy.

I hope you guys realize what you’ve done to alienate your loyal base.

Posted by Will on February 24th, 2010 at 11:53 am

Comment # 29

It’s amazing that SEGA is always complaining the Yakuza games never sell very much in the US but I’m guessing now you’re shooting to make sure it sells at least half of that. Who do you think BUYS Yakuza in the US?? THE FANS! and by cutting the cotent guess who you’ve just alienated?? THE FANS It makes no sense how you guys were talking about all of the real life idols were going to be in the game for the hostess clubs and now you’re taking them OUT??
And who’s idea was it to choose a release date to go against FF XIII AND GoW3? FIRE who made that decision IMMEDIATELY!!

I can’t support such bad practices. Was really looking forward to this game but at this point, I honestly can’t say I’m going to buy it and I’ll definitely recommend my friends to do the same. I’m voting with my wallet. VERY disappointed Sega…

Posted by thundr on February 24th, 2010 at 11:56 am

Comment # 31

I was going to buy a PS3 just to play Yakuza 3, but not anymore. Thanks for saving me $360, Sega.

Posted by Anonymous on February 24th, 2010 at 11:56 am

Comment # 33

This just doesn’t pass the sniff test. It seems that the DLC is being pushed as a superior replacement for the loss of the hostess club. To there point where it sounds like the localization of the game and the DLC precluded localization of the hostess club and history trivia. But wouldn’t it make more financial sense to take some of the time that went into the DLC and use it on including the hostess club, so that Sega could make money on the DLC later?

Regardless, I don’t think anyone’s buying this statement. If it were just the history trivia, I think we could accept that. But this feels like a forced corporate misdirection covering up some sort of internal issues with bringing over the hostess bar.

Oh well, at least

Posted by Chris Privitere on February 24th, 2010 at 11:59 am

Comment # 35

I hope you guys realise how much you have angered your community of fans. Especially by the “remarks” you made like “The parts we ended up taking out were parts that we felt wouldn’t make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn’t resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club),” SEGA told website IGN. This almost sounds like we’re too “dumb” to get the idea of what a hostess club actually is. Most of us have played Yakuza 1 and 2 so we know what they are.

Also if you expect us to pay full price for a product you are cutting things from, give me a break. That type of thing will not go over well here.

Also I think you should take a look at what some of your “fans” are now saying. You are losing a lot of sales by this move. I have cancelled my pre-order and will wait to see if you decide to put this removed content back in as DLC before I even reconsider purchasing it.

http://kotaku.com/5478862/sega-you-are-once-again-making-a-giant-mistake#comments

Posted by Bevvie on February 24th, 2010 at 11:59 am

Comment # 37

“Ultimately, the choice that had to be made was either no Yakuza 3 in the west, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia.”

For myself, I also have to choose whether to pay full price for a year-old INCOMPLETE game, or buying the game when it ends up in the bargain bin.

I was going to support Sega and buy it when it’s released. But now, I am getting it used or when it’s at bargain price.

Don’t say there is no one supporting your products ,Sega. We like the Yakuza franchise but you just made the wrong decision to deliver something incomplete in the hope that we would just live with it.

Posted by JennaN on February 24th, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Comment # 39

I’ll NEVER pay full price for not complete game.

I’m very disappointed with Sega, especially when I look to other publishers like Atlus.

Posted by Hitokiri03 on February 24th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

Comment # 41

Hostess clubs were fully available in the previous two games and were quite fun to boot. Removing these places shrinks the game by a fair amount. Where once there were 8 night life spots, as you put them, in Yakuza 2 there are now only 2 in Yakuza 3? Why even keep that MEB store in the game? The very point of it is to get information on hostesses which, well, you can’t do so now.

As for the the history trivia you could have changed the questions and answers to stuff about the first two Yakuza games. That would’ve been a nice treat for us fans and something for the bandwagon hoppers to scratch their heads over and wish they’d supported the series to begin with. :p

Posted by megamixer on February 24th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Comment # 43

I was very much excited for this game, until I heard about the ‘censorship’ taking place in the US/EU version. In this day and age I find it odd. Sega knows it has a very loyal fanbase and those of us who played the previous games were all on board when the US release was announced. But now again, we see that $ matters over what the fans truly want. I think I will now wait on this purchase, or maybe will find more interesting things to play instead.

Posted by Hiryu on February 24th, 2010 at 12:04 pm

Comment # 45

As everyone else has said, this seems like censorship just for the hell of it. There’s barely any coherent reasoning behind it.

To quote from elsewhere:

“Hey let’s take this game set in Japan starring Japanese people with Japanese lives who speak Japanese with subtitles.

But cut out that part. It’s too Japanese. ”

When did you lose your minds, Sega? When?

Posted by Dominic White on February 24th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

Comment # 47

Pre-order cancelled, thanks for ruining a game I was looking foward to.

Posted by Richard on February 24th, 2010 at 12:12 pm

Comment # 49

I’d also like to point out that if you’re afraid of offending American sensibilities, Dante’s Inferno was just released, and that’s pretty much nothing but a non-stop parade of gore-soaked titties and ass wrapped up in Christian mythology. And if that isn’t shocking people, then hostess clubs sure as well won’t either.

As others have said: No sale.

Posted by Dominic White on February 24th, 2010 at 12:14 pm

Comment # 51

I’ll be canceling my preorder now.
I understand the removal of the quiz games, but hostess clubs are part of what made the yakuza’s series character. For such a niche title you can’t expect to get away with taking away something like that.

Delay the game and put hostess clubs back in or promise DLC later to get them back in, otherwise no preorder and I think lots of preorders feel the same way.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_22do7qTIAKw/SP2Kk4ye-nI/AAAAAAAAJIc/sdESxWr3Iac/s640/DSC04420.JPG

nuff said

Posted by zoglog on February 24th, 2010 at 12:16 pm

Comment # 53

I was dissapointed to hear about these cuts, however Sega this can still be rectified via DLC, please make it happen, even if it’s a month down the road, just look into getting it as DLC for us fans. I will still be buying on day one but I don’t understand why you’d cut out such a fan aspect of the game

Posted by Tee Ryze on February 24th, 2010 at 12:19 pm

Comment # 55

I believe you’re just attempting to do poor damage control and not really giving us reasoning behind the cut. Saying it’s “either no Yakuza 3 in the west, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia” is not giving us reasoning behind it. Is it that black and white?

The trivia cut is understandable. But cutting the hostess bars seems ridiculous. Yakuza fans are familiar with the concept of hostess bars, especially after playing Yakuza 1 and 2.

And SEGA hasn’t commented on other aspects. Your fans have noticed the difference of 5 less trophies than the Japanese version. This has led us to believe that more than hostess bars and trivia were cut. Many fans believe that things like Mahjong, shogi, and massage parlors will not be in the US release. Whether or not they are in the game is something that should really be commented on.

With the release date of Yakuza 3 right around the corner, I understand that the game probably cannot be pushed back. But if you were to make statement about putting hostess clubs back in via DLC, you would remedy the angry fan backlash.

I’m one of the die hard Yakuza fans that will no longer be purchasing this game on day one or at full price. I will wait until I can find it cheap in a bargain bin.

Posted by Paul T on February 24th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

Comment # 57

I was considering buying this but between this and the pre-order DLC it looks like I won’t be buying it any time soon. I’ll consider buying it if the missing content comes in a reasonably priced DLC pack (free is probably unrealistic, though that is what it should be) sometime down the road, but for now? Not buying.

Posted by DeBurgo on February 24th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Comment # 59

The moderator approved my previous post :O

Posted by Hitokiri03 on February 24th, 2010 at 12:23 pm

Comment # 61

The point is not whether you can localize this game or not.. the point is that the fanbase is very small, very dedicated, and has not asked you of anything.

I own Ryugagotoku3, but it’s difficult to play because I don’t understand Japanese.

The file size of the demo is the same as that of the JP version, which means the hostess clubs are still in the game, just inaccessible.

I’m not prepared to pay full price for a game which can now be purchased for $25 USD in Japan, when I know that there’s content on the disc which can never be accessed.

Sega, you should already be aware that people believe the following content is cut:

- “Loser” song
- Mahjong and Shogi (missing trophies from US version)
- Hostess club
- Japanese quiz shows

There were Japanese related questions in Persona 3 and 4, those were both localized.. do you think westerners are too dumb to play a game SET IN JAPAN

WITH JAPANESE PEOPLE

WHO DO JAPANESE RELATED ACTIVITIES

WHO SPEAK JAPANESE?

But no, hostess clubs? Let’s cut that part out. Mahjong? White people are too stupid for mahjong. Sega; this is just silly, this game’s fanbase didn’t even realize the game was being released in English until late last year. What kind of “time restraints” are you really on? Is it going to really matter if you release it now, or a little later? If you release it a little later, with all content, at least the fanbase will be happy.

There’s also another thing I want to address…

Releasing this on the same day as Final Fantasy XIII is not a good idea. If people are going to have to choose, people will choose FF13, that’s just how popularity works in this industry. I think it would be both wise and conservative if you delayed the game to another date and made ABSOLUTELY SURE that the content westerners receive is the same as the content the JP version received.

In any case, I will probably not end up purchasing this in the current state it’s presented in. It would be nice if you can listen to your Yakuza fans and give them the full game.. but I’m not holding out for it.

Thanks for reading.

Posted by Anonymous on February 24th, 2010 at 12:24 pm

Comment # 63

I should also mention that I purchased a PS3 solely due to the Western release of Yakuza 3. To say I am disappointed is an understatement.

Posted by Kakizaki on February 24th, 2010 at 12:25 pm

Comment # 65

By the way guys this isn’t censorship. Its called being very cheap. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they had hired Backbone that did the localization…

Posted by megamixer on February 24th, 2010 at 12:26 pm

Comment # 67

This is a poor excuse, SEGA you really disappoint me, I just canceled my Preorder with Amazon, not going to buy Yakuza 3 until I hear some news that you added all of the content you guys cut out as DLC for free.

Posted by John Woo on February 24th, 2010 at 12:27 pm

Comment # 69

I want to give the moderator who ever this person is kudos for letting us at least vent about it… i’m very suprised. Maybe the moderator actually agrees with us and is just doing his job posting this PR damage.

But still all is NOT LOST.. FIX IT, you can fix it in an hour eve..just make an announcement that you hear the cries of fans and you’re going to fix this at a later date PROBLEM SOLVED.

Thank you.

Posted by matt on February 24th, 2010 at 12:28 pm

Comment # 71

I think at this point the only way Sega has to win back the Yakuza fans is by releasing an English version of Yakuza with EVERYTHING intact. But probably the don’t care.

Posted by Conrad on February 24th, 2010 at 12:33 pm

Comment # 73

btw I hope we have hundreds of people post on here how upsetting this is..

I don’t care about the trophies, I’ll live another day without the quiz.. the massage parlor rumor ticks me off, the mahjong rumor ticks me off because I did play that, shoji game ticks me off..losing the “loser” song irritates me..

but the hostess clubs c’mon!?!! What are you guys doing?? I spent hours working on that section in Yakuza 2!! DUMB. FIX IT.

Posted by matt on February 24th, 2010 at 12:36 pm

Comment # 75

As a customers, I am not buying it and I have a few reasons.

Sega you suck!

1) After 2 years wait of Yakuza 2 many people lost hope to this series already.

2) You charge customers full price for a one year old game.

3) You cut contents off the game and blame not having enough time. (Are you ten year old or what???)

4) You let your loyal customers down by telling them 2 weeks before the release that you gonna get half of the game.

5) Don’t blame us for not buying your product in which you can not satisfy your customers in the first place.

6) Many of your customers are either looking for Hostess Club as one of the main reason buying it ,a full Japanese experience of the game and new customers to the Yakuza series where they hope to get full aspect of the game.

7) Don’t think that we gonna thank you for bringing half of the game after a year of release and expect us to pay full price.

9) If you can not make Yakuza 3 right, should I care about 4. No, if I don’t get 3 there is not point of playing it or even think buying one.

10) For those of you that say why are we complaining or we should thanks Sega for bringing it to the West??

Are you stupid or what, charging us full price for half of the game and expect us not saying a words where you release the news like 2 week before the release. If you are are an american, you know that in the USA you got to speak out so that other will see and know whats the problem.

Posted by you suck on February 24th, 2010 at 12:36 pm

Comment # 77

Just adding my voice to the chorus of people cancelling their preorders on the heels of this news.

I may still get this game, but it won’t be ‘Day One’ and it won’t be without renting it first to see what’s left of the game after they’ve apparently excised half of the minigames.

I certainly won’t be paying full price for a game with cut content. If you had added content to compensate for what you’ve taken out, this might be forgivable, but to simply shortchange people without dropping the price? Shame on you, SEGA. Shame.

Posted by Shadowchasers on February 24th, 2010 at 12:39 pm

Comment # 79

Agreed with the rest. We dont mind waiting longer but we will not buy a neutered version of the game.

I had EB Credit + pre order for this set aside for Day 1. I was looking forward to this game the most out of this quarter. You guys are going to take a sales hit for this

Posted by Munly Leong on February 24th, 2010 at 12:45 pm

Comment # 81

Sorry, lost another sale here aswell with your absurd, nonsensical cuts. Not going to support a neutered version.

Posted by Lone Yakuza on February 24th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

Comment # 83

smart move adam I might have to do that as well if they don’t announce something before the release date. This ruins so much in the game.

One user commented about currency in the game – how true.. took me a while to play yakuza 2 because i was spending mass money and gifts keeping the girls happy in the marietta club mission. now that won’t be the case in Yakuza 3..the game will actually be much easier (which is WORSE..) and the play time will be much shorter in so many ways.

Sega you really screwed this up.

Posted by matt on February 24th, 2010 at 12:49 pm

Comment # 85

Another customer lost right here.

I was really looking forward to this too. I was just about to pre-order it and I never pre-order anything. I guess I should be happy we’re finding out now.

I can handle delays, I can’t handle a gimped out game. If it was between not bringing it to the West and bringing over a gimped out game, it should’ve just been dropped. I may import the original but I’m definitely not buying this.

And that’s a really hack PR job there: you’ll have a hard time getting your customers more angry than this.

Posted by Guy on February 24th, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Comment # 87

Options that Sega has to include the missing content back.

1.) Release the content as DLC (maybe as pieces I dont care)

2.) Release another version Yakuza 3 Complete Collectors edition: This will have EVERYTHING that the Japanese version has, ONLY thing that will be changed is Subtitles Sega You can make it a limited production, charge premium… Just get this done and release it to the States.

Posted by Terry on February 24th, 2010 at 12:57 pm

Comment # 89

This is an OUTRAGE! I am done with sega. Please don’t release any games ever again.

Posted by noxxa on February 24th, 2010 at 1:04 pm

Comment # 91

I was really looking forward to enjoying every part of the game, from the cool fights, to the mahjong, to the hostess clubs, and all of it. I’m saddened, not so much by WHAT was cut, but rather by the fact that anything was cut at all. I mean, I’m sure we’ve all been looking forward to all of it.

I’m not angry at Sega… just disappointed I guess.

There’s still time, please fix it?

Posted by Jimbo on February 24th, 2010 at 1:07 pm

Comment # 93

Please put that content back in. it’s not right to take a hacksaw to the original release and then start cutting away.

What’s the point of releasing this game in the U.S. if Sega’s going to start pulling this nonsense?

Posted by Jason on February 24th, 2010 at 1:12 pm

Comment # 95

I hate you Sega, I hate you so much!!!!!!!!!
You know what? I’m not buying the game without the hostess clubs either. Even after all the fighting for it. You’re the worst publisher ever!!!! If you can f**k prostitutes in GTA IV, why couldn’t you TALK to the hostesses in Yakuza 3?? You’re out of your minds! Keep your damn DLCs, keep your soundtrack and keep the entire TERRIBLE LOOKING BOX!!!

Posted by Dexter158 on February 24th, 2010 at 1:16 pm

Comment # 97

Good day gentlemen. Let’s all try to keep this as civil as possible.

The main reason why I’m here is because I would like to hear a valid explanation (that will satisfy most of us) from Sega as to why there was content cut out of the Western version of Yakuza 3. Please allow me to make clear that I, Homeslice, do not demand that said content should be put in the game again. I am sure that I speak for many other people that we appreciate Sega being open to their fanbase about this issue.

From what I gather in the article, I can’t see a valid explanation; all I see is a conclusion — “Ultimately, the choice that had to be made was either no Yakuza 3 in the west, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia.” –. What led to that conclusion? Who made the decisions? Why was the content cut?

All we can do now is speculating and the longer it takes for Sega to give us an honest answer, the more angry the gamers will get. That’s a realistic expectation and just by looking at all of the comments on this very website, a quick and honest response by Sega would be beneficial for all of us.

Posted by Homeslice on February 24th, 2010 at 1:19 pm

Comment # 99

Add me to the list of disappointed. As others have said, the problem isn’t so much what was cut, but the questionable excuses given. Those of us who like the Yakuza games like them BECAUSE they’re so Japanese! For many of us, it’s a way to experience a culture in a way we’d never be able to. It’s disappointing to see parts of the game cut.

The worst thing is no matter what you think, this DOES alienate the very people you’re relying on to buy the game. The “you get this or nothing” attitude is a slap in the face of everyone who wanted the game, because we wanted the game we saw hyped in Japan, not the “We know what’s best for you” version that was arbitrarily cut/tweaked/etc.

At least some real honesty would’ve helped soften the blow instead of lame excuses. Count me as another pre-orderer who’s now waiting for this to drop to $19.99 (or less) before buying.

Posted by Buzz on February 24th, 2010 at 1:20 pm

Comment # 101

Why the heck is there no hostess bars?! Yakuza 2 had them! Come on! Put them back in! This is insane that you would censor this game! Ugh, this sucks…

Posted by TheRootBeerKing on February 24th, 2010 at 1:22 pm

Comment # 103

You guys at SEGA really wanted to push this out this fiscal quarter, didn’t you? I don’t see myself buying the game this way. The Yakuza fanbase is pretty hardcore and now you have upset them. Oh well it’s not like you wanted this title to succeed in the first place right? Why else would you position it the way you did in March?

Posted by Sergol on February 24th, 2010 at 1:24 pm

Comment # 105

I’ll repeat my comments here.

Saying “Look, this is a niche product with low anticipated sales. The only way we can do it and make money at that level is to cut some content that isn’t central to the story.” is one thing. I don’t like it, it does make me less likely to pay full boat for the game, but I understand it.

The problem is that you didn’t. That crack about not making sense, or not ‘resonating’ is a cheap shot at fans of the series. This is not a game marketed to, created for, or wanted by the GTA/HALO set. The people that have been begging for Yak3 to come to the West pretty much know what we’re getting into with the series, and it’s a safe bet that the things SEGA says don’t ‘resonate’ are the REASON we’re asking for it, not a hindrance.

If we wanted another game that was 100% familiar and filled with western tropes, we have lots of them available. We don’t have to BOTHER asking for something from Japan to be localized to fulfill that desire.

The thing that most chaps my hide about the whole situation is the no win scenario it presents us with.

If we don’t buy Yakuza 3, because we wanted the full experience, you may take the lack of sales as evidence that there is no interest in the Yakuza series in the west. That means there simply won’t be enough demand to localize Yakuza 4 when the time comes.

If we do buy it, just to show our support for the series, then you’ll decide it’s O.K. to ‘westernize’ the game and leave out whatever you feel doesn’t ‘resonate’ with us. After all, the change was made and people still bought it.

I really hope SEGA is paying attention to fans, and realizing we WANT the Yakuza games, not a westernized VERSION of the Yakuza games.

Posted by SDallas on February 24th, 2010 at 1:28 pm

Comment # 107

just canceled my pre-order. I was very interested in this game, but i will not spend my money on a version edited for my enjoyment. I don’t want a western version, chopped so SEGA can bleed money from me later with DLC.

I don’t care how about your reasons for the cuts or the “massive amount of things to do, see, and experience in the game”. I want the full Yakuza 3. If you want my money, then you better deliver the full product.

Posted by jester on February 24th, 2010 at 1:31 pm

Comment # 109

Good f*cking going Sega. You just lost my pre-order purchase and all my friends pre-order purchases. You also lost any future purchases for this game or any others. Time and time again, you f*cking fail as a company. Enough is enough, goodbye. I’m sick and tired of your bullsh*t Sega.

Posted by GFGSega on February 24th, 2010 at 1:35 pm

Comment # 111

I’m pretty disappointed with the cuts but not surprised. For Yakuza 2, Sega of America reduced the game from two discs to one by using DVD9 encoding. This probably saved money but made the game unplayable on half of the PS2s out there.

When some western gamers are alienated by the lack of dubbing, why alienate “weeaboo’s” by cutting content? On the bright side, I can at least put purchasing one game in March, which already has a crowded release schedule.

I can only hope that what should be free content will be added back in as overpriced DLC. Otherwise, I see no reason not to import the game from Japan, or better yet, import the sequel that is also coming out in March.

Posted by Inactive on February 24th, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Comment # 113

Bayonetta was supposed to be a day 1 buy for me but I didn’t buy it anymore after playing the demo and learning about how sloppy the port was.

Yakuza 3 was also supposed to be a day 1 buy for me but at this rate I probably won’t touch it anymore either. I don’t care about the trivias but the other stuff that was cut made my very disappointed.

Posted by jirom on February 24th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

Comment # 115

I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said, but this line from the blog post:

“Ultimately, the choice that had to be made was either no Yakuza 3 in the west, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia.”

…is absolutely BS. You might as well have have said, “Just shut up and accept what you get cause we could have totally left Yakuza 3 unlocalized.”

And “a little less trivia”? Where does that leave the hostess club content? That was just a simple matter of sitting down and translating lines of Japanese text… hell, I could have done that with the help one of my Japanese buddies and a Eng/JPN dictionary.

Posted by Josh kramer on February 24th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

Comment # 117

How can Sega slap the Yakuza fanbase in the face like this? If it werent for them, you guys would not have been able to publish and sell Yakuza 2 or even consider bringing over 3.

You guys are making a pretty big mistake, but it’s not too late. The removed content could be included as DLC at a later date, cant it?

Posted by Gabriel on February 24th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

Comment # 119

No buy.

I’m not paying a premium price for a sub-standard product.

Keep cutting those corners Sega! It’s what you do best.

Posted by Adam on February 24th, 2010 at 1:54 pm

Comment # 121

I am disappointed the hostess part of the game is cut. Yakuza 1 and 2 also have it, so why cut it for the english yakuza 3 version? I already own the Japanese version of the game and enjoyed the minigame already with the language barrier. I was really looking forward to play it again in english and thought the game is a must-buy. The hostesses part is definitely a main feature of the game as it increases the life span considerably. You also market it as such in commercials. So why cut it for us europeans and americans. Now I am not sure anymore if I should bu the english version due to these content cuts.

Posted by SOLO on February 24th, 2010 at 1:58 pm

Comment # 123

It is very sad to hear that any company having an attitude like this towards its clientele, THIS is how SEGA treats its supporters by blackmailing them cause what you said in your post sounds like “take it or leave it” and believe me that is the worst possible way to make a sale, I had this game reserved the second it was available to reserve it at gamestop but have just canceled it as I type this blog in disgusts of the corporate practices being done at SEGA and sadly finally have lost all hope in Sega, I have been a long time Sega fan but this is unacceptable if Sega had decided to cut content they should have let the consumers know about it earlier and let them decide if they wanted the mutilated edition or not instead they wait till 2 weeks before the launch, and also I no longer care for Yakuza 4 since it will most likely not come to USA and even if it does it will be cut/edited too, now there is a way to SEGA to redeem itself to its customers by giving back the cut content from Yakuza 3 as FREE DLC and it must be free cause if they try to sell it for money that would be border line extortion, so sadly till Sega announces and DLC solution to Yakuza 3 I personally will not buy it because as a consumer it is my right to buy or not buy a product. Thank you for all the good games from the past.

Posted by iorikyo on February 24th, 2010 at 2:03 pm

Comment # 125

Damn.

Posted by Shugo on February 24th, 2010 at 2:04 pm

Comment # 127

delaying the game with over a year, then announce 2 week before release you cut content – GJ SEGA!!
…………

Posted by quezcotl on February 24th, 2010 at 2:10 pm

Comment # 129

This is still insulting and a slap in the face of the US/UK Yakuza fan base.

You made a terrible decision that will only alienate fans and result in lost sales.

Posted by Sad on February 24th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Comment # 131

well I’m going to cancel my pre-order at gamestop. I just bought a PS3 for this game too. I dont’ really care about host clubs but I don’t support the idea of you cutting out content for us non curious westerners… I rather wish you didn’t waste time on the release day DLC and instead focus on working on making a complete port of your game to the US audience.

I’ll just rent this game and play it for the story I guess. No reason to keep it around longer if this and other things got neutered.

Posted by icedog on February 24th, 2010 at 2:16 pm

Comment # 133

Horny cry babies want virtual women.

That should be the headline here.

Posted by James on February 24th, 2010 at 2:17 pm

Comment # 135

Sorry Sega. I was going to buy Yakuza 3 as soon as it hit the stores, but it seems like my money is going elsewhere. There’s no way in hell that I will support you with that behavior towards your customers. It’s disrespectful. You do understand that a game such as Yakuza is targeted towards the hardcore gamer, and when you cut content, you will fail.

How do we know that you haven’t cut more content? Please, do every single fan a favor and delay the relase, insert the cut content and release it later.

Posted by adam on February 24th, 2010 at 2:18 pm

Comment # 137

Just to clarify, hostess clubs (or snack bars) are HUGE parts of Japanese culture. I’ve lived 1/4th of my life in the country, and everyone from teachers to salarymen… 18 year-olds to 90 year-olds go to hostess bars.

In the town I lived in, there were about 3 “western” style pubs, and about 40 hostess bars. It’s that big.

Don’t fool yourself thinking this is just a small part of Japanese culture that they did us the favor of snipping from the game.

Posted by Josh on February 24th, 2010 at 2:22 pm

Comment # 139

Come on SEGA. Give yourselves a chance!

I’ll be buying this game, I have it on preorder in fact. Now…..

Your way of doing business is taking a loser attitude, I can’t believe it. Yakuza 1 is released, and sells some relatively weak numbers after doing very little advertising. After this, you assumed no one liked your game, and decide to wing Yakuza 2′s release.

For Yakuza 2 you totally failed. You do zero advertising of a game coming out of at the very end of a console’s life cycle, in the middle of the buzz of a new console and rumors of a sequel already underway. Needless to say the game doesn’t sell well, OBVIOUSLY.

Now when you have a chance to actually give this game a chance you come up with this decision. Once again you are failing at advertising, it’s nowhere to be seen at my local games retailer, no ‘coming soon’ box, nothing, nothing online other than rehashed trailers, etc. Then you decide to destroy the boxart, and make it look like a C game even though this is far from that. If you worry about casuals being scared off from the hostess stuff, do you expect any sort of appeal from that boxart? Seriously?

And now this, you cut the hostess portion of the game because you assumed it wasn’t going to be liked. Wow, I’ve never seen a company try to so hard to fail. What kind of people do you have making these decisions? Do you really think they are doing a fine job? Where is common sense in all of this?

Posted by OTABEL on February 24th, 2010 at 2:26 pm

Comment # 141

I meant comment 48.

Posted by Bullets on February 24th, 2010 at 2:27 pm

Comment # 143

James, despite the fact that you’re an obvious troll, there’s a couple things you should no:

1) When we spend $60 for a full game, it had better be a full fucking game the way it was intended to be played, with nothing missing.

2) I’m ASSUMING most of us are mature adults that take an interest in Japanese culture. SEGA is spitting in our faces by removing this content and simultaneously deeming our whole country incapable of appreciating the content that had been removed.

3) Your pointless, juvenile message lets everyone here know that you probably get laid the least so please shut the fuck up and troll somewhere else.

Posted by Troll_Slayer on February 24th, 2010 at 2:29 pm

Comment # 145

James, despite the fact that you’re an obvious troll, there’s a couple things you should no:

1) When we spend $60 for a full game, it had better be a full game the way it was intended to be played, with nothing missing.

2) I’m ASSUMING most of us are mature adults that take an interest in Japanese culture. SEGA is spitting in our faces by removing this content and simultaneously deeming our whole country incapable of appreciating the content that had been removed.

3) Your pointless, juvenile message lets everyone here know that you probably get laid the least so please take your troll @ss somewhere else.

Posted by Troll_Slayer on February 24th, 2010 at 2:30 pm

Comment # 147

Sorry Sega no buy from me. When i first saw the trailers over a year ago the appeal of this game to me was the minigames. I didn’t care about the main story, i just wanted to get lost in a city of Japanese culture.

Your decision to cut content has forced me from 100% day 1 buy to 100% no buy at all. You guys have seriously lost touch with your fans this generation, and its decisions like this that made you quit the console manufacturing business 10 years ago.

Bravo Sega, Bravo. I hope this game bombs at retail to teach you a lesson.

Posted by Gezbox on February 24th, 2010 at 2:34 pm

Comment # 149

As someone who has never been a supporter of cutting content out of games, even back in the SNES/Genesis days, this is a huge disappointment. This is the type of practice you would expect 15 years ago, not today.

I held off on importing because I was hoping you guys would localize it, and now that you’re going to localize a cut version of the game I’m not interested. Please reconsider SEGA, especially since you’re planning on releasing on the same day as FFXIII. That’s just asking for the game to tank. Take some extra time to get everything worked out.

Posted by Polt on February 24th, 2010 at 2:41 pm

Comment # 151

shame on you SEGA!!!
it s many year that here in the west we enjoy videogame, anime, manga and movie from the east… we do understand japanese culture a bit…and we like it!
yours it s only PATHETIC EXCUSES!

Posted by masaru on February 24th, 2010 at 2:42 pm

Comment # 153

I like many others are not purchasing Yakuza 3 due to this travesty. Release the cut content as free DLC, it’s never a wise business decision to aggravate your loyal customers.

Posted by Deifitrec on February 24th, 2010 at 2:46 pm

Comment # 155

Hi Sega.

Why not rename Tokyo to New York and Okinawa to Los Angeles while you’re at it? Oh, and you better give all the character western-looking faces, or else someone might suspect that this game has something to do with Japan in any way.
Jesus Christ, this unparalleled stupidity of yours just blows my mind. Preorder cancelled, I hope you choke on a chopstick.

Posted by Hurring and Durring on February 24th, 2010 at 2:49 pm

Comment # 157

this… is unforgivable. even though im new to the yakuza franchise, the demo had me pumped and i was looking forward to this game. but now i wont buy it for the simple reason that it will leave a bad taste in my mouth because i KNOW we are playing a crippled version.
Oh yeah… it seems you fucked up the cover as well.

This bullshit reminds me of Persona 1. only difference is that you cant get away with it in this day and age. so consider me another lost sale.

Posted by Jasper on February 24th, 2010 at 2:51 pm

Comment # 159

SEGA, you’re making it very very difficult for me.

On one hand I know this game isn’t gonna be a big blockbuster since it’s so niche… so I can’t blame you for putting limited resources on the localization, hence the cuts.

On the other hand I wanted to support the effort. Poor sales of Yakuza3 means no Yakuza4 in the West and everyone loses.

I certainly hope that this is not a twisted DLC scheme that we often see from japanese publishers (e.g. Ace Combat 6 or SoulCalibur4 with “DLC” that’s already on the disc).

I guess I’ll still get the game, but damn, that’s sad.

Posted by GlassFrog on February 24th, 2010 at 2:58 pm

Comment # 161

Not trolling. You people are all just wastes of life.

You’re honestly getting this upset?

When did the population get so soft and worthless?

Sorry they took away your virtual tits.

Posted by James on February 24th, 2010 at 3:01 pm

Comment # 163

Thanks Sega, you just saved me from spending ~300€ on a new PS3. Guess my gaming PC will be updated after all.

Seriously though -Yakuza 3 caters to a rather small niche in the west…and you just took a pretty big du*p on that very core audience. It’s like you actually *want* Y3 to fail…seriously it would have been better if you hadn’t even bothered. Better no Y3 as a cut, half-assed, westernized Y3…

Posted by Noodles on February 24th, 2010 at 3:06 pm

Comment # 165

@James

They didn’t take out the virtual tits, you uncouth jackanape. You can still date, they just took out the hostess club MANAGEMENT. It’s the fact that Sega took ANYTHING out that’s a huge disappointment.

But keep on trolling, bro.

Posted by Jarsh on February 24th, 2010 at 3:07 pm

Comment # 167

Terrible, absolutely terrible decision. If the hostess club wasn’t in the original game, I’m sure most people wouldn’t care. However, the product that is going to be shipped out to stores is an incomplete product when compared to the one in Japan. Not only that but it is full price. Furthermore, SEGA waited till two weeks before the game is released to reveal this information. I’m also sure that they would not have revealed it if they were not questioned by IGN in regards to cut content. Do they think their customers are stupid?

Conclusion: As hard as this is, it is a no buy for me. I wouldn’t want to give money to a company who treats their loyal fans and customers like trash.

Posted by MKDWolf on February 24th, 2010 at 3:09 pm

Comment # 169

If the guys at Sega put themselves in the position of a hardcore fan who has supported this series they would understand the need to make sure every bit of content made it over. It’s not like it requires voice work, it’s just text and where as I was going to get this in-between Heavy Rain and GOWIII I will pass it up, no excuse to cut content, none.

Posted by Doesn'tmakesense on February 24th, 2010 at 3:14 pm

Comment # 171

You know what, Sega? I have been a longtime fan of your games and consoles. Why do you ALWAYS have to give us that extra slap in the face? The hostess bars are optional, why remove them? Do not lie to us and say release time. This game came out in Japan years ago. You bring games to the US expecting them not to do too well…this is why things were cut. Save money, no budget, less work. The biggest mistake is then angering the small population of people who WERE DEFINITELY going to buy the game. Sega, you never fail to blow my mind.

Posted by Mike on February 24th, 2010 at 3:16 pm

Comment # 173

waah sniffle

Posted by James on February 24th, 2010 at 3:18 pm

Comment # 175

OH NO, SEGA WHY DID YOU REMOVE MY VIRTUAL DATING? HOW WILL I EVER FULFIL MY DREAM OF MARRYING A BEATUFUL JAPANESE MAIDEN WITHOUT THE HOSTESS SEGMENTS WHICH I NATURALLY JUST PULL OUT FAQS TO ACE WITHOUT ANY POINTLESS TRIAL AND ERROR. EVEN IF THIS COULD BE UNDONE WITH DLC, PRE-ORDER CANCELED.

Posted by Derkus on February 24th, 2010 at 3:24 pm

Comment # 177

@ James…

You claim that everyone has no lives for caring about this game, yet you have spent quite some time replying to our posts. Hypocrisy is always good for a laugh…

That being said I haven’t completely given up on Sega. They could still do the right thing!

Posted by James (the one from post #25) on February 24th, 2010 at 3:35 pm

Comment # 179

your are increasing the comment count so I thank you derkus…more people comment, the more pressure for a fix

you are also one of the 1 or 2 defending sega. Very much in the minority here

Posted by Matt007b on February 24th, 2010 at 3:50 pm

Comment # 181

@comment 177,

So wait, you are trying to be clever and rip on fans yet you reference Yakuza 2? A game that was severely delayed and under marketed. Clever indeed.

Posted by kakizaki on February 24th, 2010 at 3:51 pm

Comment # 183

I purchased Yakuza 2 new when it was released (which you got RIGHT) and this is how you thank the fans? We can only hope you don’t cut content from Yakuza 4.

Posted by Me on February 24th, 2010 at 3:54 pm

Comment # 185

All things considered, I’ll probably still get the game. But it’s not a Day-1 game anymore. It’s not like March isn’t chock full of day-one titles anyway. Most likely I’ll be waiting until the price drops (which, I imagine, won’t be too long, given how it’s competing against much bigger titles and how the core audience is turning their back on the game).

Sega, delay the game if you must. Y3 is a niche game. There is no reason why it HAS to be released in March. Know your audience.

Posted by Tivor on February 24th, 2010 at 3:57 pm

Comment # 187

Cancelled my pre-order today, which was paid in full by the way. I might pick up the import version later on and play with a guide, but probably not. There’s so many other games coming out over the course of the next several months that I’m not paying for a gimped version of this game.

Sorry guys. Yakuza 2 is still one of my favorite PS2 titles but you fucked up on this one.

Posted by Daniel on February 24th, 2010 at 3:57 pm

Comment # 189

Good on you being up front with the fans, sega. Unfortunately you’ve not understood that many of us buy the Yakuza games specifically because we find other cultures interesting and appealing.

If I want a game geared towards a western audience I will buy a western game. If it comes down to cutting content or not localizing a game at all, I say keep your censored version off my store shelves.

I hope you acquire enough sales from a larger market to make up for the loss from the fans of the series, because I will not be buying Yakuza 3 as I originally intended.

Posted by creath carter on February 24th, 2010 at 3:58 pm

Comment # 191

I’m just mad that my life is so trivial.

I guess I’ll just rant on the internet about these pointless trivialities in an effort to prescribe meaning to my otherwise meaningless existence.

Thank god the internet exists, or only like, 7 people in the world would ever hear my bitching.

Posted by James on February 24th, 2010 at 4:00 pm

Comment # 193

Complain that someone is wasting their time complaining on the internet by complaining about them? Irony or stupidity? You decide.

Posted by kakizaki on February 24th, 2010 at 4:03 pm

Comment # 195

Sega, thank you for bringing this game to the US. Don’t let the haters get to you and definitely don’t let them dissuade you from considering other games such as Yakuza 4 and others for the US audience. I swear some people just like to complain. I pre-ordered this game the moment I heard it was coming to the US and cannot wait to play it.

Posted by Neil on February 24th, 2010 at 4:07 pm

Comment # 197

Congratulations Sega, you took what was a guaranteed sale from me and turned it into a no sale.

Way to bugger things up.

Once again, game companies nannying gamers because they think we’re not mature enough to handle certain types of content.

Kiss my @$$ Sega.

Posted by Lard on February 24th, 2010 at 4:09 pm

Comment # 199

I can’t wait to play this game. This will probably be the last game I buy, because videogames and the people who love them are pointless.

Posted by Malphy on February 24th, 2010 at 4:10 pm

Comment # 201

Well, I was on the fence after Europe got extra content that NA had to pre-order to get, but after this, I’m out.

Sega, you just don’t get your customers. No wonder you’re just a software developer now.

And with bungles like this, it won’t be for much longer either.

Posted by Lard on February 24th, 2010 at 4:15 pm

Comment # 203

But I never knew the depth of your betrayal, the void within your collective souls until you cut content from a video game. THIS KIND OF ATROCITY HAS NEVER BEEN COMMITED BEFORE. YOU THINK OPENLY ADMITING IT BEFORE THE GAME IS RELEASED AND NOT LISTENING TO OUR JUSTIFIED OUTCRY WILL PLACATE US? NAMCO BANDAI FREQUENTLY HORDES WHATEVER TALES OF SERIES THEY DEEM IS UNSUITABLE FOR NON JAPANESE EVEN WHEN IT IS PROVEN UNPLAYABLE AFTER A MARKET CYCLE OF ITS CLOSED RELEASE, EA WILL NOT THINK TWICE ABOUT DROPPING A DEVELOPER AFTER THEY’VE MADE THEIR LAST GAME BUT YOU SEGA, there is a special place in hell that is reserved only for you. This is why you have fallen from grace; this is why you’re nothing more than a slave to console owning companies and former rivals.

You have destroyed your own game and removed content that is in the Japanese version. I hope are satisfied with whatever sick joy you got out of doing this. BECAUSE I WILL NEVER EVER TRUST YOU AGAIN AFTER THIS UNFORGIVABLE SIN YOU HAVE COMMITED!

Posted by Derkus on February 24th, 2010 at 4:18 pm

Comment # 205

Well great job Sega, you just lost 3 preorders for Yakuza 3 mine and 2 friends and if this is how youre going to be doing the games in the future, thanks for all the great games thru the years but this is it, i´m done with sega games unfortuantly that means missing some great titles but i can´t support things like this and a clear message needs to be sent, hopefully Sega will realise their mistakes and really do somthing to better themself, let´s just hope it´s not to late.

Posted by AngerdX on February 24th, 2010 at 4:19 pm

Comment # 207

No Hostess
No Mahjong
No thanks

Just went to Gamestop and cancelled my preorder. Much rather use my money on a game that isn’t censored.

Posted by mister bigger on February 24th, 2010 at 4:21 pm

Comment # 209

Hey Sega,

Ever heard of Fans translation project? I don’t condone piracy but stuff like this pushing us, as real fans who happened don’t understand japanese language to follow that path.

Posted by shinz on February 24th, 2010 at 4:21 pm

Comment # 211

What SEGA did is disgusting. I can cry. They better watch the upcoming videos. SEGAm you should be ashamed of what you have done!!

GIVE US THE WHOLE GAME!!! ITS A RIP OFF!!! WHY SHOULD I LET YOU HAVE MY YAKUZA 3 PLAQUE!! YOU DON’T DESERVE IT!!!

Posted by dragonofdojima17 on February 24th, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Comment # 213

SEGA, I BEG OF YOU!!! DON’T DO THIS!!! PLEASE!!

Posted by dragonofdojima17 on February 24th, 2010 at 4:25 pm

Comment # 215

What an absolutely mindblowing decision. How can you guys be so dense? The only people who are buying Yakuza 3 to begin with are the ones who’ve been with the series from the beginning… and you just pissed them all off. Congratulations. Announce free DLC plans to give us the complete game or else I’ll be seeing you in the bargain bin, I guess.

Posted by Jacky on February 24th, 2010 at 4:34 pm

Comment # 217

With this revelation and no other information about what is missing from this game, I’ll take no chances. No buy. What yakuza world would lack host/hostess clubs, mahjong or shogi?

You guys had better be quick with the damage control on this, or a game that only ever had a slim level of profitability will certainly be a loss.

Posted by xdy on February 24th, 2010 at 4:40 pm

Comment # 219

I’m sorry, but like many others here I will now not be buying this game. The Yakuza franchise was fun because it held onto the Japanese cultural references and allowed me to see things about Japan that I could only otherwise do with a plane ticket and few spare weeks.

SEGA, you *really* screwed the pooch on this one.

Posted by Kurt on February 24th, 2010 at 4:42 pm

Comment # 221

“mostly involving the Hostess Clubs and the Japanese History trivia sections. ”

“Mostly”? Do you mean that there’s more?
What exactly, since you’re being “upfront”?

It all boils down to a very simple concept. It’s 2010, Sega sunshines. We live in a globalized world. It’s not acceptable, nowadays, to see part of a culture cut out of a game because (according to an absolutely clueless publisher) it would not “resonate” with the local fanbase. And please, don’t come to us telling that giving the entire experience would have meant “no yakuza 3 in the west”, because we all know that this has to do with cutting corners, and not with “resonance” between the japanese culture and the western fanbase.

Who took the decision? What are the exact causes? Since you’re going to be “upfront” let’s hear it all.

Want to give us DLC? Give us the parts you cut as DLC. And I mean free DLC. You think some of us wouldn’t “resonate” with some areas of Japanese culture? Great. Let us chose if we resonate or not. I, for one, think can resonate with it very well, and most gamers i know would as well.

If you want to read my complete opinion, you can find it here:
http://classygamer.blogspot.com/2010/02/sega-cutting-hostess-clubs-from-euus.html

Posted by Abriael on February 24th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

Comment # 223

CUT CONTENT SELLING AT FULL PRICE

MAKE $10 HOSTESS CLUB DLC

NO MAHJONG!
NO SHOGI!
NO CHESS!

FINAL DESTINATION

Posted by Enjoy Ur Aids on February 24th, 2010 at 4:55 pm

Comment # 225

Pre-order canceled. Seriously, this is an amazingly dimwitted decision. The demographic most likely to buy this does not want edited stuff, ever. This game was never going to be a mass market seller, and now you’ve hurt its niche sales. I’d sell my Sega stock while I was at it, but at only $3.02 a share, it’s not worth the commission fee to do it.

“Sega, you just don’t get your customers. No wonder you’re just a software developer now.” Truer words were never spoken.

Posted by Aaron on February 24th, 2010 at 5:01 pm

Comment # 227

Sega you got owned agian. I was never going to buy this game. I just want to make one thing clear, We are for the majority Americans. You do not censor stuff in America, we thrive on freedom of speech. Taking away things that you think Americans can not handle has always pissed me off from every major japans gaming company(Square). They do not do that anymore. There is no way for you to censor things and get away with it anymore. Good job pissing off the remaining fan base for your games.

P.S Valkyria Chronicles is still bad ass. I <3 it

Posted by CloudStrife on February 24th, 2010 at 5:13 pm

Comment # 229

Cancelled my pre-order

I wouldn’t want to give money to a company who treats their loyal fans and customers like idiots

Posted by Akira on February 24th, 2010 at 5:16 pm

Comment # 231

Hello SEGA, just wanted to chime in as someone else that was getting the game and is now not. Plenty of stuff coming out this spring so I don’t have time to waste on half-assed products.

Posted by nyoron on February 24th, 2010 at 5:19 pm

Comment # 233

If SEGA is ever going to release Yakuza 4 in the west, they better release it without content cut and release it faster than Yakuza 3 was released in the west after the original Japanese launch.

I will skip Yakuza 3 and I hope you will make a better job with Yakuza 4.

Posted by Whatever on February 24th, 2010 at 5:21 pm

Comment # 235

So you made a choice for the fans that many fans wouldn’t like? That doesn’t make sense.

Posted by Saintdante on February 24th, 2010 at 5:24 pm

Comment # 237

For gods sake… You tripped on the finish line Sega. By removing stuff, you have guarantee I won’t be buying the game.

Posted by Rezel on February 24th, 2010 at 5:28 pm

Comment # 239

I just wanted to say that I hope those that push for it, can win the fight with Yakuza 4 and release the game translated and uncut.

I’m also crossing my fingers for a DLC release that returns the removed content. While I, personally, don’t care for the hostess client gameplay, I did have fun playing the host missions where you ran the club. That was really well done in Yakuza 2 and it’s a major disappointment that we don’t get to see it in the English release. I was hoping for a the same gameplay experience but we sadly won’t get that. You’ve let a lot of people down and you’re going to see less revenue because of it, I’m certain.

Posted by Killrig on February 24th, 2010 at 5:31 pm

Comment # 241

Seriously…?

You guys just went a stop down in my book… this isn’t cool, there is absolutely no need for cutting content, if anything more should be added.

Isn’t half the fun of bringing a game like this so we can someone get an idea of what their culture is like?

I know it’s not huge but you’re taking out content of a game that was released a year ago…

Posted by Noctis on February 24th, 2010 at 5:37 pm

Comment # 243

i am a huge yakuza fan and i preordered yakuza 3 from amazon, but after reading at kotaku.com that u guys cut the hostess clubs content (even though this was in yakuza 1 and 2) and other things, guess what sega? i cancelled my preorder from amazon and am not buying this game anymore. gg for ruining yakuza 3.

Posted by ganner on February 24th, 2010 at 5:38 pm

Comment # 245

Well that settles that, I will also be cancelling my pre-order. Hostess bars are a big part of the series, and a big part of what makes Yakuza.

And I completely disagree with Sega being ‘upfront’ with the fans. This decision and cuts were made months and months ago. The only reason Sega is saying anything now at all, is because the reviews will soon be coming out and Sega wanted to beat them to the punch.

I actually find the timing of this announcement underhanded and sleazy, as Sega waited until the last possible moment to announce this, with the hopes and intentions that a lot of our dollars were already tied to pre-orders. Sega could care less what the “sell through” numbers are, they are concerned with how many they sell to the stores. And at this stage the stores have already had to place their orders primarily based off pre order numbers.

As far as I am concerned this is a complete bait and switch and Sega will no longer be getting any money from me.

Posted by Curry Udon on February 24th, 2010 at 5:39 pm

Comment # 247

Oh just one other note to Sega, if you’re going to release a niche game take a page from a company that only releases niche games and THRIVES, Atlus. They bring every game over 100% uncut and have a tremendous fan following for the quality work they do w/ their localizations. They know what their fans want and actually give it to them, a novel concept really.

Posted by Michael on February 24th, 2010 at 5:52 pm

Comment # 249

I will still be buying the game and supporting it, but I was looking forward to the hostess bars. Thought that stuff was pretty cool in the japanese demo.

Posted by Nerv_001 on February 24th, 2010 at 5:57 pm

Comment # 251

Nice work Sega. I switched my pre-order over to God of War III. I can count on those devs to deliver a complete and polished experience but you have shown many times in the past you put out halfassed, unfinished products. Keep the Yakuza series over in Japan. Don’t expect me to feel lucky that it’s coming over because frankly, Most Japanese devs can’t hold a candle to the West anymore. I only want Japanese games that take risks and don’t underestimate it’s audience, like Demon’s Souls.

The corporate speak in this article is amazing. “In addition, the western versions of the game will come pre-packaged with codes for the DLC, already localized and ready to be enjoyed.” Oh, don’t do me any favors here considering this same content was available in the Japanese market for FREE. Don’t try and gloss over the fact by saying these aren’t significant portions of gameplay. These affect everything from atmosphere, experience, side missions, and money in the game. Gamers, especially Yakuza’s target audience, are savvy, informed people. Try to learn from this experience and improve your pathetic company.

One last thing, if by some miracle Yakuza 4 gets a Western release just give it to Atlus. They know their audience, you obviously don’t.

Really the last comment but to all the other posters, SOME YAKUZA FANS AREN’T OTAKUS/WEABOOS/WAPANESE/WHATEVER. Some of us just like organized crime, good stories, and brawling action games.

Posted by ThulsaDooom on February 24th, 2010 at 6:04 pm

Comment # 253

Are you guys taking stupid pills again. Do you really want this game to do well, if so why the hell would you cut out content that you know would make everyone on the internet throw a sh*t fit. First you release the game in an already saturated month and then you tell us its incomplete… that is unacceptable. I really hope this game does well, but SEGA, you are making it harder for that to happen. Do the right thing and release a PATCH and apologize for having the shortsightedness of not thinking your target demographic for this game would not miss or care about the ABORTED content. Thanks for your time and I hope you make a logical and swift decision regarding the content you cut from the game.

Posted by Matt on February 24th, 2010 at 6:08 pm

Comment # 255

Come on Sega you made us wait, we have part four just around the corner, please dont be a Capcom and start taking out things we want just to sale them later, I dont see why this is such a big deal considering its been on the other two games. You actions here will dictace how I deal with games your campany is involved with in the future.

Posted by King on February 24th, 2010 at 6:19 pm

Comment # 257

What are you doing?

I thought you were localizing this game because legions of Yakuza fans (myself included) were getting on your case to do it. I thought you were bringing this over here because you liked us. I really enjoyed the hell out of visiting hostesses in previous games, but not as much as I enjoyed running my own damn club! I was pissed to hear that you cut content for what appears to be no reason at all. I kind of understand cutting AnswerxAnswer– I do– not all of us are Asian Studies majors who would actually have some shot at answering the trivia. I also understand cutting “Loser”– Yazawa Eikichi is a hotshot singer, and licensing this music for the US release probably presented itself as costing more than it was worth.

But I do have a damn clue why you would’ve cut all the hostess stuff. It was in the previous games and was enjoyed tremendously by people who gave Yakuza a shot back on the PS2 (fans like myself– who once again– I assumed you were trying to please by bringing this game over here). Even after hearing the hostess clubs were cut, I was still willing to forgive. But now that there are these nasty rumours floating around that you’ve also cut Mahjong, Shogi, and the massage parlors, I’m seriously getting a little miffed here. You have cut HOURS of gameplay out of Yakuza 3.

And what about the rest of the goddamn game? Won’t this make all the items I was supposed to buy for hostesses totally useless? You just ruined all the stores in the game and flooded me with boatloads of currency I will NEVER HAVE A USE FOR. Why on earth did you even rush localization for this? Was it really that important to have Yakuza 3 out in time to be massacred by Final Fantasy XIII? Was it about money? If so, the sales you’re going to lose with this nonsense decision of yours are going to heavily outweigh what it would have cost for you to hunker down and finish translating the goddamn game.

I mean, I’m just so confused. Few other companies go out of their way to piss off their supporters as much as you guys do. I’m really sad and disappointed– I think that’s the main point here. You have succeeded in making Yakuza fans SAD that Yakuza 3 is being translated. Bravo?

Posted by TheTimelyHoward@gmail.com on February 24th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

Comment # 259

This is by far one of the worst travesties SEGA OF AMERICA/SEGA EUROPE has ever done since replacing the original japanese music in 1993′s Sonic CD, and deletion of the gay mid boss & revising 1994′s Streets Of Rage III to play more “gender neutral”.

Once again, SEGA has managed to piss everyone off by removing the “hostess bars” in the upcoming North American/European release of Yakuza 3. Further proof that the game brand i once adored, is forever lost in the memoirs of the late 20th century (God i so miss the 90′s).

you better hear the cries of all the people here, you better work something out later down the road and provide a patch to reinstate this deleted content. We live in an age where such discrimination on gamers (wherever their home markets be) should not be tolerated.

You wonder on low sales and lack of support?, then why in the world would you take one of your parent company’s highly-priced-in-developing titles, make us wait OVER ONE YEAR, have virtually NO ADVERTISING for it, and at the 11th hour (as im sure this game has gone gold) announce to the world that us western gamers will get a trimmed version of this game.

lets not forget your senseless decision on releasing it on the same day as one of the most anticipated titles, Final Fantasy XIII. Take note on FFVII’s intelligent western marketing back in 1997, not only did it elevated the series, but kept it intact to its Japanese counterpart, and the PS1 outsold everyone in the market, catapuling the RPG genre in such a difficult market.

unfortunately you’ll never learn, you’ll continue to disappoint us all in a likely effort to dry yourself to the ground and hope that a “western” gaming powerhouse like EA Games buys you out.

Bottom line, SEGA! YOU FUCKED UP! There, I said it.

Posted by Nestor J Galeano on February 24th, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Comment # 261

seriously sega..i’ve just pre-ordered the collector’s edition because the demo of yakuza 3 just made me automatically promote yakuza 3 as my favorite ps3 game of all time, just like yakuza 1 & 2 were my favorite ps2 games of all time. Sega i got support for you and this is how you repay me and the other fans? I beg you sega please deliver this deleted content as DLC. Even if you charge for it i will buy it because i love the Yakuza series that much

Posted by Chris Franston on February 24th, 2010 at 6:35 pm

Comment # 263

I just put down a preorder the other day. Will be pulling it tomorrow. Awful.

Posted by Hizke on February 24th, 2010 at 6:37 pm

Comment # 265

Just a brief request. Please, please, please do not remove the hostess club. Did I say please?

Posted by astra on February 24th, 2010 at 6:44 pm

Comment # 267

Knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away James. What was it you said about wasting time? Pathetic.

Posted by kakizaki on February 24th, 2010 at 6:50 pm

Comment # 269

I have this game pre-ordered and 100% pre-paid for. I am giving some serious consideration to getting my money back. This is not the days of the PS1, when it was acceptable to cut content like this. I assume it is too late to just put the content back in the game in any manner but DLC. I am waiting until March 8th for such an announcement. In all likelihood, I will not purchase the game if the content is not put back in. This is a huge disappointment and I would’ve thought you would have known better than to have done this.

Posted by Charles Lupula on February 24th, 2010 at 6:52 pm

Comment # 271

Knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away James. What was it you mentioned earlier about wasting time? Yeah…

Posted by kakizaki on February 24th, 2010 at 6:53 pm

Comment # 273

I’m still pumped for this game and will be purchasing it on day 1. Hopefully, we’ll get to see 4 and Kenzan in the US in the future as well.

Posted by Paul S on February 24th, 2010 at 6:59 pm

Comment # 275

wait so becuase you dragged your feet and didnt decide until late that you watned to release the game we lost content…I also assume there will be a price cut to for us right?

Posted by King on February 24th, 2010 at 7:04 pm

Comment # 277

http://kotaku.com/5479525/sega-yakuza-3-cuts-were-necessary-for-western-release-%5Bupdate%5D

See the update. Again, I doubt anyone would have been that upset had Sega of America decided to delay Yakuza 3 to ensure there was no cut content.

Why rush it to make a March release date when March is an over saturated release month this year? Makes zero sense.

Posted by kakizaki on February 24th, 2010 at 7:06 pm

Comment # 279

dear sega:

this is going to be 2 long weeks of mass chaos and frustration from yakuza fans. Do us all a favor (reading from the kotaku article) and add the 1% you took from the game. Put it back, and all these cancelled preorders will flow back. We want Yakuza to succeed, we want sega to do well..all you gotta do is officially comment you will give us a DLC at a later time. DO IT.

Posted by matt on February 24th, 2010 at 7:13 pm

Comment # 281

I’m contemplating emailing someone at Sega as well, but I thought I would quickly say my piece here as well. I still plan on getting the game. That’s the first thing I should say. Second, this is bullshit, and I don’t buy the lame excuse of “cut it or don’t release the game at all” crap. Do you honestly expect anyone with half a mind to believe that? It makes absolutely no sense, and I’m going to be cautious with everything you guys at Sega say from now on. I think there are a lot of things you don’t understand about your western audience, and doing things this way only serves to make people like me wary of your products. The only reason I’m still getting the game is because I’m pretty sure it’s going to disappear relatively soon. But whatever, in the future I’d expect better.

Posted by Sir Phobos on February 24th, 2010 at 7:15 pm

Comment # 283

What was the sudden rush after being a year late? Trying to write the game off before the tax man demands his paperwork? The latest from Kotaku states that you ran out of time to fit things in, why couldn’t you have just given it more time? Why were the deadlines so strict after all delay?

Telling us this 2 weeks before launch is such a snide move. If you had done this a few months ago, all this rage from the fans who don’t want a butchered game can now only be used to push for free DLC. If we had known back then what we know now, maybe our words would have persuaded you to keep the content in. Now, now it’s too late, the discs are probably already printing and things are stuck, you’ll lose (and have already lost) a lot sales from what i’ve seen across news sites and here.

I will only buy the western release if the content is reinstated somehow. For Free.

Posted by Adam on February 24th, 2010 at 7:18 pm

Comment # 285

I heard they’re changing the title to “Japanese Mafia” since “Yakuza” doesn’t resonate with western audiences.

But seriously we’re getting a price cut on this right since the game’s incomplete?

Posted by Deekman on February 24th, 2010 at 7:29 pm

Comment # 287

So that was the response? All right then, now I’ve also officially canceled my pre-order. I might dig this game up from bargain bin in later time.

Posted by KKiryu on February 24th, 2010 at 7:40 pm

Comment # 289

I think you have it backwards Sega. Your suppose to add content not take it content away. Just canceled my pre-order. I would never buy an incomplete game.

Posted by Dean on February 24th, 2010 at 7:42 pm

Comment # 291

I will still buy the game and I do hope you make money so that we can get the next one, but this is pretty messed up so at least let us know you are going to offer is as FREE DLC soon

Posted by King on February 24th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

Comment # 293

Yeah, I pre-ordered both Yakuza 1 & 2 and bought them at launch. I am not paying full price for a game missing content, I will cancel my pre-order and buy a pre-owned copy if content is taken out.

Posted by Lu on February 24th, 2010 at 8:06 pm

Comment # 295

SEGA …. I am cancelling my-preorder. I will not be buying a censored game with cut content, becuase its is not “American/Western” enough.

Why do you think we want yakuza in the 1st place? Its not because we the consumers want a another watered down over saturated generic brawler like (the 1xxxxx FPS already out there) We want it because in essence it is art, that we appreciate. To cut the content is the very CENORSHIP of art itself. It is quite ignorant and almost obsecenely racist beause you think we “wont understand it”.
Seriously… you have till the realease to re-establish my trust in you again… I look forward to your QUIZ and HOST CLUB DLC CONTENT………. As of right now 2/24/2010 I am canecelling my pre-order.

Posted by KingGainer on February 24th, 2010 at 8:18 pm

Comment # 297

I’m sure it has been said through here, but there is no excuse that this should be a time constraint. As it has been said, it’s ony 1% of the game.

I’ll wait until these sections hit DLC for FREE. I don’t understand why Sega seems so determined to run this series into the ground outside of Japan.

Posted by Dom on February 24th, 2010 at 8:32 pm

Comment # 299

Sega you have 2 weeks to fix that, Im not buy the game anymore, I’am not play a half game, this is discrimination!!! sega bankrupt in the west!!!

Posted by Riderblack on February 24th, 2010 at 8:40 pm

Comment # 301

Then the choice should have been no ‘Yakuza 3′ in the West. Are you really going to make a profit from this title over here? I don’t think so. I loved the first two games because they were unique in showing so much of Japan’s eye opening culture. It’s the fans, like myself, who would be willing to pay $60 for this title because of that fact. But now, what’s the point? Were you worried about controversy due to the hostess club mini-game? I don’t understand why, considering Y2 had the mini-game intact. The fact that you also changed the box art to a generic, close-up face shot was bad enough. (fans tend to notice these things) So what if it portrays the main character smoking a cigarette? That’s why this is an “M” rated title. ‘Yakuza 3′ was at the top of my list next month, ahead of the God of War and Final Fantasy titles. Sadly, Sega, it’s now dropped from the list. Give your hardcore fans some appreciation once in a while, instead of taking on the expected “greedy corporation” moniker.

Posted by Erick on February 24th, 2010 at 8:51 pm

Comment # 303

Pre-order canceled. Nice job SEGA! Saving $60.

Posted by Edge on February 24th, 2010 at 8:56 pm

Comment # 305

Had this pre-ordered, but have moved the pre-order to another game. I do not believe in purchasing sub-par or censored products. I will get it in the cheap bin one day, or craigslist

Posted by Brodie Bruce on February 24th, 2010 at 9:07 pm

Comment # 307

WOW!!!

Not only does it lack english voice overs, it’s also cut!

Any more bad news on Yakuza? I’m not so sure if I even gonna purchase it anymore.

Posted by SkyFox on February 24th, 2010 at 9:17 pm

Comment # 309

Sega,

Please announce DLC to unlock or put back the hostess club portion. This is an integral part of the Yakuza series and removal upsets the economy in the game. Many items will now be useless.

Even if the DLC comes later, announcing that DLC will be coming will appease fans. It will unify the divided fanbase and fans will come back to support you.

Posted by Jeff on February 24th, 2010 at 9:20 pm

Comment # 311

Do you guys try to fail?

Seriously, do you just sit around and look at all your good games and think, “Man, how can we totally screw ourselves with all these quality games!”

- Next to nothing advertising for good original games like Infinite Space and Valkyria Chronicles.

- Screwed up PS3 port of Bayonetta.

- Half-hearted localization of Resonance of Fate.

- Release date sabotage putting three quality though not terribly popular titles up against FFXIII and God of War (Resonance of Fate, Infinite Space, and Yakuza 3)

- And of course, cut content from Yakuza 3 after making western fans wait over a year.

I could easily go on. And people wonder how it is you managed to get crushed in the console wars and run the Sonic franchise into the ground so thoroughly that the former Nintendo-rivaling mascot is now Mario’s man-servant. It’s like you’re run by third-graders. Or worse: Insecure middle school kids. “Aww shucks, no one wants to buy our games anyway. Let’s do a half-assed localization, cut content, release them next to vastly more popular games, then go cry in our bedroom and listen to Linkin Park.”

And it wouldn’t annoy me if we were talking about crappy games. It’s because you make GOOD games that I’m flabbergasted. I’ve been your biggest cheerleader since the Genesis days, as a nerdy elementary school kid, an overweight English major, and now a journalist stuck in Tokyo with too much free time. Get a decent writer with a sense of humor, tweak the tutorials for context, and fricking leave the hostess club component in the game. Shit, I could translate it for you. Don’t even pay me: Just promise to run a commercial or two. You ought to have a GTA-kller in Ryu Ga Gotoku 3, but instead you’ll be lucky to crack 70k after this stunt.

A pox on you all. I fart in your general direction and say ‘bad form’ to all of you. Good day sirs.

Posted by James on February 24th, 2010 at 9:33 pm

Comment # 313

Perhaps, to save yourself from similar future troubles Sega, just put the option for the English subtitles/translation in while developing the game to begin with so that you can release it around the same time globally or at least so you can be ready for later when you do decide to release it to the Western audiences, which really shouldn’t be that long after if it’s already translated. It’ll save you the trouble of having to do it later.

I mean you’ll still be making most, if not all and more, of your money back. Any sales to Western audiences will just be extra profit and releasing it around the same time globally would probably helps sales even more due to titles release globally at the same time gets more attention from the gaming press.

Posted by TheRob on February 24th, 2010 at 10:05 pm

Comment # 315

I know that you probably won’t bring Yakuza 4 to the states if Yakuza 3 sells poorly, which is why I ordered 3 copies of Yakuza 3 – because I really want this excellent series to continue in the States.

However, you are guaranteeing failure with this title for the following reasons:

1. You took too long to put english subs on it.
2. You’re not advertising it very well.
3. You’re releasing it on the same day as Final Fantasy XIII, and just week(s) before games like God of War 3 and Resonance of Fate (another one of your games).
4. You’re cutting content from this version and not giving a good explanation of why.

As a fan of the first two games, I have to say that I am going to miss the hostess clubs a lot.

I’ve decided to cancel my pre-order(s) of this game… As much as I wish this franchise success outside of Japan, you are ruining the chances of that happening with your poor decisions.

Posted by Nathan on February 24th, 2010 at 10:09 pm

Comment # 317

No hostess bar, no buy, Yakuza 3 Premium Edition Pre Order cancelled. Try harder next time

Posted by Rod on February 24th, 2010 at 10:29 pm

Comment # 319

Just easier not to buy it. I never played the first two but was ready to go with this one. Removing the hostesses from the game is removing a big part of the original marketing push behind the game in Japan, and hell it’s a critical part of the appeal there. What makes you think that the players in America are any Less fascinated by the Japanese modern culture than the actual Japanese residents? You should have known this decision would not be looked upon fondly by the niche gamers who might buy your niche game.

Posted by Brandon on February 24th, 2010 at 10:38 pm

Comment # 321

I would have purchased this game had there been no content cuts. I have trouble understanding the decision of the SEGA executive who decided it wasn’t worth the extra 200-400 hours it would take to completely translate the game. Even if I am drastically underestimating the time required, which I probably am, it would have been worth it. If this game was complete– if the game truly represented the Japanese vision that lead to its conception– then it would be a great release for America. Unfortunately SEGA, as usual, has failed to deliver. This is a message that I hope reaches the out of touch executives. You are making the wrong decisions. I won’t say that your job is easy, but you executives have lost touch with your customers.

Posted by ihappened on February 24th, 2010 at 10:52 pm

Comment # 323

I don’t see the point of removing the hostess clubs. The Japanese history trivia, sure, but the hostess clubs aren’t that difficult a concept to understand and their inclusion enhances the playing experience.

Posted by Myuki on February 24th, 2010 at 10:56 pm

Comment # 325

I was going to buy the game day 1, now I doubt I’ll ever get it, because even if I bought it cheap I don’t think I’ll enjoy it, because I’ll keep thinking about the missing parts.

Posted by Tomas on February 24th, 2010 at 10:59 pm

Comment # 327

@SEGA

Cancelled pre-order…. and I had most of my friends interested in this game as well. I explain Japanese Concepts to them and have them try out the Demo (which they LOVED)

Thats 3 pre-orders that wll be cancelled…. Thanks SEGA tell you your product MANAGER and Marketing TEAM.. go back and learn how to properly advertise a great product.

Posted by Tristan_FIRE on February 24th, 2010 at 11:11 pm

Comment # 329

Aaron why does this shit always happen with SEGA? If SoA marketed the game in the first place we wouldn’t need this cuts. WHY? then we hear excuses and then we get another excuse? PEOPLE won’t buy a game they don’t know about.

Now you pissed off the hardcore the only ones who were going to buy it? Aaron tell them to give us the FULL game.

So is there a price cut? I mean you cut the game right?

Posted by DeVeAn on February 24th, 2010 at 11:53 pm

Comment # 331

Canceled my preorder. Picking this game up when it hits the bargain bin.

Posted by Derek on February 25th, 2010 at 12:33 am

Comment # 333

Not buying this. Good luck.

Posted by BG on February 25th, 2010 at 12:52 am

Comment # 335

I was going to post something a bit more though-provoking, then I realized the audience I was directing it towards. So here’s the revised version:

Sega, you’re a bunch of fucking morons.

You’ve managed to alienate the only population of consumers who were going to buy this game after the monumentally boneheaded decision to release a niche title on the same day as Final Fantasy 13.

What the fuck are you thinking? Is this some scheme like in the Producers…where you need a guaranteed flop to generate boatloads of cash?

Well, congratulations in that case. Because you may have just orchestrated the worst sales of any title released in 2010.

Posted by TowelFight on February 25th, 2010 at 12:54 am

Comment # 337

Sorry but I really had to cancle my pre-order. Won’t buy this game with all those things cut. I could have lived with an explanaiton like ‘small fanbase vs. high localization costs’. I’d probably bought the game anyway if that would have been the case.
But SEGA can’t tell me that they ‘just cut a little’ or that this were things I don’t care much about as a player. This is for me to decide!
Also, i find it pretty sneaky they only admited to it because of pressure of fans and media and only two weeks away from official release. They clearly didn’t want to tell us!
Out of these two reasons (cut content which was very valuable to me & the way SEGA treats it’s customers) I won’t buy this game.
Although i would buy the whole package if they couldn’t afford a 100% localization out of financial reasons and would sell the cut content as DLC.

Posted by Raffael on February 25th, 2010 at 1:11 am

Comment # 339

This neckbreaking stunt of yours costs you a lot of money. Is this how to do business?
Sega loses money and customers even before release. You’re no competition. It’s pathethic.

Posted by Nova on February 25th, 2010 at 1:40 am

Comment # 341

While I understand the difficulties of localization and taking a chance on a title that has not sold well in North America, as a consumer I am finding it hard to fork out full price for a game with missing content. I will have to wait on this one, Sega. Thanks for your hard work and I hope to be buying your games again soon.

Posted by Anon on February 25th, 2010 at 1:49 am

Comment # 343

It’s upsetting, really. Just man up and let us know whether Sega has any intentions of adding the Hostess stuff through DLC. No one is upset about the history quiz. Let me repeat, no one really cared too much about the Japanese history quiz. The quiz is a minor thing, and it hasn’t been in any of the Yakuza games released in the states thus far.

The Hostess segments were in both Yakuza 1&2, completely translated in the US, and now you’re taking them away. You can’t just say “our bad” at the last possible moment, having lied to us previously about not taking out content, and expect the fans who have stuck with you to take this lying down. If you’re going to step on our toes, just come right out and say it. Just realize that refusing to fix this ultimately minor issue is a downright stupid decision. Why alienate the fanbase that has been waiting forever for this game? Do you want our money or not?

Posted by Concerned Fan on February 25th, 2010 at 2:05 am

Comment # 345

My pre-order has just been cancelled. Way to ruin any chance of this great series having success outside of Japan.

Posted by Nathan on February 25th, 2010 at 2:38 am

Comment # 347

You failed again SEGA. BRAVO!!!!!!

Posted by samanas on February 25th, 2010 at 2:54 am

Comment # 349

SEGA this are all excuses. The more you trying to explain the more people you’ll piss.

You believe piss off people will up the sale ? Nice move very nice move!!

Posted by aless on February 25th, 2010 at 3:00 am

Comment # 351

Just lame sega, just lame.
I want either
a) you postpone the release to add the content
b) you gurantee the missing content as a patch/dlc

You have 11 days till I cancel my preorder.

Posted by dfgdf on February 25th, 2010 at 3:29 am

Comment # 353

You are really forcing us to chose between supporting something that is -wrong- and boosting the potential of Y4 getting localized. I’m not buying it, I’ll learn japanese before I support this kind of BS.

Posted by gutsack on February 25th, 2010 at 3:35 am

Comment # 355

Regardless of the reasoning, Sega needs to make clear what has been removed, and if anything, what will be able to be unlocked at a later time. You must dispel the uncertainty about what has been removed “quiz and hostess club” we know, but it feels like more than that is gone.

Posted by xdy on February 25th, 2010 at 3:40 am

Comment # 357

Good job, Sega! Cancelled my preorder. Better buy used japanese copy. I known japanese much worse than english, but still I will NEVER pay for even 99% of full game.

Posted by Voronezh on February 25th, 2010 at 4:03 am

Comment # 359

What a shame!!
Sega you don´t spoil your fans like Atlus do
In fact, You are just the oposite of Atlus..you get angry your fans
WE WANT THE COMPLETE VERSION OF YAKUZA 3!!!!
Make us a favour:
Change the Box Art into the Japanese Version
And if it is a problem of time…just release yakuza 3 in summer..do not worry..we would rather to wait and play it complete instead of playing a censured version
SEGA listen to your fans if you want to have success in your future projects and sales
So….TRANSLATE THE COMPLETE VERSION OF YAKUZA 3 PLEASEEEEEE!!!!!!

Posted by RyugaGotoku3COMPLETE on February 25th, 2010 at 4:57 am

Comment # 361

Comment # 12

“First things first, you refers not to the poster, but to the corporation or whoever did the decision.

Now, back then you announced it, made people feel happy and now close to it’s release you’re getting out with the information? How difficult is it to tell the people and fans that you’re not delivering the full package when you’re announcing the release? Are you hoping that people are not going to inform themselves and find it out later that the content is not in? Would you have told us beforehand, if people didn’t ask?

Then you’re selling the game at full price with some useless goodies like an extra CD, but you can’t bring the full gameplay package?

This is some questionable business practice here.

“Even so, Yakuza 3 is still a game packed to the brim with things to do, places to see, and people to fight – offering a massive amount of options for fans of the series and new players alike. In addition, the western versions of the game will come pre-packaged with codes for the DLC, already localized and ready to be enjoyed.”

When you order a hamburger at a restaurant and after some time he comes back and says”btw. you’ll only get the meat, but rest assured that we’ll continue fighting on your behalf to make sure that your critic is going forward, so we can provide…”. Do you think it’s okay?

Give me a break, “packed to the brim”, “little less trivia”? When a glass is half filled do you say it’s filled to the brim? Is 2+2 now 5? It’s a fact that you cut content worth hours of gameplay and story. There are 6(!) contents missing, at least 2 are tradition and again two of them are huge. The package that has been filled to the brim has been cut down and is now NOT FILLED TO THE BRIM anymore, because YOU decided to do so.

Seriously, the hostess clubs are and always have been an essential part of the Yakuza series. When the name Yakuza is on the package it has hostess clubs. That’s how it’s been and should be. Especially when the hostess club is the most improved part of this iteration(aside from graphics), not even the fighting has been improved that much.

It’s also obvious that it’s a significant cut, since some boutiques and items are specifically for that part of the game and this is one of the places where most of Kiryus money goes. Plus there are 10 hostess, each of them having little stories and big extra XP for each finished story as well as some extra items that goes with those little stories.

The much improved hostess club management is also a significant content. Where one can get some huge cash in and even have fun while only spending little time into it, since it’s something you do from time to time.

Even in one of your own Japanese 4 minute trailer you’ve shown them off as mini-game main events.

Also if it’s not apparent enough, slashing away 5 trophies says more than enough.

So what are we? Some kind of Second Class citizens? Do you think we’re not smart enough for things like Mahjong or Shogi, thus it isn’t worth it? Do you think we’re not interested in one of the main features of the series? Who gave you our consensus to think for us and determine what suits us and what not?

I as consumer cannot and will not endorse such practices. If people let you go through with it this, where will this stop? The next time you can cut even more, because you think people are going to tolerate it and buy something that is not complete, with the same excuse:”sorry guys, either you buy a this portion of the game at full price or nothing. But our team does everything to forward these critics, so we can provide as close to the full experience…”.

I love the Yakuza series, that’s why I will not sit down and do nothing while it’s getting butchered by decisions like these.

I will make sure that the message spreads and that people avoid this insulting localization/treatment, rip-off sham package, and I hope others will follow suit, because this is NOT ACCEPTABLE in any way. Neither for the fans and consumers nor the Yakuza series.”

*Posted by D on February 24th, 2010 at 9:27 pm*

Taken from the blog in EU.
http://blogs.sega.com/europe/2010/02/24/whats-up-with-yakuza-3/

This fan/consumer/gamer and other people around the world has told you SEGA, CLEARLY, we the REAL Yakuza fans will not tolerate this madness and crazy butchering of a awesome series.
Again, you guys rip of 10 – 15 hours (optionally) gameplay, minigames, sidestories, events and fun with Kazuma Kiryu and his society.
Whats next? Rip off all japanese things in your future games?! Come on SEGA, give me a break.

Btw, you lost another buyers, because my bro and so on will not buy this game anymore. Unless you bring the FULL original game to us.
And yes, we will spread the word of your incorrect decision for Yakuza 3.

So do yourself and your fans a big favour and bring the full game to the western audiences.

To all gamers and the fans of the Yakuza series, show SEGA they can’t to this kind of despicable things. Spread the word of truth in all direction like other blogs, forums, amazon, gaming mags, your social networks and so on.
Nobody gets fooled by them and save Kazuma Kiryu and Kamurocho in the western region!

Posted by Dragoon on February 25th, 2010 at 6:58 am

Comment # 363

Still don’t understand why Sega would remove hostess bar segments of the game. Was it due to some sort of regional rating restriction? I will still be purchasing the game, but the extra content of the hostess bars will be missed from the previous games. I am excited to be playing 3 in Japanese rather than dubbed English.

SEGA! WORK ON A SHENMUE NEXT GEN TITLE!

Posted by Joey Pellicone on February 25th, 2010 at 7:16 am

Comment # 365

I’ve grown up alongside the gaming industry and have watched it evolve from blocks and beeps to realistic and immersive. I’ve witnessed the censorship debate from the get-go, finding most of it to be silly. It’s time for the industry to actually grow up and grow a pair, rather than playing it safe with watered-down sequels and in-game advertising to keep their bottom line high.

It’s not just the censorship issue that makes this ridiculous. For decades, gamers have missed out on games, portions of their content, or else have suffered through terrible localizations because publishers feel that gamers can’t handle the cultural differences. What they fail to see is how it fosters interest in other cultures. A lot of gamers have taken the time to learn about Japan specifically because of Japanese games. They learn about the culture, the language, and travel there. For some, it’s also a gateway to international studies in general, Japan acting as their first stop in a lifetime of learning about the world. So what if people in America don’t know Japanese trivia? Leave it in the game. Those who don’t know can hit Wikipedia to find answers, possibly getting lost in a sea of information and gaining an interest that not only helps them to better understand Japan, but might actually improve the gaming experience for them. These butchered localizations and bits of censorship are an insult to both the gamer and the developer.

No more cut content. No more censorship. No replacing one country’s pop-culture references with another’s (Shannon Doherty jokes, anyone?).

Mature gamers, speak with your keyboard AND your wallet.

Posted by Shane Stramski on February 25th, 2010 at 8:22 am

Comment # 367

Thanks Sega West. Will take it used.

Posted by Sharkone on February 25th, 2010 at 8:34 am

Comment # 369

Wow, this was on top of my to buy list. Now I’m just waiting for this to hit $19.99 at Wal-Mart.
Nice one Sega, you f@#k up!

Posted by Leah C on February 25th, 2010 at 8:44 am

Comment # 371

JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF ANGRY FANS AND I AM ONE OF THEM.

Posted by Jason on February 25th, 2010 at 9:04 am

Comment # 373

Also, thanks for saving me some money. Now I can buy FFXIII and God of War 3, without straining too much of my wallet.

Posted by Leah C on February 25th, 2010 at 9:14 am

Comment # 375

I’m baffled over here.

I wanted this game because of all the quirky Japan-y stuff you could do on the side.

Can’t really justify the full price purchase now, I’ll grab it from the bargain bin…if I can find it.

Posted by Chad on February 25th, 2010 at 9:34 am

Comment # 377

Sega:

-Releasing the game in a month of AAA titles (sup, Pokemon/Bad Company 2?) flooding
-Not dubbing the game for Americans that will NOT buy a subbed game (I’m not one, but this is common among the US kids)
-Cutting content because “Americans won’t get it!”

Will then:

-Cry and blame gamers for their own mistakes in Yakuza 3 flopping.

How does it feel to be sending the game out to die? Maybe if it was coming out in August like I stated elsewhere, I’d consider buying it. But: No.

And the cut content: Yeah, no. The Japanese version has an Engrish-y script, if I want Yakuza 3 I’ll import it and not give a dime to Sega US that can’t be assed to give fans that whined hard for this to come to the US what they want.

Posted by Name (required) on February 25th, 2010 at 9:38 am

Comment # 379

on one hand i really want to play this game. on the other hand, i don’t want to pay for a watered down version of it.
re-posted from previous blog entry: altering the game content for western audiences kind of misses the point as to why the yakuza series was/is so great. the beauty of yakuza is that it allowed us to glimpse into a culture/world we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. hostess bars are part of that world. you are seriously underestimating your audience by cutting them from the north american release. if you read the comments on the ign, kotaku posts or even these contents, you’ll see that the majority of the fans who supported this series here in the west are at an uproar. there are a lot of people who have decided to drop their pre-orders because of this. please reconsider this. it’s a really bad move on your part to water the game down. the reason why it took so long, you say, for it to come to the west is due to poor sales of the first two installments. just imagine what this will do to the series at a whole; when all of the hardcore fans of the series start to walk away.
i have it pre-ordered at eb games here in canada, but i’m leaning towards canceling it like SO MANY of its fans.
also, it’s been mentioned before but removing it would also seriously upset the economy of the game. a bunch of those items you would spend your money on would be rendered moot. there is still time to put it back in. even if you have to delay its release.

Posted by Justin Woo on February 25th, 2010 at 9:47 am

Comment # 381

I’m going to buy Yakuza 2 just to enjoy the heck out of the hostess part of the game.
Of course, I will be buying it used so you won’t be getting a single cent.

Cheers Sega.

Posted by Jake§ on February 25th, 2010 at 10:10 am

Comment # 383

Good business decision. Lost customer here.

Posted by Paul on February 25th, 2010 at 10:33 am

Comment # 385

Sega

We, the fans want to make this franchise a success in the west. We were ready to open our wallets for this game after the enormous demand for the game to be released outside of Japan.

It took you 1 year for you to listen.
- We waited

You decided to release the game in the worst month of the year when games like Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and GoW 3 comes.
- We decied to save Yakuza a spot

You more or less admit that the localization is a hack job.
- Where does that leave us?

You decide to give us a lobotomized version of the game as well, announcing the cuts just 2 weeks before it comes out. Not only that, there are rumours floating that you’ve cut more than you’re willing to admit.
If you instead focused on making the game 100%, and released the game on a dry month (May for example), you’d gain.

Anyway, I’m sad that this game will flop (because believe me, when you alienate the core demographics with such a niche title, it will fail hard), because that means that there won’t be seeing Yakuza 4 in the west anytime soon. Sega, you seriously dropped the ball on this though. You should engourage your customers by providing the content they desire if you want this game to sell, not disencourage everyone by hacking the game to pieces.

I’m sorry, this game has gone from 1st day buy to cancellation of my pre-order.

Posted by Jensen on February 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am

Comment # 387

@Killrig:

it can,t be more text than star ocean last hope for ps3 and this RPG was translated in 8 different languages…

iam not buying until i know every content is in yakuza 3 that was in the japanese…

Posted by Roger on February 25th, 2010 at 11:05 am

Comment # 389

A update from my site in regard to the known cut content:

- Quiz Minigame
- Club (Datingsim) –> included in part I and II
- The Hostess Club (Kiryu as Manager) –> included in II
- Shogi (jap. chess) –> included in II
- Mahjong –> included in II
- Massage Minigame –> included in I and II

Now there are coming and telling us, sorry it’s too japanese?!

Think about it folks, this 6 content are known there are cut. But there is still a possibility SEGA has cut off more things. Until today they didn’t release a official list with all removed content from the original.

Dear SEGA company, please fix this disaster. There is still time to save your image and get your core fans back.
We want the FULL version of the awesome game Yakuza 3. Not a rip off and a “half full” thing. Because this is beyond ridiculous and not tolerable.

Posted by Dragoon on February 25th, 2010 at 11:17 am

Comment # 391

Bad move SEGA. Pre-order CANCELED!

Posted by MaikuBano on February 25th, 2010 at 11:47 am

Comment # 393

SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SEGA !!!!!!!!!!! DONT CUT GAME STUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Alkaidapx on February 25th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Comment # 395

Does anyone at Sega America know the meaning of Yubitsume?

Posted by p1nguin on February 25th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Comment # 397

Thanks for the heavily edited and now somewhat pointless release of Yakuza 3. The timing of the announcement and the speed of the localization always had me suspicious that Yakuza 3 was little more than an apology for the overall cruddiness of Bayonetta’s PlayStation 3 port. These newly announced cuts all but confirm that theory.

Quick tip Sega: THIS SERIES WILL NEVER RESONATE WITH MAINSTREAM AUDIENCES. At least not by making cuts that your average consumer would never be aware of in the first place. Maybe if you tried…oh, I don’t know…actually advertising the game. You know, that thing you never did with Yakuza 2…and instead chose to blame the fans for not stepping up (when the game was released so quietly that many weren’t even aware it had happened). Oh, and pricing the game at a more realistic $40 might help bring a few more people into the fold as well.

But no, instead you choose the lazy, disastrous route of removing much of the game’s quirky appeal and cultural relevancy. And in doing so you’ve only succeeded in alienating the people who were intending to purchase this game in the first place. And for what? Casual gamers whose purchasing dollars you still won’t get? An angry hardcore fan base that would’ve been more than willing to play Bayonetta for another month or two while you translate everything in Yakuza 3?

As someone that’s lived in Japan, I can say the biggest appeal Yakuza has always had for me is the “mini vacation” it offers with its uncanny accuracy regarding certain elements of the culture. For anyone else, the game still offers a wonderful glimpse into portions of Japanese culture that one might have difficulty discovering otherwise. Get out of this early nineties mentality that an American audience’s brain will melt the moment they’re confronted with something “too foreign”. It was insulting then, and in this age of Katamaris, Phoenix Wrights, and two previously released, uncut Yakuza titles it’s just ridiculous, needless, and infuriating.

But expecting well thought out decisions from Sega is clearly to much anymore. For over a decade all you’ve proven able to do time and again is make dumb choices and awful Sonic games. Perhaps once the hate mail piles up you’ll finally pull your head out of your *** and offer the omissions as DLC. Until then you owe us a complete game.

P.S.: Oh, and genius move with your Resonance of Fate release date. Let us know how launching a week after Final Fantasy 13 works out for you.

Morons.

Posted by TowelFight on February 25th, 2010 at 12:24 pm

Comment # 399

No Hostess Club No BUY it’s as simple as that

Posted by jayakuma on February 25th, 2010 at 1:03 pm

Comment # 401

Each moment you make us wait without verifying ALL cut content and explaining how you’ll rectify the situation is a potential sale lost. Turn your company around and treat your consumers with more respect, please.

Posted by king_ruckus on February 25th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

Comment # 403

Well Sega, I’m disappointed. I do not understand your decision of cutting content. Yet, I’ll still buy this game. I really want Yakuza 4 to be released in the west, that’s why.

But be warned: With your latest (bad) move, you’re angering a lot of fans, fans that are your ‘core audience for this kind of games. Fix the situation, SEGA, you can do it.

Posted by LaLko on February 25th, 2010 at 1:59 pm

Comment # 405

Way to go Sega. You guys really know how to fuck up a good thing. TONS of people, including myself play Yakuza games for the Japanese experience of it all, if we wanted something that “resonated” with the American gamers more then I’d go buy GTA4.

Don’t screw over the dedicated fans of the series by butchering parts of the game and expecting us to live with them. I’d pay full price for the game and like 5 bucks for the DLC. Just put the crap back in the game some way or another.

Posted by Kazahashi on February 25th, 2010 at 2:04 pm

Comment # 407

to any SEGA exec reading this.. your company put out a bayonetta fix in like 2 weeks, that’s all we’re asking for is the fix on the way. ANY public word..just call up IGN or mention it here, just say “we got the message, we fixed it..patch on the way”

You can do it I have faith

Posted by matt on February 25th, 2010 at 2:32 pm

Comment # 409

Dear Sega, I am extremely disappointed that Yakuza 3 has been cut because they (hostess bars) are great when you want to take a break from all the action and need to refresh yourself. I personally wanted to pick this title up over the big namers coming out the same day/month before learning that cuts were going to be made.

If time and money were to be the problem of this situation, I am willing to spent money on the missing content as DLC. I want a complete version and not a modified shortened version.

I am a Yakuza core fan and bought Yakuza 1 and 2 full priced and most likely I will support Yakuza 3 for the sake of Sega bringing over Yakuza 4 to the West. All I ask in return is to have faith in your fans to support your products.

Posted by Yakuza_fan16 on February 25th, 2010 at 2:54 pm

Comment # 411

After what I did, sent you my plaque? C’mon. Its a punch to my face. Why should I let you hang my plaque up! Bring the cut content as a DLC, or please give me my plaque back ASAP. You don’t deserve it.

Posted by dragonofdojima17 on February 25th, 2010 at 3:01 pm

Comment # 413

Doesn’t cut hostesses mean a lot of the game is actually screwed? A lot of my money spent in the last games went to shops for presents and hostess/host club. Wouldn’t removal of the hostess club actually screw with the game’s economy? Did you take out all the now irrelevant items and shops as well? Would it really taken that much longer to localize the hostess parts than to program the clubs, shops, and items out? Assuming you did anyway, and didn’t leave all hostess related things lingering!

Was it actually a licensing issue? Ageha didn’t want their girls in the US? Come on Sega, for “being upfront with us,” there’s obviously a lot more to this story than you’re telling us.

For now though, my preorder is canceled. Sorry, but I’m not playing a gimped game with some irrelevant excuse.

Posted by fhfhfh on February 25th, 2010 at 3:19 pm

Comment # 415

Yeah, have fun keeping all those games in your storage and selling it to retail stores.

No buy for me. You messed up the Bayonetta game for the PS3. You put Valkyria Chronicles 2 on the PSP. You’re making crappy Sonic games and shenmue racing. Now you’re cutting content.

I predict your downfall soon. You will be closing down or be bought out cause YOU JUST LOST YOUR FAN’S SUPPORT.

It’s filled to the brim? Did it max 50GB dual layer for blu-ray? Not enough time? Delay it to avoid releasing it on FFXIII day. You started on Summer 2009? Do your work for once. If you’re paid to translate, then translate. You are not dubbing. You are just subbing. Are you retarded giving us this excuse?

Posted by Johnny Tremain on February 25th, 2010 at 3:30 pm

Comment # 417

@ 383

I’m not getting the game too because they is plenty to choose from in march, save FF13 cuz localization is FAIL like SEGA. Who knows what they pull in yakuza 4 release. They even managed to release a port as bad as hell for bayonetta with obvious flaws.

Honestly Sega your excuses are terribad, hostess was available in 2 and mahjong, shogi etc and time is not a excuse, consumers rather wait for a good game than get a game earlier full of flaws. For a company that doesn’t put consumers first won’t get my support. I am not getting this game period.

I want to experience the game the way its meant to be experienced not a inferior version. Whoever made that decision of either remove content or no release needs to get fired, seriously what a fail decision.

** if the excuse is something about pressure on Japan i.e. rapelay fiasco and bring a bad image on Japan. Seriously those faggots complaining need a reality check and worry more about the more serious fucking shit (rape, murder, etc) that is going wrong in their own fucked up country than the likes of others. Also it not like US is a PERFECT country. Oh and the stripper content is left in surely this is worse than hostess LOL Sega.

Posted by ross.harold on February 25th, 2010 at 4:05 pm

Comment # 419

I’m very displeased with this announcement SEGA. I purchased both Yakuza games for PS2 and they are two of my all time favorite games. Hearing that content is being cut from Yakuza 3 when similar events were in the North American versions of the first 2, has made me rethink purchasing the game.

I urge you to please listen to your customers/fans and not cut content from the Western version. If this means another few months before the game is released, I’m sure the majority of your customers would not mind if this means receiving the complete game.

Posted by Kaioh Hokuto on February 25th, 2010 at 4:13 pm

Comment # 421

I do not support the cuts and i will not be buying this game

Posted by Alex on February 25th, 2010 at 4:27 pm

Comment # 423

I posted once, but I’m still wondering. How the cuts don’t dig deep into the rest of the game? I don’t understand how ‘dates’ with the girls make sense anymore, or what purpose the shops and items that are exclusively for the girls are worth now? do they just get cut too? that’s seems to be too much.

Posted by fei0x on February 25th, 2010 at 4:56 pm

Comment # 425

@Meteora Cedric

Yeah many people here in Italy are cancelling their preorders:\

Posted by Sharkone on February 25th, 2010 at 5:12 pm

Comment # 427

Seriously Sega, if this isn’t fixed by march 1st, I am switching my preorder to FF13. I played through Shenmue 1&2 and Yakuza 1&2…. I have been with you since Genesis and am currently 22 years old. This is the ONLY GAME I have ever preordered for any console!!!! I am really trying to believe in you guys but I losing hope.

Posted by Eddie on February 25th, 2010 at 5:33 pm

Comment # 429

What a stupid decision. I consider myself a huge Yakuza fan, and even I am thinking of canceling my preorder on this. Getting all of that content cut, yet keeping the game at full price is inexcusable.

And the worst part about it is that this single decision pretty much cemented the future of the series, not that it hasn’t been butchered enough in the past installments.

At least have the decency of releasing the cut content as FREE dlc later on.

Posted by Sanctine on February 25th, 2010 at 5:35 pm

Comment # 431

Atlus wouldnt have cut anything

Posted by King on February 25th, 2010 at 6:12 pm

Comment # 433

Oh and yeah, canceled my pre-order for this like everyone else, and I’m sure my wife’s father, the 2 guys at work that know about the game, and my brother will all cancel when I tell them. Now we both get to look like fools since I hyped the game to them, thanks again.

Good news though, I’m still getting RoF! Well, that is unless you guys decide to cut content on that too… I’ll keep watching for anyone “surprise announcements”.

Posted by bruce_billis on February 25th, 2010 at 6:23 pm

Comment # 435

King, you’re absolutely right, and the sad part…..Atlus has less money and their titles are generally a LOT more niche than Sega’s.

So come on Sega, do the right thing, give us the content as DLC at the very least. If you’re dropping the game in March to meet your fiscal year crap, fine, whatever, but give us the content via DLC AT LEAST.

Hell, I’d PAY for it, though I think we shouldn’t have to.

Posted by Kazahashi on February 25th, 2010 at 6:51 pm

Comment # 437

Nope sega your going to earn $60 less from me, not getting an inferior version.

Was going to get this over other games in March but not anymore and probably won’t get anymore games from you. Bayonetta (PS3 Port) and now this, if this is how you treat your consumers then so be it.

# 422 – I personally wouldn’t pay for something that was originally there in the first place

Posted by lalalafail on February 25th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Comment # 439

I’m still going to buy it! since ryu ga gotokus or
Yakuza (here in europe) are heck of an game series..

I still don’t justify the removals of
- cabaret/host(ess) club visits / get-the-girls-to-like-you-sidegame
- train-the-best-hostess-sidegame
- massage palor minigame
- Shogi game
- Mah-jong game.
These things are essential in the game even outside Japan, one of the reasons why this game has succeed also in Europe, and in America is that the whole game is a like a virtual real life experience visit to japan. But when these are removed the feel disappears and the the touch of that realness in gone.. i hope Sega does hear, listen fans wishes and includes these even in down-loadable content through PlayStation Store in Europe/US… or postpones the release a little bit so that the game is 100% original and is like the original Japanese version.

Posted by Nekocatblackgrowl on February 25th, 2010 at 7:46 pm

Comment # 441

How many copies have to sell so we can get a complete Yakuza 4?

Posted by Jason on February 25th, 2010 at 8:44 pm

Comment # 443

My Bro, lil Lui, is going to die…and his last wish was that he can play yakuza 3 to its fullest! and now he is dying without getting the full expirience…please give us the full game….Lil Lui is waiting for it!

Posted by Brother Que on February 25th, 2010 at 10:15 pm

Comment # 445

I am sadly disappointed in the decision to remove some of the content in Yakuza 3.

If the decision was to try to made the game more approachable for the enjoyment of the casual impluse purchaser then whoever made that decision need to be reasigned because it alienated a very large portion of the historical fan base. In addition that ill will is spreading on the net and it will further surpress the casual sales the descision maker wanted to expand.

Even if the descision was motivate to avoid the chance that a new outlet would make a show piece/witchhunt of Yakuza 3, that witchhunt would have spured additional sales. If you get the chance ask the descion maker why does he/she think that Rockstar puts such antisocial content and beating a prostitude to get your money back in a game. They do that because 1. its a game so it is something different and will attract controversy and atttention to help sell product and 2. to allow the player to do something that they wouldn’t do in reallife [let's all hope]. Note I am not advocating being that classless;)

If whomever made the decision was a person who believe the content would be bad from kids they should be fired for not relaizing the age demographics of the typical game buyer in the US. Even if it was on the hope to get a lower rating the ESRB it was a poor descion.

My wife and I took a vacation in Tokyo two years ago and we walked through Kabukicho just to see what it visually was like. It was a very interesting experience in that as an outsider it felt very safe. The touts obivously left the foreign couple alone but even that was an interest part of our relatively shallow experience there [since we just walked the area]. I was looking forward to seeing Yakuza 3′s story telling refined take on the expierence since as a non-native Japanese speakers we did not want to intrude.

Disappointed that we will not beable to relive that aspect of our vacation.

My pre-order with GameStop will be canceled this weekend.

Still, I wish you luck and success in future endevors but it will be difficult for me to get excited about future Sega products because of this descission. When considering games to buy in the future I am going to be very skeptical.

Posted by Sadly Disappointed on February 25th, 2010 at 10:50 pm

Comment # 447

I’m still buying it. :] Thanks for bringing it over, hoping for yakuza 4 as well.

Posted by Honkie on February 25th, 2010 at 11:35 pm

Comment # 449

I just moved my preorder to another game a little while ago. Good job Sega. I’m not buying your games anymore. I honestly don’t know how you always manage to fuck up so badly.

Posted by James on February 26th, 2010 at 12:09 am

Comment # 451

I defend almost every things that considered to be bad in Yakuza 3 & SEGA.

1. 1 year gap from the Japanese version ->
As waiting for the English version, we, the fans, finally have the chance to enjoy Yakuza 3 in English.
And the English demo finally released several days before, thus complaints starts to pour in.
*Graphic = The graphic still fine to me.
*Game-play = I love the game-play.
*Last Gen Impressions = I don’t mid if it’s “PS2 game with 720p HD” & yes, I don’t mind text boxes.
*Price Tag = I don’t mind shelled out a full $60 for this game……… Yet.

2. The cover art ->
I have once told that I don’t care about the English version cover art. Well…
The English cover art is bad, in my opinion…
If it’s this consoling for SEGA / whoever design the cover art, my anticipated games such as Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XIII, & God Of War 3 are also have average cover box-art.
The difference is, Yakuza 3 is niche compare to those 3 monster games.
So don’t expect anyone who would bought Yakuza 3 because of the “uninspiring” cover and rather choose Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XIII, and / or God Of War 3 because it’s more “famous”…

3. Release date ->
After Heavy Rain.
AT THE SAME TIME with FINAL FANTASY XIII.
And BEFORE GOD OF WAR 3.
………………………

4. Price tag ->
Like I said before, I don’t mind shelled out a full $60 for a 1 year old game as long it’s “100% complete” and the rumors are not true.

Alas the irony………

5. Contents cut ->
………………………
No.
I am not going to defend this.
I AM NOT GOING TO DEFEND THIS!!!

Anyone who still buying Yakuza 3 English version even with the contents cut, I pray & hope you still enjoy the game.

As for me…

Bargain bin.

SEGA, enjoy Yakuza 3 sales in the same day of Final Fantasy XIII & before God Of War 3.

Hopefully we would get Yakuza 4 and / or Kenzan in 5 years later + 75% contents cut.

/sarcasm.

Posted by Cloudberry on February 26th, 2010 at 2:58 am

Comment # 453

SEGA I feel sorry for you, you have the worst and most fickle fanbases out of any game company I know. You should just cancel Yakuza 3 and let all these wannabe Japanese cry in a closet.

Posted by anon on February 26th, 2010 at 7:40 am

Comment # 455

Japanese publishers always seem to find a way to f**k us over. I’m giving up on you, it’s no just worth investing time and emotion in you when in the end, all you get is a truckload of sh*t poured over you.

Do the right thing, give us additional japanese original voice acting and don’t remove any parts of the game.

Posted by Green Tea on February 26th, 2010 at 8:03 am

Comment # 457

The funny thing about all of this is that Yakuza 3 is basically a game that only fans of Yakuza & Yakuza 2 are interested in… so cutting content is a huge mistake. I know I won’t be buying Yakuza 3 as it stands right now. Thanks but no thanks. Speak with your dollars! (or lack of dollars as the case may be!)

Posted by Ujn Hunter on February 26th, 2010 at 8:43 am

Comment # 459

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9tqQWagwO4 This video summarizes EVERYONE’S thought’s and feelings

Posted by Seven5 on February 26th, 2010 at 9:54 am

Comment # 461

I know that I am a voice drown in all of these voices that just screams they hate it. There are many points that some of them brought up.

1) Releasing this news a few days before launch? If you’ve already decided to do that from the start, then at least let the audience know. How did you think we would feel if you told us the day before?

2) A lot of companies really need to understand this: There isn’t much as a culture shock as say….the 1990s. What’s the point of bringing a game to the western hemisphere and then modifying it?

This reminds me of Nier where the company decided: HEY! ITS THE WESTERN. THEY WOULD WANT TO PLAY THIS OLD MAN.

I just wished companies would do polls and what not before deciding what they THINK we would want.

Posted by Davis on February 26th, 2010 at 10:18 am

Comment # 463

* Censored cuts are a big let down.

Posted by Spectreman on February 26th, 2010 at 11:00 am

Comment # 465

I will not buy a censored game. PERIOD.

Posted by Subenu on February 26th, 2010 at 11:01 am

Comment # 467

Unfortunately, Sega, I also have a hard choice to make. That choice is now to stand by my principle that censoring a product is wrong, and i will not be purchasing this game. I will instead be picking up Battlefield Bad Company 2 along with my copy of Final Fantasy 13. (launching Yakuza 3 against that game already assured it would tank, of course, but I’m still going through with this)

Of course some of these things would not sell to western gamers in general, but if you think western gamers in general have any interest in a Japanese mafia game with Japanese voice acting, then you are completely out of your mind. This better part of the game audience over here are japanohpiles who want the whole genuine experience. Don’t give us that deadline excuse either, Yakuza 3 in NA isn’t going to make an impact on Sega’s quarterly earning, we all know that. IF it dos, it’ll be a negative one, because this move pissed off the niche group of people you were trying to sell it to.

Seriously, Yakuza 3 with censorship against FF13, and Resonance of Fate against God of War 3. It’s like you actively look for ways to sabotage your own goddamn company from the inside out. Are you people seriously not able to scrap together even a small amount of business savvy?

Posted by Steve on February 26th, 2010 at 11:22 am

Comment # 469

re: #466:

“By removing expected aspects of japanese culture that were present in previous titles, they have gutted a key part of the series authenticity.”

if you want the game to be authentically Japanese, buy a Japanese copy. Because playing a Japanese game with English subtitles isn’t really authentically Japanese.

“if you’d just done your jobs properly”

who are you to tell sega anything!? Your job (which you need to do properly) is to shut the hell up, give SEGA money and hope for the best.

“I’ve had enough. I do not need Sega to screen out content they think western audiences might not identify with/like – they are being paid to localise a product, not whichever parts of it they deem, in their infinite wisdom, to be important.”

You don’t even know the meaning of the words you use. To translate is to directly convert a game from one language into another with all content intact. Localization implies cutting content that may be too foreign for the region of release.

“In the case of Yakuza – the fanbase knows what it wants”

Then why don’t you all get off SEGA’s ass and make your own Yakuza game?

If I was SEGA, I’d be embarassed to have fans like you.

Posted by NinjaBinger on February 26th, 2010 at 11:32 am

Comment # 471

RubyEclipse:

Corporate plants like NinjaBinger aside, how does it feel to see a blog where posts normally don’t top twenty comments receive nearly five hundred replies…all negative?

Is this the reaction you wanted? The one you expected? Do you honestly expect Yakuza 3 to be anything but one of the biggest flops of 2010?

And finally, will Sega have the gall to blame anyone but themselves when this game has tanked?

Posted by TowelFight on February 26th, 2010 at 11:58 am

Comment # 473

although im disappointed with sega’s decision to remove content, I understand if they had budgetary concerns. a version is better than no version, unfortunately. Wouldn’t it have made sense to release the game as download only, thus saving on packaging and physical products? also why is the game so text heavy. next gen consoles deserve more than text scrolls but japanese games seem to to love them (prof. layton is similar). GTA 4 a comparable game wtih driving also has more cutsecenes and very little text. i dont mind reading subtiltes if some one is talking but when im scrolling text and pushing x, well ill read a book….one can only wonder about yakuza 4….

p.s. i will be buying the game…at some point…..

Posted by potential customer on February 26th, 2010 at 12:29 pm

Comment # 475

This was unnecessary as you can see… Over 400+ posts and still growing.

Yakuza is not crappy game to be cut, people will get upset!

Sega why is it so hard to announce DLC and redeem yourself?? It is not too late

Posted by Jackal on February 26th, 2010 at 12:35 pm

Comment # 477

Actually, being a corporate plant for SEGA might not be such a bad thing. Thanks for the idea, TowelFight!

Posted by NinjaBinger on February 26th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

Comment # 479

I’m still going to get it but I’d be lying if i said i wasn’t massively disappointed. The hostess bar segments were some of the funniest moments in the previous 2 games. You really got to see the sensitive side of Kazuma.

Posted by Jasper on February 26th, 2010 at 1:09 pm

Comment # 481

“also why release the game between god of war 3 and final fantasy? big mistake. heavy rain is also out. three triple A titles….doom and gloom….”

Perhaps someone is trying to push it out before March 31 fiscal year hoping to get a bigger bonus. However, it seems that bonus is shrinking as the number of comments on this blog grows.

Posted by JennaN on February 26th, 2010 at 2:27 pm

Comment # 483

“who are you to tell sega anything!? Your job (which you need to do properly) is to shut the hell up, give SEGA money and hope for the best.”

Ha ha, oh wow. It’d be embarrassing if anyone sincerely believed this is the case.

Posted by Jarsh on February 26th, 2010 at 3:43 pm

Comment # 485

If we buy the censored release, we’re essentially telling SEGA it’s OK to cut stuff.

If we wait until it hits bargain bins, then we can say goodbye to Yakuza 4.

Damned if we buy, damned if we don’t.

PS: 7th Dragon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by denpanosekai on February 26th, 2010 at 4:41 pm

Comment # 487

“Jarsh, it’d be embarassing if you sincerely thought you were not a weeaboo faggot.

Also, now 75% of preorders have been cancelled according to GameRoom Blitz editor ManekiNeko. Are you happy for killing SEGA over some virtual Japanese tits, guys? I hope that one day you meet a real Yakuza, and decides to take a little more than your pinky off…”

This is some deserved good news, hopefully even more preorders get cancelled. Such despicable decisions must be answered by action and not only words.

Also this isn’t about your so called virtual sinuses. First, it’s fact that it’s a traditional feature in the Yakuza series and is even heavily advertised in Japan which shows the significance of the content.
Secondly the fact alone that they cut content and tried to withhold the information to the latest point trying to sell it at full price even though it’s in indeed not the full game.

To sum up what you’re defending right now and what they’ve done:
1. Cut content worth 5 trophies(10%).
2. Withheld the information and probably wouldn’t have told anyone till everybody has got their copies and wonders where the content is and notice that they were ripped off. Luckily, some good people noticed it and asked the questions.
Also they still have to specify the cut content.
3. Treating you like dirt, an uninformed lowlife citizen who they can fool as much as they want.

Let them off the hook now and they’ll do it again, because then they’ll know you’re docile.

Furthermore you should think about what you’re writing. Even as a joke it’s not funny that you wish people harm in any way.

Posted by Daruma on February 26th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

Comment # 489

No buy for me. I really wanted to buy this game too but I hate censorship and in this case “Cutting out” stuff. The game is already for 18+ , why not just leave it in? It is just being lazy. Just give us the full experience. Yakuza 3 is great, the Hostess part would be just for fun to have a break from all the fighting and do something else.

Now we will be stuck with all the Money in Yakuza 3 and have nothing to spend it on.

Enjoy your screw-up Sega. I don’t care if you bring over Yakuza 4 or not, since you will butcher it anyway.

Just take your time and postpone the release date of Yakuza 3. Translate all the stuff and give it to us. And great job competing with God of War III and FF13, nobody will buy Yakuza 3 and then you can whine about “how yakuza was unsuccesful”

Posted by BIG on February 26th, 2010 at 5:35 pm

Comment # 491

wow sega u disappoint yet again

Posted by Seattle Washington on February 26th, 2010 at 6:13 pm

Comment # 493

Sega please repeat your blog and clarify.

ATTN everyone! If you go on wikipedia you’ll read about how they are reporting you CAN go into hostess clubs…the only thing taken out was the managing the hostess club.

I’m not defending Sega at all but if we don’t support yakuza 3, than yakuza 4 or kenzan will never come over here.

To RubyEclisp: I feel bad for ya, one small bit of typing you did brought preorder sales crashing, and everyone freaking out. Talk to your people and get the word out that hostess clubs ARE in the game..and your people are discussing what to put back in the game at a later DLC download. This would fix EVERYTHING. But if you don’t do it right away it’ll be a total disaster, time is everything… get the word out now!

Posted by matthew on February 26th, 2010 at 7:54 pm

Comment # 495

@492 N:matthew

Sorry, Wikipedia is not a viable source. Even I can manipulate it. The blogpost itself specifies pretty clearly that Hostess Clubs in general has been cut including the management.

What they have left inside is the possibility to “grab” one of the hostesses from the clubs and go eating or play minigames with them. You could say the minigames become a Player VS. CPU. That’s what they mean with dating.

Long story short: Dating = CPU opponent at minigames.

The hostess club itself plus the whole discussion at club thing + substories are most probably cut(see missing trophies).

I do understand your concern about Yakuza 4, but what you’re acutally doing is kinda like “blackmailing”.
The only thing you’re currently supporting is this shady policy of ripping people off with absolutely NO GUARANTEE that they are going to do ANYTHING.
On the contrary of what you believe, what you’re really saying is this:”Oh thank you SEGA for selling me an incomplete product. Please keep doing it!”

On top of that SEGA themselves is keeping this issue as good as they can on this blog. I see no warning at the official PS blog which makes it apparent that they only have ill intentions as it stands.

Yakuza 3 might not be the only victim of this practice. This whole issue can spread past Yakuza 3 that’s why we have to act and stop it right here. Support good treatment, resist bad treatment. It’s simple as that.

Posted by Daruma on February 26th, 2010 at 8:40 pm

Comment # 497

@493

Totally understand where you are coming from.. I’m just worried about this franchise getting killed by Sega’s own stupid decisions. What gives me hope…is that it’s totally fixable by THEM. If it’s just 1% missing from the game, why not bring it back in or comment that they will in the future? *shrugs* nothing to lose.. could even charge it for those who really want it … I dunno.

It’s a double edge sword right now.. but fixable if SEGA wakes up and solves the problem. But I know where you’re coming from.. i’ve waited too long to play this game so i’m going to buy day 1 but I understand why you’re not for that.

Posted by Matthew on February 26th, 2010 at 9:24 pm

Comment # 499

Your order has been successfully canceled. For your reference, here’s a summary of your order:

You just canceled order #xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx placed on January 11, 2010.

Status: CANCELED

_____________________________________________________________________

1 of Yakuza 3

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC

Posted by zoglog on February 26th, 2010 at 9:33 pm

Comment # 501

I agree with matthew on this SEGA, SAY SOMETHING DAMNIT!!!! When there’s 500 posts about this, a petition, loss in preorders, and your forums look like the aftermath of an atomic bomb, it’s time to say something and put people’s minds at ease so we can all re-order our games. Hell, I’ll get it DAY ONE if you just ANNOUNCE that we get the stuff as DLC.

Posted by Ryan Erickson on February 26th, 2010 at 10:08 pm

Comment # 503

@NinjaBringer

I don’t think you know what a weeaboo is. But keep on bending over for Sega and supporting practices that should have ended over 10 years ago in the video game industry, broheim.

Posted by Jarsh on February 26th, 2010 at 10:41 pm

Comment # 505

I was excited to see how SEGA was actually advertising Yakuza 3, unlike the other installments. Press is good and I want to see this series do well in western markets. That being said, there have been quite a number of screw ups. The main ones being the boxart which pales in comparison to the Japanese cover and a release date near FF13. And now this, the removal of the hostess bars. As much as it sucks to admit, sales are tanking because of this development. As they say, sex sells. it would be wise to provide a version of Yakuza 3 as close to the Japanese version as possible. I look forward to seeing Kazuma soon in all his untouched glory.

Posted by JP on February 26th, 2010 at 11:11 pm

Comment # 507

An incomplete game deserves an incomplete purchase.

PRE-ORDER CANCELED!!!!!

Posted by lol is SEGA serious on February 26th, 2010 at 11:30 pm

Comment # 509

Sega, if you read this…aren’t you afraid that western games are killing you off? a handfull of japanese game makers still exist from the domination that was the 90′s..now look at, you guys can’t even make a sonic game without it failing. Sega, u hold some of the lowest metacritic scores of all time fora developer…maybe you should ask “why?”

Posted by yokem on February 26th, 2010 at 11:46 pm

Comment # 511

“Treating you like dirt, an uninformed lowlife citizen who they can fool as much as they want.”

I’m not uninformed, I was never going to buy Yakuza anyway. As for lowlife, that’s dead on the money. You think SEGA tries to rip you off? You’ve never done business with me before.

And yeah, I can see where maybe SEGA kinda fucked you guys over. I’m sticking up for them because back in the 80′s they were the shit (Out Run/Space Harrier/Fantasy Zone wut wut), and that’s all I care about. I OWE THEM MY SUPPORT. As mentioned, you’re the fuckee, not me.

SEGA hasn’t fooled me, I’m SEGA’s loyal fan from way back when. I’ll be the first to tell you, it hasn’t been an easy road. But what’s fun and easy? NOTHING!

The hilarious part is, if Nintendo or Treasure or some other developer did this, you guys wouldn’t complain, you’d just take it. Because it’s SEGA, you think you can pick on them. Go to hell.

Posted by NinjaBinger on February 27th, 2010 at 12:42 am

Comment # 513

@NinjaBinger,

Dun you get it why we are so angry about? We are not angry becos it is Sega or whatever. I am also Sega fans and yakuza fans, I think that they make good game. We are angry that the fact that they took out something that should be included in the first place, this is a matter of principal. It is not what damn virtual woman or shit we wan, but the ability to play the game as full as before. The side mission and mini game that play a huge role in the game, that is what we want.
Can you imagine that you got to play GTA4 without any side mission? This is the feeling we get u know? Anyway I am wasting time talking to ppl like you who do not intent to buy the game in the first place, why are you here if you dun wan to buy it?
What I can tell you is that I will still buy the game even without the content that had been cut out and support the game.
I am just disappointed in their action and the way the treat the game and the fans. They might know how to make game but they do not know how to build up public relationship and customers satifaction.

Posted by Jason on February 27th, 2010 at 2:34 am

Comment # 515

Hey SEGA. I’ll give you some advice to make more money for free.

-Use the Japanese version of Yakuza 3′s cover. The cover is so damn ugly for US. Just remove the cigarette if that’s a problem.
-Don’t cut out any content and screw your fans over. I have no idea why you need to cut content from the game. You had a year to do the localization. The Hostess Bar was in the previous Yakuza games and the Trivia which I do not care much for should also be included. What’s wrong with learning something about Japan?
-Stop telling us what we want. Listen to us.
-Hire new people. Seriously. Who ever is doing the marketing for this and your other great games must suck. Ugly cover for Yakuza 3. Horrible commercial for Bayonetta with no game play.
-Fire the Sonic Team. They suck. Do you guys ever read reviews of your games?

Really, all you had to do was just translate the game Japanese to English. Leave the dub in Japanese. I know many people who are going to cancel their pre-orders because of the cut content. All the anime nerds, weaboos and japanophiles are upset.

I’m not sure what you guys are trying to do. The game is about a JAPANESE guy who talks JAPANESE, lives in JAPAN and is a JAPANESE gangster doing JAPANESE things. Are you guys trying to WESTERNIZE this game?

Posted by NicoNico on February 27th, 2010 at 4:00 am

Comment # 517

SEGA died in the era of 16bits… =(

I hate you SEGA ;(

Posted by Zappa on February 27th, 2010 at 4:24 am

Comment # 519

I think it’s very lame that any content period would be cut from this game. I really do hope Sega doesn’t go through with removing this content. Otherwise I don’t see myself purchasing this.

Posted by X-pert74 on February 27th, 2010 at 4:55 am

Comment # 521

X-pert74, the game’s pretty much gone gold. It’s out in two weeks, probably been shipped and sitting in stores already since it’s street dated.

Sega has to go the patch/dlc route to fix this. The statement in this blog seems to indicate that they have little intention of doing so. We have to keep things going until we get another response. Sad thing is there are more Yakuza fans out there who have no idea of the stunt that’s been pulled. Word has to get out to them of this before they drop money on an incomplete product.

Posted by king_ruckus on February 27th, 2010 at 5:03 am

Comment # 523

No buy for me as well. I don’t care if it takes a bit longer to come out. Just have the full contents of the game in there. I can wait. Please leave the original content in tact.

Posted by Sam on February 27th, 2010 at 9:26 am

Comment # 525

Cancelling my preorder thanks SEGA.

Posted by Derek on February 27th, 2010 at 1:27 pm

Comment # 527

It is disappointing that some of the best gameplay aspects have been cut out of the game but that isn’t going to make me cancel my pre-order or anything. I can understand why people are annoyed but there is no need for some of the bullshit abuse some people write on here, seriously grow up.

Sega, thank you for releasing Yakuza in Australia at the same time instead of delaying it by a few months like most companies do.

Posted by Amanda on February 27th, 2010 at 3:50 pm

Comment # 529

Its funny that I havent heard a single good thing on here and yet sega has not said anything about fixing the situation….nice to know you want games other than Sonic so do well. Oh wait……

Posted by King on February 27th, 2010 at 5:40 pm

Comment # 531

I too am not amused by Sega’s thoughtlessness. I’m switching my preorder from Yakuza 3 to Final Fantasy XIII unless they decide to put in Yakuza 3′s cut content as a dlc patch. Also guess what other game comes out on March 9th? Resident Evil 5 Gold.

So Seriously, unless this game is made to become uncensored, the only companies getting my cash in March are Square Enix and Capcom. I’m tired of being screwed over by this company that I’ve idiotically supported for over the past 15 years.

Posted by evilmajikman on February 27th, 2010 at 8:29 pm

Comment # 533

Still gonna pick it up….

Posted by Shin_Chuck on February 27th, 2010 at 9:56 pm

Comment # 535

@NinjaBinger

Well, I guess I am just really wasting time talking to you as from what u say, you are not a real gamer. You should not even be here in the 1st place. A real gamer want to play their game and get as close to 100% completion as possible and ur act of downloading save game really prove what kind of player are you. Ppl like you will not understand how a real gamer feels, you why dun u do everyone a favour and stop siding sega.

All of the ppl here complaining are the real gamer be it what reason. So you have no rights in telling them whether they are right as you are not a real gamer urself.

Posted by Jason on February 27th, 2010 at 10:04 pm

Comment # 537

@ #512: Don’t buy any English translations of Haruki Murakami books, then.

Posted by brock2097 on February 27th, 2010 at 11:14 pm

Comment # 539

Why is my comment #502 still being moderated while other comments make it through? Is there something about my comment ringing true? I can simply take that comment elsewhere.

Posted by Stan on February 28th, 2010 at 1:33 am

Comment # 541

why aren’t these games fully voiced in any territory? approximation of reality? GTA4 pushed boundaries, yakuza 3 is also but not as much. its nest gen, fully voiced games please. Why not release a read japenes game, ppl who love yakuza games may well have to learn the language from now on.

Posted by manny moo on February 28th, 2010 at 6:24 am

Comment # 543

Real gamer? That’s some gay shit, man. You’re probably one of those fags who bought the Halo soda and watched that movie “Gamer” and shit.

So yeah, I’m not a gamer. I will play a video game or two, but I’m not a gamer; there’s nothing proud about playing video games. They’re expensive digital toys.

And besides, most of my games are on PC (and not that gayass Warcraft shit), not your pussy console. So “real gamer” my ass, go back and play your little Fischer-Price PS3 piece of shit, you probably wouldn’t even know where a RAM stick goes, LMAO.

Posted by NinjaBinger on February 28th, 2010 at 8:36 am

Comment # 545

Oh wow, both of my equally valid and true messages were accepted! NOW I CAN STOP READING THIS WEBSITE IN PEACE.

Until I show everybody on the LAN… :3

Posted by NinjaBinger on February 28th, 2010 at 9:31 am

Comment # 547

You found it funny because you’re a whore, like your mother. Go fuck a dog.

Posted by NinjaBinger on February 28th, 2010 at 10:15 am

Comment # 549

@NinjaBinger
Well I guess you are a real super nerd as only super nerd fight and scold ppl on the internet, “that is an action of a super nerd”. If you realise from the 1st post until now, I have not scold you but only reason with you. I am sry that i dun buy all the stuff that you talk about and i dun even know what is that, btw I dun play halo.
I only play game during my free time and only the game that i think is fun and there is not much of it. I dun even wan to waste my time scolding you becos you have already did it yourself. What you just scold me you can use it back to you as that is what u are.
Btw, you are a gamer, if not you will not be here is the 1st place, but you are a f*** up one.
Only a super nerd will think that there is a win or loss in a internet fight.
And one more thing, with a name like “ninjabinger” if you tell anyone that you are not a super nerd, nobody will believe it.

Posted by Jason on February 28th, 2010 at 11:15 am

Comment # 551

SEGA, say something. Just give us a free DLC that features all the cut content.

Posted by dragonofdojima17 on February 28th, 2010 at 12:03 pm

Comment # 553

Still no word from SEGA. I am very much afraid that this will result in poor sales for this title, eventually robbing everyone from future western releases of this franchise. And it’s a damn shame. Only because SEGA decides not to address the issue. Every day more pre-orders are cancelled and no-buy decisions are made…

Posted by Googer80 on February 28th, 2010 at 12:57 pm

Comment # 555

Oh SEGA what have you done ????? It makes me sad and angry… I pre-order this game one month ago with the Bonus content and everything…but why do u erased the HOSTESS-BAR do u hate the foreign Yakuza FANS ??? Many people don’t think about the Hostess-Bar as a Bordell ??? Everyone knows how a Bordell look like !!! I mean I understand that the Japanese History show get erased, because many people in other country don’t know the history, but I don’t understand why you KILL the HOSTESS-BAR, thats crazy, and I’m thinking about to cancel my order if u not decide to put everything that get censored, I mean its possible to make everyone HAPPY announce that SEGA will make a free DLC pack to redone the censore…. THEN I WOULD ORDER THIS AGAIN WITH HAPPY FACE…THANK YOU

Posted by BAGABONDO on February 28th, 2010 at 2:34 pm

Comment # 557

I can’t believe it!!
I’ll buy it only if there’s a DLC with the Hostesses.
I’m really disappointed… I was really looking forward for this game…

Posted by GOLGO 13 on February 28th, 2010 at 4:05 pm

Comment # 559

I agree, just keep commenting, let your voice be heard.

Posted by Seven5 on February 28th, 2010 at 5:33 pm

Comment # 561

@NinjaBinger
Dude, just stop posting the more you do it the more you make yourself look like an idiot.

As for Sega it is wrong, but they really do not care so posting all these comments how you are going to cancel preorders wont do a thing. This is not Atlus, this is a company that goes full force promoting a franchise that has not been relevant since the 90′s cough….Sonic. So everyone should probably just let it go, and understand it is just business.

Posted by droNic on February 28th, 2010 at 8:49 pm

Comment # 563

Now that Sony has somehow killed all the Fat PS3′s from working on PSN this might take some of the bad news light of Yakuza 3…. Lets hope both companies get it fixed…

Posted by chifanpoe on February 28th, 2010 at 9:34 pm

Comment # 565

THis explained nothing!!!! What do you think you explained?! You just said you cut content or wouldnt bring it for no reason. You didnt explain why you have to cut trivia or hostess bars from a game we expect to have them in? So you knew you were bringing over a game and needed only a program to translate the text and maybe a few people to check it and make sure it was translated right, but what did you do other than that, that took so much time, you couldnt leave in content already in the game?! You like making yourself look stupid sega. You must fail at all that you do… No Shenmue 3, no good Sonic games for 10+ years, No good port of Yakuza 3… The only good decision you made in 10+ years was not letting sega handle Sonic 4! Oh and Valkyria Chonicles 1. 2 should be on PS3, but that’s a different topic. No buy Sega. I dont have time for edited games. Why do you hate your fans…

Posted by Hakumen on March 1st, 2010 at 12:17 am

Comment # 567

I would hope Sega respond soon and clear up the confusion on exactly what content is cut.

Also, let the fans know where you stand on future DLC.

Posted by Jeff on March 1st, 2010 at 12:33 am

Comment # 569

Just to say THANK YOU SEGA for bringing Yakuza 3 to Europe, because to me, IT’S BETTER THAN NOTHING. I don’t care about trivias and dating sims stuff.
People that won’t buy because of MINOR CUTS are just contributing to NEVER SEE YAKUZA 4 GO WEST!

Posted by Jasugun on March 1st, 2010 at 3:52 am

Comment # 571

Come on Sega, free DLC for the cut content. We know you can do it.

Posted by cosmos89 on March 1st, 2010 at 4:21 am

Comment # 573

Obviously you know a lot about this. Impressive!.

Posted by iPhone mac fan on March 1st, 2010 at 5:57 am

Comment # 575

Thanks for bringing Yakuza 3 to the US! I hope we get part 4 and Kenzan someday. Will OutRun Online Arcade ever be released on the US PSN? That’d put me in “Heart Attack Mode”, haha<3

Posted by Brownie on March 1st, 2010 at 7:05 am

Comment # 577

Come on SEGA, it’s 10am EST. I know you guys haven’t made it work yet probably, and all need your Mocha Frappacino’s….but ANNOUNCE something. Give us the content as DLC.

Posted by Ryan Erickson on March 1st, 2010 at 8:07 am

Comment # 579

http://www.petitiononline.com/Y3NACC/petition.html

Here’s the petition again guys, we got a good number of people, please sign it.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 1st, 2010 at 8:08 am

Comment # 581

This silence does not RESONATE with me.

Posted by Jeff on March 1st, 2010 at 8:41 am

Comment # 583

I heard that Sony shut off the PSN cause it didn’t RESONATE with the Western audiences….good goin SEGA, way to start a shit trend.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 1st, 2010 at 9:45 am

Comment # 585

There are some ppl who have no problem with the cut content, well there are some ppl who don’t have a problem paying more for less, well you’ll sadly get about 100 sales from these ppl and when they’re done with their game we’ll buy a USED COPY, yes that means NO MONEY FOR SEGA. If you CUT CONTENT THEN CUT PRICE

Posted by whoever on March 1st, 2010 at 11:45 am

Comment # 587

Don’t listen to the guy above me….it’s so easy for people to run around calling people whiners.

Guess they really have nothing better to do with their lives then shove their superiority around the internet. Nothing to see here guys.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 1st, 2010 at 1:01 pm

Comment # 589

Also adding to my last post, the reason this game was so huge in Japan is because of for example the shops are all sponsers and REAL shops. Prior there were few real ones besides Matsuya (yellow and blue signed rice bowl shop) And for all the people who join in my opinion about the hostesses being cut. The models used for the individual hostesses are REAL people. Thats what made it so popular and interesting.

If your gonna cut key elements out why even bother leaving the talking in Japanese?
I liked Yakuza 2 ALOT and it was great. I guess I can play it over multiple times so I get a full experience. They are making Yakuza 4 now in Japan and MAYBE Sega will notice everyones dissatifaction with 3 before they decide to bring it here. One of the things that turned a good 100+ people I know off from Yakuza 1 here was its “localization of the language track for the west” 2 fixed it and it felt more real. 3 well…. I am not a corporate big wig and have no pull and who knows if they even listen to any of us anyways. With economic times being what they are if they have a core following I would think they would rather please the die hard fans then care more about pushing units to people who have no idea about Japanese street life and underworld culture.

Posted by Kensan on March 1st, 2010 at 2:20 pm

Comment # 591

Way to cut you sales by 50+ percent. In the future just add English subs and menus to the Jap version and skip the U.S. localization all together. I for one will be waiting tell i can find this game used just so i know SEGA wont get my money.

Posted by Mikumari on March 1st, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Comment # 593

Yeah I also pre-ordered it at gamestop but im going to still get it an the import as well.The japan demo has the hostess club in it an i can almost max out the hearts from the ladies. I do hope they will listen an release DLC after the release but there probably laughing at these comments anyway.

Posted by k-dog on March 1st, 2010 at 6:15 pm

Comment # 595

i’ll buy it from 2nd hand xD

Posted by Treasurefan on March 1st, 2010 at 9:06 pm

Comment # 597

Might buy it, then trade it in, haven’t been to GameStop in a while.

Posted by Stan on March 2nd, 2010 at 12:57 am

Comment # 599

Ok I’ve read your explanation but still I am not satisfied! I am one of the FEW hardcore SEGA fans since 1989, I have every SEGA console from SG1000 to Wondermega to Dreamcast hundrends of games, figures, books etc etc BUT I will not ACCEPT from a company I help and support like a blind soldier treating me like that!

I am buying this game not only for the unique fighting experience but also for the side stuff that you cut! There is no unique experience if all this are left out. I am speaking of course for me only even though many of my friends and hundrends of people on the net support what I say.
The easiest thing to do although is just put English subs in the Japanese version for God’s shake and we will do the rest… If you care Yakuza 4 to have any sales in the West and Europe. What you are doing now is ridiculous.

CONCLUSION: I AM NOT GOING TO BUY YAKUZA 3!

Posted by sybnios on March 2nd, 2010 at 6:40 am

Comment # 601

Give us a response already, this is ridiculous.

Posted by king_ruckus on March 2nd, 2010 at 7:05 am

Comment # 603

I don’t support censored content, so no buy from me,

Posted by Becko on March 2nd, 2010 at 7:10 am

Comment # 605

The reason that attracted me to the Yakuza series was based on how it reflects Japanese culture and the general plot. Hostess bar is a really important part of this. Removing this is entirely a really really bad thing to do. Most of the people that are fans of the series (the ones that were surely going to buy the game and share it with their friends) are those who know the Yakuza series and love every single aspect of it. Cutting down the hostess is like selling a ferrari with 1 liter of gas.
Really stupid business decision from your sales department. I bet you anyone here would agree that they rather wait 1 more month and have the entire game instead of this …

Posted by Seb on March 2nd, 2010 at 8:12 am

Comment # 607

Sega is about time you release some official statement. What are you waitin for ? 1000 posts ? We are just 392 post away. All yakuza’s fans will flow in and make that happen !!

Posted by aless on March 2nd, 2010 at 10:28 am

Comment # 609

Having loved Yakuza & Yakuza 2 on the PS2 I was delighted when SEGA finally announced that Yakuza 3 was set for a release in Europe, but the news that there are going to cuts made to the game is one huge let down and is very disappointing indeed.

I agree with most of the posts on here that there is just no excuse for this total laziness by SEGA, and I think it’s a mistake SEGA will surely regret in the long run, I think it’s a must that we at least get this missing content as DLC.

Come on SEGA, don’t be fools! Surely all this posts by fans of the Yakuza series must mean something to you?

RJB

Posted by RJB on March 2nd, 2010 at 11:00 am

Comment # 611

Without all the culture, Yakuza is just another generic brawler. The main reason that Yakuza stands out as something special is because of all the fascinating extras, culture, side-games, and clubs. Without those intact, the game loses everything that makes people want to buy it.

Sega, you’ve done so much to ruin this series, and this needs to stop.

Yakuza 1: Swearing in every other line of dialogue and advertising it as a ‘GTA-style game’.
Yakuza 2: Releasing it in English two years late, waaayyy after people stopped buying new PS2-era games.
Yakuza Kenzan: Not releasing it at all. English people probably don’t even know what a samurai is! Even if they did, they wouldn’t be interested in samurais, right?!
Yakuza 3: Cutting out all the interesting content, and releasing the game on the same day as FINAL FANTASY XIII.

You’ve screwed up the western releases of every single installment. You need to correct this.

Posted by Malorie on March 2nd, 2010 at 12:05 pm

Comment # 613

Seriously SEGA, it’s freakin Tuesday. Are you waiting for the apocalypse to kick in before you care??

Posted by Kazahashi on March 2nd, 2010 at 1:09 pm

Comment # 615

My updated list to the known removed content:

- Maintheme “Loser”
- Quiz Minigame
- 5 trophies (10% from the original version)
- Club (Datingsim) –> included in part I and II
- The Hostess Club (Kiryu as Manager) –> included in II
- Shogi (jap. chess) –> included in II
- Mahjong –> included in II
- Massage Minigame –> included in I and II

“Without all the culture, Yakuza is just another generic brawler. The main reason that Yakuza stands out as something special is because of all the fascinating extras, culture, side-games, and clubs. Without those intact, the game loses everything that makes people want to buy it.”

Exactly.

SEGA, you here our voices. Delay the release or anncounce a patch or DLC. It’s time for you to respond to this issue.

For the time being, here is the cut maintheme “Loser” from Eikichi Yazawa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMhtrhkggfE&feature=related

Great song, awesome artist and a very bad decision from SEGA to cut this and the other contents.

@Kensan: Thx for the contact information of SEGA Japan. ^^

Posted by Dragoon on March 2nd, 2010 at 1:42 pm

Comment # 617

Join our facebook group and I will send another email to Sega Japan with the link and all the comments …

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122143276187

Posted by Seb on March 2nd, 2010 at 2:04 pm

Comment # 619

You guys…it’s March 2nd..the game is set to be released on the 9th.
No follow up respons has been given and, let’s face it, they are not gonna be able to do anything about it at this point.
Censored content or not, this is what we are gonna get

BUT I will add my 2 cents…I do enjoy these mini-games. Particularly due to the fact that you would get so much experience points from completing them successfully. Honestly, I am dissapointed with the decision to cut them out of the game and would be glad to wait however amount of time needed to have them added back into the game.

NA Yakuza fan’s are NOT demanding that the game be released by any specific day, we just want the game be released, period. I understand the complexities of translating everything in a way that non-Japanese speaking fan’s would understand but I know that the reason why I LOVE this game is because it is so immersed in the Japanese culture. The GTA games are heavily influenced by the American lifestyles yet it was released in Japan and did relatively well.

I won’t ask for anything else or make any kinds of demands as I am genuinely happy that the game is being released in the US altogether. But please, do know that I, as well as everyone else who has posted thus far is disappointed with this most recent decision.

and I’m DONE ;p

Posted by Denise on March 2nd, 2010 at 2:06 pm

Comment # 621

It’s been almost a week now. So this is what “being up front with us” means? All I want is an official confirmation of all the things that have been cut and is there any plans to add them later. But I guess I just have to wait for the reviews to find these things out.

Posted by KKiryu on March 2nd, 2010 at 2:23 pm

Comment # 623

Guys, guys guys…..I am just as upset about this as you, trust me! However as strange and unfair as this is, not much can be done about it. And I for one will still be buying this game on day one of its release. Yakuza is a series!! A single story, with an arc. I complete the first two, and loved them just as much as you guys. The only difference here it seems is that I NEED to find out what happens. I need to continue the Yakuza journey. Even if that means buying a copy with missing contents. Remember Yakuza doesn’t just offer a wonderfully detailed world loaded with side content. Its also a wonderfully detailed story…a story which I personally can not get enough of. No hostess clubs, less contents. It unfair, its sad, its frustrating as hell, and its just plain wrong. But a game like Yakuza as few a far between…and the extra contents ofcourse adds to all that, but the story is what really matters. I don’t support what SEGA has done, but when choosing between playing a version on the game that has slightley less stuff, but with the story still completely intact, or not playing the game atall…fellas…there really is no choice for me…im playing the damn game! I hate what you have done SEGA…but I am just so grateful you decided to release this fantastic game state side. (HOWEVER if you do not release YAKUZA 4 in NA in a year or so….I no longer will have you back….you will lose a very very loyal fan, as well as many others…you CAN NOT! bring us this far with this series, just to drop us at the very end.) So I don’t care if you have poor sales, you bring that game over here. And remember guys,if you don’t support this game, and make the purchase, well it will be on all your shoulders if they choose to not to bring the next game over. You will be making it pretty damn easy on them. THATS ALL.
SEGA! DSL THE MISSING CONTENTS…EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO PUSH THE DATE!!! AND DON’T EVEN THIS ABOUT NOT RELEASEING YAKUZA 4 OVER HERE. THAT WOULD BE……a big mistake…..
Hope someone shares my opinion…I don’t see how you couldn’t.
Charlie.

Posted by Charlie on March 2nd, 2010 at 2:59 pm

Comment # 625

Hopfully people here and elsewhere on the net will turn the heat up and not let it down so that opinions get noticed. I hope Sega Japan responds to one of us or atleast forwards our stance to their US branch. We may get more response out of Sega Japan then the US one especially if they are bombarded with emails and complaints. If I hear back I will post it in English for people. I went into Gamestop and mentioned what they did and people looked like they were ready to explode. Keep the comments comming and sign the online petition! If we want a possible future download fix we can’t let up and the more that little number climbs over 620 the more the company will notice the chatter or perhaps if we set a record it will also get a company rep to take notice.

Posted by Kensan on March 2nd, 2010 at 3:18 pm

Comment # 627

Fail post, this is what I meant

“The way Sega dealt with this situation is pretty bad I admit like the excuse, but at least most of the games they localised from Japan contains its’ originality (audio). Like the upcoming Resonance of Fate, the previous Valkyria Chronicles and this of course (Yakuza 3) …. unlike FFXIII.”

I like playing JRPGs the way its’ meant to be played not like a remodeled version fit for westerners =p

Posted by Anomalous on March 2nd, 2010 at 3:41 pm

Comment # 629

^ This.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 2nd, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Comment # 631

Only a week left now……please make a response Sega. Just tell us is there a possibility in the cut content becoming DLC (paid or unpaid) ???? Just a response after over 600 posts from fans would be nice….

Posted by Tee Ryze on March 2nd, 2010 at 9:14 pm

Comment # 633

Over 600 comments on this blog, endless threads on the official forum and yet no further response. SEGA doesn’t care, they’re a business, I’d be surprised if they did. My second hand copy from ebay of the Japanese version arrived the other day, my preorder is cancelled for the western release, i’ll go play this unedited version. What little money you would have made on this has diminished so much, I begin to wonder if you’ll sell more than 500 copies of this. Your fault this time SEGA, we were grateful that you were bringing this to the west, but you shot yourself in the foot and slapped every fan in the face with this pointless decision!

Posted by Adam on March 3rd, 2010 at 5:37 am

Comment # 635

Maybe its worth also getting PS3 IGN to read this blog as well?

Posted by Kensan on March 3rd, 2010 at 7:16 am

Comment # 637

No hostesses, no buying!
greetz from germany

Posted by Sammy Sanchez on March 3rd, 2010 at 10:27 am

Comment # 639

I’ve posted this on your forums and thought that I should put this here if you haven’t noticed it which can be found here:
http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?t=318498

“Anyway, I’m not sure if I really wanna get this game. I sure as hell loved the first 2 and I do wanna see what happens next . Thing is, the cuts made me rethink my purchase, unfortunately. I do wanna play this game, I really do, but cutting content from a game no matter what makes me not want to buy it, this also involves other forms of media as well.

I want to buy it to support Yakuza as a game that can reach out to much bigger audience, along with hope for Yakuza 4 in the West, and support Sega Japan and Nagoshi for the hard work, but NOT Sega USA for cutting out parts because “the audience won’t understand”. Either they’re lazy or actually being honest about budgets. Even if they did have the budget to do it and had the time, I would be so happy if they delayed it. Not to mention that FFXIII comes out the same day.”

(To me, the paragraph that follows is I think you should do)

“Remember what happened to LittleBigPlanet before it was released? They delayed it ’cause of a song and put up a patch for the, then, new release date. Sure, it’s swapping out music and different to translating, but it’ll at least get the job done before a title gets released.

I just hope we get the 100% game sometime as a patch later on after the game is released to put back what’s cut (even though I’m sure it’s still on the disc, but just blocked and not “fully taken out”), or at least get a delay”

I tried to be civilized as best as possible and hopefully sometime from you guys will come up soon.

Thanks for hearing me out

–MeanBob

Posted by MeanBob on March 3rd, 2010 at 11:01 am

Comment # 641

One of your users named Yakuzakilla3 on your Yakuza forums has asked me to this up for him. His thread can be found here:
http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?p=5634483&posted=1#post5634483

This is what he has to say:

“http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/…49#post6909349

I made this thread awhile ago about the entire Yakuza 3 related cuts, please take some time to read these comments (over 250) as well as the comments listed in this Forum. This is posted at a high traffic video game buying website so everything here has opinions from the Majority of gamers not just the Sega/yakuza fans. I also made a vote depicting how many people wanted the cuts or not. It is a fair vote that is at about 200 and the results are as followed.

View Poll Results: Should Sega restore the content removed from the US Version (Hostess Bars, ect.)?
Yes, Please restore the missing Content so it is similar to the Japanese Version. 172 votes 87.76%
No, I like that you have removed content that I wouldn’t have understood. 24 votes 12.24%

This show that from the “General” Gaming community over 85% of gamers would have and still want the content that you cut from the game. Most gamers are simply just upset how you have handled the situation and need a apology for not telling them. They also need a explanation as to why specifically you neglected to bring this content, as I see this as laziness on your part. I have NEVER heard of a game not completely translated because of lack of time. Most developers push the game date back to avoid catastrophic release dates (Note that God of War 3 and Final Fantasy 13 2 triple A titles come out around Yakuza 3 which is a Niche title).

If you cannot offer the content back give these gamers a reason to buy Yakuza 3 instead of taking one away. If you offer Yakuza 4 to USA/Europe regions gamers will roll with the punches as to say and you can somewhat keep your reputation as a solid developer/publisher. ”

Just thought I’d throw this in for all of us. Sorry for double posting, but I still want to keep spreading the word

Posted by MeanBob on March 3rd, 2010 at 1:21 pm

Comment # 643

I hate the DLC, that content should come on the disc, so do not buy it

Posted by Treasurefan on March 3rd, 2010 at 3:19 pm

Comment # 645

I bought Yakuza and Yakuza 2 on day one. I won’t buy Yakuza 3. Way to alienate the only people who were actually going to buy your game anyways Sega.

Posted by Adam on March 3rd, 2010 at 5:42 pm

Comment # 647

Disappointing. Sega, you have a built in fan base in the Yakuza series. Not very wise to take out what many find a pleasant (and quite funny) diversion in the game.
How arrogant to assume what the player would consider valuable, necessary, etc. content.
Well, players vote with their feet so to speak. I will cancel my pre-order. Perhaps I will revisit Yakuza 3 if and when Sega decides to sell a complete product, not what some bean counter considers “necessary”.

Posted by CiaoBella on March 3rd, 2010 at 7:49 pm

Comment # 649

This is dumb. We better get this as free DLC in the very near future.

Posted by Joe on March 3rd, 2010 at 8:35 pm

Comment # 651

If an announcement doesn’t get put up in 1 hour, I’m going to beat the shit out of myself. Then I’m gonna force myself to watch 10 hours off Barney. Please Sega don’t let me do that to myself.

Posted by Dean on March 3rd, 2010 at 9:06 pm

Comment # 653

My wish is that lucky comment #650 will be the start of something big at Sega to get all the cut content back in lol.

Posted by suneo on March 3rd, 2010 at 9:27 pm

Comment # 655

There’s lots of other titles out this March where you actually get the full game. Why should I spend money on a gimped version of a year old game.

Posted by Richard on March 3rd, 2010 at 10:33 pm

Comment # 657

I am waiting for the early reviews because it seems we will not be getting any more details regarding the cuts from SEGA. Think about it, we cannot get this information from the publisher but have to wait for reviews and other users to let everyone know what is cut from the game and what is not. What is this, the 90s again???

The really sad part is, I had to choose between pre-ordering either Yakuza 3 or Final Fantasy XIII. As I do not know the extent of the cuts from Yakuza, I decided to go with the latter… this Yakuza title will undoubtedly hit the bargain bin anyways which is in a way, a damn shame… and mainly due to SEGA shooting itself in the foot.

Posted by Tequilazen on March 4th, 2010 at 1:53 am

Comment # 659

I’m a proud owner of both Yakuza 1 and 2. I even bought it’s spiritual predecessors, Shenmue 1 and 2 as well as many other SEGA games and consoles. I was one of those who tried to spread the word about Yakuza 3 after it came out in Japan, not only increase it’s chances of being localized, but also to help get people interested in buying it if were to be localized.

I’ve been following the news and comments these last few days and I have to say I’m horribly disappointed. I know I’d still enjoy the game even in it’s current state, but this isn’t the game I wanted to play. I wanted it to be the same game as was released in Japan with all the same content. From what I can see even Mahjong has been removed. I cannot in good conscience support a localization like this, and buying it would send you the message that in some way I accept these cuts. I do not and will not. As long as the content remains missing I am sorry to say that I will not be buying the game.

Posted by mirumu on March 4th, 2010 at 3:01 am

Comment # 661

I also don’t care about Kenzan or Yakuza 4 anymore.
If people start to reward them for cutting contents by buying a incomplete product for FULL price. Guess what? They will do it again because their operation “rip off the consumers with Yakuza 3″ was a success.
Further more, look how SEGA treated their fans. Until today NO SINGLE respond in regard to the cut material.
We have to stop that ridiculous release politic right here and right now. Folks, show them clearly your RED CARDS. After words take action. NO BUY for me.

Posted by Dragoon on March 4th, 2010 at 4:53 am

Comment # 663

^ People don’t care…..cut content is cut content, this is 1995 anymore. There is NO reason for games to get butchered. Period.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 4th, 2010 at 6:42 am

Comment # 665

Ok. What the hell?! At first I thought there was a problem with using the original Japanese cover art because of the cigarette, but now you’re using it as part of your ad campaign for the San Francisco event? Looks like I was wrong.

Keep dropping the ball Sega. At this rate I’ll probably just give up on anything related to Sega.

Posted by karga on March 4th, 2010 at 10:03 am

Comment # 667

They butched the clubs how about smoking in the game? Its not on the box art ? I am still waiting along with many others for the ENTIRE cut list!

Posted by Kensan on March 4th, 2010 at 11:25 am

Comment # 669

HEY SEGA!…I want your attention…and let me made it LOUD AND CLEAR. You are making a BIG mistake guys. You have obviously accumalated some fans with this series and you give us all a taste of what we all love and then you take it away from us right before we almost get what weve been waiting for. If this is the way you treat your fans…its not a real good business decision on your part as you can see HOW EVERYONE is saying they wont buy the game. Im sure you knew cutting all of that out would affect your fans/paying customers. Lack of caring on your part is going to cost you alot of fans…a lot of business…and most of all respect.

Posted by Holly on March 4th, 2010 at 1:20 pm

Comment # 671

I posted this in the most recent post but I know alot of people are still reading the comments over here.

“I’ve tried to put my thoughts in perspective and here’s why I feel Sega is making a mistake ignoring fans a week before the release of a big game.

http://orangeloungeradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=207:what-happened-to-yakuza-3&catid=4:news&Itemid=33

I love you guys and I’ll still buy this game but I need you to understand that I’m not happy about the cut content and really want you to add it back in via DLC or a patch.”

Posted by Deekman on March 4th, 2010 at 2:05 pm

Comment # 673

Someone also said that writing to SEGA Japan in English wont help,

Kedo I wrote them with the link to this blog stating (kono blog wo yondekudasai) Please read this blog, and
YAKUZA Fan ha hontou ni okotta zo! ( Fans of Yakuza are very upset!) So even if We dont get a response, SEGA USA may of allready of heard from them and may be investigating into it. Its not like just one of us is complaining but a signifigant amout are. Not a one man show here.

Posted by Kensan on March 4th, 2010 at 2:52 pm

Comment # 675

100% with Dragonofdojima17 on comment #674! Listen to the Fans!! I am willing to wait abit more on a delayed release for the content and would still be more than happy to hand SEGA my money.

Posted by Kensan on March 4th, 2010 at 3:17 pm

Comment # 677

Had a conversation with a couple of Gamestop employees here in Canada how they are upset over the cuts and had to explain it to a client who was on the fence about buying the game and had heard there was “stuff missing”.

As the employees explained it to him the customer basically responded with “that’s stupid I’m not paying full price. Call me when it’s used” and walked out.

Posted by Deekman on March 4th, 2010 at 3:48 pm

Comment # 679

IF YOU PROMISED TO RELEASE “RYU GA GOTOKU KENZAN” AND “YAKUZA 4″ IN NORTH AMERICA…i THINK MOST OF US COULD LOOK PAST THIS, AND IM SURE YOU WOULD GAIN ALOT OF SALES BACK, AND SOMEWHAT RECOVER FROM THIS TOUGH BLOW YOU HAVE DEALT YOURSELF. GAMES MUST HAVE 100% OF THE CONTENTS INCLUDED THOUGH. DON’T BE STUPID SEGA! MAKES A MOVE GODDAMMIT! BUT MAKE THE RIGHT MOVIE.

Posted by Holly on March 4th, 2010 at 5:12 pm

Comment # 681

Oh and one more thing, the way this should had happen is a win-win situation (very asian BTW) you (SEGA) release a game that many people love, we buy the game, we share it with friends, more people buys it and the circle goes on. We win (we have the game we love) you win (make$$$) and then you release YAKUZA 4. Now thanks to this stupid mistake you are putting your most loyal YAKUZA fans in a LOOSE -LOOSE situation, We buy the game = you think it’s OK to cut content, maybe you will release YAKUZA 4 and this time you will cut something else. option 2: We don’t buy the game = you blame us and YAKUZA 4 never comes to North America or Europe. EITHER WAY WE LOOSE AND YOU TOO. How stupid is that?

Posted by Matsumoto on March 4th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

Comment # 683

Thank you for officially commenting on Yakuza’s changes, but I will echo the disappointment of so many here, and am hesitant to buy.

I’ve lived in Japan for a year, am a huge devotee of Yakuza 1 & 2, and was hoping to relive my noirish forays into Kamurocho, but it seems like crickets from you where missing content (host clubs, games, etc.) DLC is involved.

This is just downright sad, and a disservice to so many fans! I’d sold my XBox 360 yesterday to make room for a PS3. I’ve blogged about Yakuza 2 and have been following the release of Yakuza 3 for well over a year now. I’ve registered for updates on the game from Sega, but ostensibly all I’ve ever received are updates on “Sonic.”

Posted by stinkyy on March 5th, 2010 at 6:34 am

Comment # 685

I wonder if the ‘cut’ content is actually still on the disc, but just locked away and with the japanese text still in place? This would probably be an easier approach from a programming point of view than literally tearing out huge chunks of code… and would also mean that it would be easier for Sega to re-instate via a DLC translation/unlockpatch.

Whatever the case, I’m still buying the game as I think it looks excellent and I want my purchase to contribute to the sales figures that will ultimately dictate whether or not Yakuza 4 is released worldwide.

The only way Sega can save any face from this debacle is to confirm that they will be releasing the missing content as a FREE DLC (and maybe even releasing the patch on a disc that people who don’t have internet connected PS3′s can send off for in the mail)

Sega’s handling of Yakuza 3 so far has been shameful and insulting to both the fans and the japanese creators/designers who worked hard on the game only to see it edited and chopped apart because the western arm of the company couldn’t be bothered to allocate a decent amount of time and money to localise the game. That an iconic company like Sega has sunk this low is disgraceful.

I’d like to know what Toshihiro Nagoshi thinks about all this!

Posted by Flint on March 5th, 2010 at 10:51 am

Comment # 687

1UP.com apparently has an article about the ongoings of how Yakuza 3 is being handled now
http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9022319

Posted by MeanBob on March 5th, 2010 at 1:21 pm

Comment # 689

Totally. When a Japanese Yakuza ends up with a voice like a street thug here it makes me pay more attention to that than the story.

Posted by Kensan on March 5th, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Comment # 691

We need a miracle !

Posted by cosmos89 on March 5th, 2010 at 6:02 pm

Comment # 693

Did you guys see? There is already fan content on YouTube reacting to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=SXaKqRUUG-g&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2Fdragonofdojima17 (not a Rickroll, I swear)

I really like this Dragon guy!!! Very creative.

Posted by stinkyy on March 5th, 2010 at 9:08 pm

Comment # 695

I seriously hope Sega reconsider and include the cut content. Excuses like “doesn’t resonate with Western audiences” are patronising and quite frankly insulting. It’s a fantastic game, but content being removed is nothing but a step backwards. Open your eyes Sega, put in the extra bit of effort and you’ll stop alienating your Western audiences.

Posted by GageClawson on March 6th, 2010 at 10:12 am

Comment # 697

I’m not a fan of receiving less content than someone else when a game gets localized, but I think a lot of people are blowing this issue WAY out of proportion. Why do so many people care about the hostess bar? Ooh… A dating sim… I guess it’s important if you can’t actually get a real date, but beyond that, who cares?! It isn’t like it has an impact on ANYTHING.

Posted by ducky on March 6th, 2010 at 1:58 pm

Comment # 699

On Rockstars delay of “Red Dead Redemption”

“We at Rockstar have always prided ourselves on the uncompromising quality of our games – and will always opt to take a bit longer to polish and fine-tune a game to be as perfect as possible when we think it necessary” a company representative says. “With Red Dead Redemption, we felt that these extra few weeks will make a big difference in helping us deliver you an experience beyond your expectations.”

Enough said SEGA….still buying the game…as should all of you…but this is really what I, and everyone else im sure, would like to see from your company in the future. Thanks for releasing it though. Make sure you DLC the missing pieces please.

-Charlie

Posted by Charlie Robson on March 7th, 2010 at 12:05 am

Comment # 701

Look man. Shogi isn’t something that “resonates with the Western audience” here, but I’m glad you kept it in Yakuza 2. I would pop the game in just to play Shogi. Why did the localization team decide to leave that intact. I doubt the time was a factor, there was plenty of time to add the extra DLC, so I’m calling going to call the ones responsible out on this. What the hell is going on?!?!

Posted by Stan on March 7th, 2010 at 2:20 am

Comment # 703

Hilarious. Hysterical, in fact. Also, rather embarrassing. What am I referring to? The thousands of comments all over the internet from a bunch of desperate gaijin causing a ruckus over almost nothing. Sega doesn’t give a crap about all you fanboys threatening to cancel pre-orders and/or not buy the game. You know why? Because you’re all full of crap. You know you’re going to purchase Yakuza 3. As for the maybe .5% that are actually telling the truth: nobody cares. The financial success of this game isn’t going to be decided by a few dozen delusional nerds that think they are actually effecting anything.

As for myself, Yakuza 3 is going to be my first foray into the series, and the $5 off for pre-ordering the game, combined with the free DLC, more than makes up for missing content. Speaking of which, apparently there are some out there on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to rumors that Mahjong and Shogi chess have been taken out as well. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but they are indeed gone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza_3#Completion

That should answer all questions as to exactly what is in and what is out. There are 928 total completion points in the “full” Japanese version versus 878 in the English version. So for those freaking out about “30% of the game being removed”, you’re utterly wrong. 94.6% of the game is completely intact, and that’s even when putting equal emphasis on story elements versus mini-games. If you want to boil it down to just “game chapters + non-DLC side-quests/mini-games”, it’s 633 versus 619, or 97.8%. And that’s with the removal of your precious Hostess Bars taken into account. Speaking of which, all the hostess girls are STILL THERE. You’ll be able to go on all the virtual dates you want.

All I know is I’ll be getting this game on Tuesday, and with the $5 off and my $5 pre-order, it’ll only cost me $49.99 at pickup, including the DLC. I know 99% of you will be doing the same. So please, save some dignity and stop with the empty threats.

Posted by Tesseract on March 7th, 2010 at 5:22 am

Comment # 705

Hey Sega how about a Yakuza Collection featuring the first two games in high def with original dialogue and subs (and dub for first game) plus making the games fully voiced! im thinking of the god of war collection as inspiration as it rocked! (apart from the cutscenes which were not high def). include kenzan too to sweeten the deal and do this all before releasing yakuza 4, which again will be fully voiced. either that or hand off localization to a trusted company, can’t think of any other than rockstar who probably don’t do this thing. Anyway it’s an idea i thought worth sharing.

Posted by mannyonthemoon on March 7th, 2010 at 9:38 am

Comment # 707

Just cancelled my preorder. i was excited when you announced that you were going to “choose portions we felt didn’t resonate with western culture”. after playing the demo, i am really disappointed.

why?

Well, because the game still resonates of Japan. from the environment, the character designs, to the fact that they dont speak English. One thing you did right was to make the game more realistic by cutting the hostess part as non-japanese arent allowed into their clubs IRL anyway.

In conclusion, The changes were good, but much more could have been done. the game still feels way too japanese and therefore still does not resonate the least bit with my non-japanese culture.

Posted by Michael Corleone on March 7th, 2010 at 3:57 pm

Comment # 709

Not sure what the fuss is about, just buy FF XIII and by the time you finish it, Yakuza 3 will be at the discount bin. SEGA isnt going to change it just because some 700 fans decide to voice their disappointment.

Posted by Winston on March 7th, 2010 at 8:22 pm

Comment # 711

If you cant be bothered to translate some of the less resonating parts, why not just leave them in, untranslated? that way, rather than spending even more time and money cutting the game, you actually get to earn more. granted that thats still doing a half-a**ed job, and some fans will no doubt still be upset. but seeing as you decided to release this title at such a bad timing with zero advertising, i seriously doubt you want the title to sell anyway, so you might as well just cut the cost even more. like they say, a penny saved is a penny earned.

on a side note, i have already played the japanese version of the game. though i will still get the westernised version (if i managed to find it used a couple of months down the road) just to play through the main plot again, and continue playing all the side quests as they were meant to be experienced in the japanese version.

Posted by Krauser on March 8th, 2010 at 6:00 am

Comment # 713

Comment #702
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Why? I am one of the few who pointed out the good parts of the change.

Just cancelled my preorder yesterday. i was excited when you announced you would change the game to make it resonate better, but when i played the demo a couple of days back, i was disappointed.

Why?

Well, because the game still feels way too japanese, from the environment, the character designs to the fact that they do not speak english. sadly, the game still made me feel like i am a japanese in japan. On the bright side, one of the good things you did was to cut the hostess part out, it made the game more realistic as non-japanese people arent allowed into the clubs IRL anyway. what made that less realistic though is that, in my opinion, my character still looks asian and why does he speak japanese? how could you actually forget to rework him?

In conclusion, you are going in the right direction, the changes were appropriate, but much more should have been changed. as of now the game still feels too japanese and therefore still do not resonate with my non-japanese culture. in the future, if you ever decide to release any more games from this series, please do me a favor and do a much more through job.

Posted by Michael Corleone on March 8th, 2010 at 7:04 am

Comment # 715

gonna cancel my preorder because of that cut

Posted by Michael Kotzur on March 8th, 2010 at 10:09 am

Comment # 717

@716

Yeah, I read that as well. Sega/RubyEclipse, I’m still gonna go out and buy the game, but cutting out more content than we were originally told is just messed up. I don’t know what the “higher-ups” are doin there, but they made the WRONG choice and upset your fans even more than you already have. I don’t know what they’re doin up there, but hopefully we’ll get a patch for the ‘even more’ missing content.

I’m still goin to support Sega/Yakuza here in the West, but I don’t know what’s gonna happen next…

Posted by MeanBob on March 8th, 2010 at 11:10 am

Comment # 719

I still won’t be picking it up. I will reconsider if the missing content is restored. Not just the hostess club, but all of what’s missing, Until then, no sale.

Posted by mirumu on March 8th, 2010 at 1:17 pm

Comment # 721

Comment # 719:
Exactly my opinion.

Posted by Dragoon on March 8th, 2010 at 2:43 pm

Comment # 723

No Mahjong? No Shogi? What the hell SEGA? Neither of those games take ANY effort to translate. What do you have to translate? Purchasing the tokens? And? Is there ANYTHING else you need to translate? Did you actually think it was a good idea to take games out? Who thinks that way? What is wrong with you? You have to be the most incompetent company in video games. Remember when you didn’t suck? That was pretty awesome… I wish you could go back to not sucking again.

Posted by James on March 8th, 2010 at 7:13 pm

Comment # 725

Did the release date get pushed back to the 22nd?

Posted by Kensan on March 9th, 2010 at 9:13 am

Comment # 727

I have not yet played any of the antecessors, but I was so glad when I heared that the the 3. part will also be available in Europe.
But no I do have a problem (and looking up the boards I think I’m not the only one by far), pay full for a half game?
or wait til that day when hopefully a “real” western version, who knows, maybe Yakuza 8 or 9 or so emerges…?
But it seems highly unlikely that the series will continue to have fans in the western world after what SEGA is doing to us. As it looks now, I will never be able to play any of the Yakuza parts without being able to fully understand the japanese language.
It looks to me that, after all of the waiting for the game, I will have to wait on.
Maybe someday a game will come up that has the unique fun and asian setting of the Yakuza series without trying to rip customers off and taking them for a bunch of fools unable to understand even the most obvious aspects of different cultures.
I’m out. and pi***ed, too.

Posted by Cyberzerk on March 9th, 2010 at 9:34 am

Comment # 729

sega you suck at math, 99% of the game ?? I loled

Posted by Anon on March 9th, 2010 at 10:22 am

Comment # 731

@ 724 – I pre-ordered back in January and got an email yesterday with my pre-order promotion code. I’m retarted though cuz I don’t even own PS3 yet. Yeah, retarted of me to buy a PS3 to play a censorerd game but I never claimed to be smart or a big-time gamer. Eh, I was bound to get one anyway so if anything it will be an incentive for me to get into some other cool titles that are available for the system (I ordered Heavy Rain but haven’t gotten it yet -Has anyone played it?).

with that being said @ comment 725 – No. My card was just charged for the game so its still being released right on track. The actual game is on back order, though.

I was dissapointed about the cut content at first but now I’m so excited about the whole upgrading from PS2 to PS3 thing and just finding out what happens in the story that I’m kinda getting over it. I’m sure the missing stuff will be released for download later on since it’s causing such a ruckus for us fans. I mean, Sega wouldn’t do that to us – right?!

Posted by Denise on March 9th, 2010 at 5:13 pm

Comment # 733

First Sega said the game didn’t the cutted contents didn’t resonate then said to kotaku they lacked time.

Surprised they didn’t remove these mini-games

Chō-Han Bakuchi – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%8D-han
Koi-Koi – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koi-Koi_%28card_game%29
Oicho-Kabu – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oicho-Kabu <— probably translated this to Black-Jack in the game so that it resonates =D

From what I can see its laziness and yeah its not 99% but 94% of the game. Honestly they made a extensive guide for mahjong and shogi for yakuza 2 and suppose they would have just made use of that while tweaking it.

Posted by anomalous on March 9th, 2010 at 5:49 pm

Comment # 735

^ To add despite me saying that and my complaining before though I still pre-ordered the game not because I agree with Sega’s decision and how they present the localised version game (cut content and from what I see as a way to say sorry, I give you free DLCs which ALL was free originally in Japan and we aren’t getting all of them).

But becuase I cannot get hold of the import eastern version and I love the series plus I want 4.

Like I was disappointed with the Bayonetta port (NO EXCUSE for that fail PS3 version, patch like 2 months later to fix is fail), I am highly disappoionted about this. I hope the message gets through so that 4 be like the original and we get a fix for the missing content but it seems unlikely from what I see from the lack of response from Sega Reps themselves and in the recent yakuza 3 related news

Posted by anomalous on March 9th, 2010 at 5:59 pm

Comment # 737

Dear Sega, ‘Hrhhmm’ FUCK YOU!!!
Now that is over, let me give you some advice on how to get your fans back.

1: Fire the moron who was high and said
‘Hey I have a great Idea! Let us release Yakuza 3 at the same time as Final Fantasy 13 and God of War 3!!’

2: Fire the moron who responded with
‘Great Idea!! We will surely never lose on that!”

3: Apologies to your fans, be greatful that you have such a great fan base, as they are the only reason you get filthty rich.

4: Release the cut content as a free download, this will save some of the disaster you guys have made. No not paid DLC, FREE! Do not make a bigger shitstorm.

5: Apologies again.

6: You want to save the Yakuza market in the west. Let me make it more clear, Do you want to make MORE MONEY? and save yourself from the complete failed retarded marketing performance you guys made of Yakuza 3? Then release news that Yakuza 4 will be released in the west, that is the only way for you to save and get more support and MONEY, from the total shit storm you have made.

OR

Commit Seppuku. (if you do not know what it is, then there is no hope for you guys.)

Posted by PISSEDOFFGAMER12498 on March 9th, 2010 at 10:10 pm

Comment # 739

Don’t you see SEGA how committed and passionate we are about the Yakuza franchise. Stop the madness and make us happy, announce the hostess bars and other content as DLC.

Posted by Seven5 on March 9th, 2010 at 10:30 pm

Comment # 741

# 703 WHAT KIND OF SEGA BITCH ARE YOU???
94 % of the game is still there so it is fine? Gracious Buddha’s stomach!
Do you relise that you are making yourself look like a fool, you are willingly paying an unfinished game just cause you think it is fine. You have no idea to what these complains are about do you?

It is about the fact that you are not supposed to be treated like second rate people, it is about the fact that Segs is pissing on their fan’s faces and you are practically saying to open our mouths and take it.

Posted by PISSEDOFFGAMER12498 on March 9th, 2010 at 10:48 pm

Comment # 743

I don’t know if you even read all these posts Sega, but even if you don’t the 700+ here should be at least some testament to the mistake you’re making. I will still buy the game, and I hope everyone else will as well, but please Sega, listen to your customers and at least make the cut content available at a later time, even if you have to charge for it. The bizarre (to me) elements of Japanese culture and the good story are what make the Yakuza games so immersive and captivating. The Hostess bars in particular are a vital part of the experience. PLEASE make the full content available, it will please the majority of the people playing, and surely ALL of the fanbase, ensuring better sales, and keeping everyone excited for #4.

Posted by Stillgoingtobuyit on March 10th, 2010 at 2:47 am

Comment # 745

The Yakuza franchise is many things, but there is one thing it is NOT, it is not GTA. Removing components of the game, which are unique to Yakuza, is making the comparaison between those two open worlds more and more possible, and I am sorry but Yakuza will greatly suffer when compared to GTA.
so what is Yakuza ?
Yakuza is an open window on modern japan, or at least on the modern cultural japan. its a virtual tour/experience of walking down the streets of cities like Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. I’ve been recently to Japan and it felt just like Yakuza 2 (which I bought on PS2), the streets, the shops, the game center, the UFO catcher.. Sames goes for Tokyo, with the Kabukicho (Kamurocho) the red light district and its hostess bar. In yakuza games host bars are even part of the story.
Managing a hostess bar was also a lot of fun, to decorate the place, scout for girls and interviewed them, make management decision was great. Also the story of becoming the number 1 host was a lot of fun. Truth to be told, I have had more funs with mini games, seducing hostess than with the storyline which sometimes a little boring.
What do we know about japanese culture ? Whenever I meet japanese they look so surprised we know so many things about japan. In france we have events like japanexpo which have become so popular for the past years, we have cosplay competition, we read manga and watch anime, we go to the movies to see the latest Ghibli movie or we rent dvd of Takeshi kitano’s movies (yakuza’s movies), we have Tv chanel dedicated to Japan (nolife-tv). For those of us, who had the chance to go work in japan, we definelty more and in peculiar, we know about izakaya and hostessbar where japanese can finally relax after work.
Looking down on us and chosing to remove contents. its a slap in our face, I read there and there, that the choice was made because westerner wouldn’t get it. Its arrogant and insulting. the choice was either no yakuza ? or cut yakuza ? what about a later yakuza, we’ve been waiting forever so a few more months wouldnt change anything. A year for an incomplete text translating version? thats a kinda of joke.
Yakuza 3 has already been late for a year plus, technology has long changed and I already had a chance to buy FF13, and I am afraid Yakuza won’t compare in terms of graphics.
so who is going to buy Yakuza 3 ? the fan base, the one waiting for over a year, when technology is evolving as fast you cannot appeal to a large public with older games. so what do we want ? original voice acting (thanks its not like FFXIII) and original content. basically it means we only need text translation.
What do we expect from a video game ? Simple put: to have fun. Hostess bars were fun, if you remove it you lose the fun part. Because I am sorry but Kazuma is not a really funny guy to hang around with.

to sum up: no girls, no fun, older game and no respect for us won’t make me buy this game

Posted by RomainFr on March 10th, 2010 at 3:41 am

Comment # 747

@ PISSEDOFFGAMER12498

Don’t forget the cover design =D

this thread is actually funny http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?t=319214

Cover design are getting more ugly for localised games, why do you like to redesign the whole thing when there is already a good one available to improve on/remodel (original Jap cover). Yeah and they seems to be a trend of slapping a semi/ full protrait or a semi to full body shots on the cover.

Posted by anomalous on March 10th, 2010 at 7:53 am

Comment # 749

Quote ‘ (To confirm as well, the Hostesses are in the game, and you can still go on dates, Karaoke, etc, with them.) ‘

You seem to think that the fans only care about the dating stuff, what possible reason did you have to remove Mahjhong? Sure it gave me a nervewreck when I was not abe to complete a tsumo but it was one great minigame. Shogi how are you even going to explain that absents, stop thinking that we are pissed off just because of the hostess cabaret, you have cut sidemissions, minigames, music, massage parlors, club management and who knows what more. Do you really believe that saying that the dating being still there justifies sega to cut all the rest?

ANSWER TO YOUR FANS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!

Posted by PISSEDOFFGAMER12498 on March 10th, 2010 at 8:48 am

Comment # 751

The hostess clubs were put into the design by the deidicated designers and same for all the mini games. It took them ALOT of time to design character models and locations and it takes pretty clever people to make these things.

I feel bad for the designers as their art and hard work is not being alowed here in the West. Keep commenting. BTW I allready got my Japanese version. Good stuff!

Posted by Kensan on March 10th, 2010 at 9:59 am

Comment # 753

It’s March 10th and what am I doing? Not playing my personally most anticipated 2010 game Yakuza 3. I was looking forward to this game ever since it was released in Japan. Instead, I’m playing Battledfield: B.C. 2 multiplayer until God of War III comes out. Funny, I was looking forward to Yakuza 3 more than any other game this year until they pull that “didn’t resonate with the west” shit. Resonance of Fate my ass.

Posted by Stan on March 10th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

Comment # 755

Balrog

I am as pissed as you are, and I absolutely understand what you are feeling, but do not threat them or anyone with physical violence, no matter how you put it out in context. OK? cause that really does not resonate well with sega.

Posted by PISSEDOFFGAMER12498 on March 10th, 2010 at 7:49 pm

Comment # 757

he following quests were cut because they were deemed unsuitable for the Western audience.

I Wanna Go to Tokyo pt. 1
The Brewer’s Treasure
Make the No. 1 Cabaret Club Girl!
English Conversation Solicitor step 1
English Conversation Solicitor step 2
Love’s Cupid
Love’s Cupid Continues
Love’s Cupid Continues Again
A Trip Before Marriage

So around 9/40 of the quests were cut for chapter 3-4.

Posted by Neal on March 11th, 2010 at 1:05 am

Comment # 759

I’m with Balrog on this one. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started receiving envelopes with death threats or something of the sort in their mail.

This better be part of Sega’s plan to release it as DLC to prevent trade-ins… I still have not got the game, Day 2.

In response to the article here at: http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/6734.html, I have to say it all starts to make sense now. If it’s really time constraints, was Sega really trying to make the deadline for the game to debut in March with other titles? Shit, I would have got it above all other games this month. One of the reasons I didn’t purchase Final Fantasy XIII is because it was still being dubbed (and that’s my personal preference). I’ve been doing fine without the FFXIII. But Thank You Sega for not dubbing part two. However, I realize now that Sega didn’t dub Yakuza 2 FOR THE FANS now. It’s to minimize their resources while claiming it’s purpose was to satisfy fans, it’s win-win for Sega there. @Aaron Webber: You don’t seem to understand how this works, whether Sega USA is going to survive depends on your fans. Without the fans, you wouldn’t be at your position right now. If Yakuza 4 didn’t come out, do you think I would miss it that much? I would always still have the option to import it while the USA division of Sega falls deeper into the fissure. As mush as I would like to play Bayonetta, but due to the poor development of the PS3 port, I can live without it. You all are not only competing for our support, but against other developers and publishers. I’m sure Yakuza could find another publisher, but frankly, I don’t care. Sega’s rap sheet is proof of that. You all lied about the amount of content removed.

Posted by Stan on March 11th, 2010 at 9:46 am

Comment # 761

I’m waiting for a DLC with the hostess club and ALL the quests.
If it’s not going to be released,I won’t buy the game…

Posted by GOLGO 13 on March 11th, 2010 at 2:56 pm

Comment # 763

I am stunned, I really am…

Chapter 3-4 – cut quests

I Wanna Go to Tokyo pt. 1
The Brewer’s Treasure
Make the No. 1 Cabaret Club Girl!
English Conversation Solicitor step 1
English Conversation Solicitor step 2
Love’s Cupid
Love’s Cupid Continues
Love’s Cupid Continues Again
A Trip Before Marriage

From here – http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?p=5657144#post5657144

Chapter 5 – cut quests

Manga Artist Debut (Mangaka Debut)
The Runaway Phone Chat Girl (Terekura Iede Musume)
I Wanna Go to Tokyo pt. 2
Great Genius Showdown

Apparently the guy who posted this has some for Chapter 6 too, which he’ll post later. The following has been confirmed from a reviewer on this site – http://www.thunderboltgames.com/reviews/article/yakuza-3-review-for-ps3.html

-”Loser” (Japanese theme song by Eikichi Yazawa)
-Wooing women in hostess clubs
-Managing a hostess club
-Mahjong mini-game
-Shogi mini-game
-Massage parlor mini-game
-Answer X Answer trivia game
-Convenience store magazine browsing

99%? I didn’t believe that when you said it, but from all of the above, it’s looking more like 75%. I don’t know how many chapters there are in total, but that percentage is going to get a lot lower once people confirm more things missing.

Holy shit, this is terrible. I am starting to wish you had never bothered. Let’s hope Atlus pick up Yakuza 4 for release in the west, you clearly can’t handle it. With all the stuff that seems to be missing, you might aswell give everyone who bought a copy already a free ‘directors cut’ disc with a 100% complete (all of the above + anything else you have cut that no one has spotted yet) and translated game.

Posted by Adam on March 11th, 2010 at 5:05 pm

Comment # 765

“I am stunned, I really am…

Chapter 3-4 – cut quests

I Wanna Go to Tokyo pt. 1
The Brewer’s Treasure
Make the No. 1 Cabaret Club Girl!
English Conversation Solicitor step 1
English Conversation Solicitor step 2
Love’s Cupid
Love’s Cupid Continues
Love’s Cupid Continues Again
A Trip Before Marriage

From here – http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?p=5657144#post5657144

Chapter 5 – cut quests

Manga Artist Debut (Mangaka Debut)
The Runaway Phone Chat Girl (Terekura Iede Musume)
I Wanna Go to Tokyo pt. 2
Great Genius Showdown

Apparently the guy who posted this has some for Chapter 6 too, which he’ll post later. The following has been confirmed from a reviewer on this site – http://www.thunderboltgames.com/reviews/article/yakuza-3-review-for-ps3.html

-”Loser” (Japanese theme song by Eikichi Yazawa)
-Wooing women in hostess clubs
-Managing a hostess club
-Mahjong mini-game
-Shogi mini-game
-Massage parlor mini-game
-Answer X Answer trivia game
-Convenience store magazine browsing

99%? I didn’t believe that when you said it, but from all of the above, it’s looking more like 75%. I don’t know how many chapters there are in total, but that percentage is going to get a lot lower once people confirm more things missing.

Holy shit, this is terrible. I am starting to wish you had never bothered. Let’s hope Atlus pick up Yakuza 4 for release in the west, you clearly can’t handle it. With all the stuff that seems to be missing, you might aswell give everyone who bought a copy already a free ‘directors cut’ disc with a 100% complete (all of the above + anything else you have cut that no one has spotted yet) and translated game.

Posted by Adam on March 11th, 2010 at 5:05 pm”

Really? and SEGA called it only 1% of the game cut? I feel like I paid for a car without a wheel, this is terrible.

Posted by Jesiu on March 11th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Comment # 767

@#764

“I’m getting word that the DLC that comes with the pre-order @ GameStop is only 100kB or so…”

That’s right. It took five seconds to “download” and install.

On another topic: The convenience store magazine browsing was cut?! I purposely viewed only two mags in the demo to keep the rest fresh for the full game. I should have known something was up when I visited Poppo with Haruka and did not get a prompt in front of the magazine rack.

You’ve got some borderline idiotic decision-makers, SEGA. Boo on you.

Posted by Dave on March 12th, 2010 at 8:20 am

Comment # 769

It turns out cut are more than just “hostess bar and quiz”, now some “side quest” is gone, one of the “girl for date” is also missing. What the heck SEGA? You just selling us something with corners cut and thinks your customer wouldn’t noticed? There are so many ways to get a copy of game from internet and customer like us decided to use our hard earn money to support you product, and this is how you treat us? Why am I buying SEGA product again? No, I will not buy anymore SEGA product in the future.

Posted by Siu on March 12th, 2010 at 10:56 am

Comment # 771

Day 4 without Yakuza 3 for me. Got my other games to buy and own.

Posted by Stan on March 12th, 2010 at 3:35 pm

Comment # 773

Also, I am fully ok with paying for the DLC, I just want the content like most others who posted here (they may or may not agree with paying but we all want it equally). Please reconsider Sega.

Posted by Baz on March 12th, 2010 at 5:00 pm

Comment # 775

Right, I’ve emailed SEGA JP to desperately help us, and pretty much everything else in my power, (forum posts, blogs, petitions etc etc) I’ve just been wondering, has anyone got a reponse from Japanese SEGA? I wonder what they think about this.

You gotta fucking love the way SEGA spent time removing Club koakuma (and they removed the accessible ageha hostess club as well) and the massage parlour from the US/European Demo (The Map) even though you can’t even go to them at all, no where near them in fact in the demo, fucking stupid, they have time to do this bullshit when they can’t fucking just translate a few lines of text so that the game is one step closer to being released in full, tossers.

I was extremely excited when they annonuced Sonic 4, it looks pretty good, but you can be sure I ain’t gonna get that for sure now, it doesn’t “resonate” with me.

Reading posts I can see Ruby is a fan of Yakuza (or what I’d like to beleive), if I was working for SEGA at that time, I’d be pressuring their nuts to reply to us at fucking least, what gives? People are gonna complete the game and confirm the cuts before SEGA even get around to it, if they ever do.

Posted by Balrog on March 12th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

Comment # 777

THEY CUT THE GAME WITHOUT REDUCING THE PRICE SO HOW COULD THEY CHARGE FOR THE DLC THAT WE DESERVED.

THIS IS LIKE HALF THE GAME WE ARE HAVING, DO YOU KNOW THAT HOW IMPORTANT ROLE DOES THE SIDE MISSION PLAY IN THE GAME? BY CUTTING THE SIDE MISSION IS REALLY A DAMN UNACCEPTABLE.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SAY ABOUT CUTTING THE SIDE MISSION NOW HUH? THE SIDE MISSION DOES NOT RESONATE WITH THE WEST? BTW, DO REMIND YOU THE GAME DOES NOT ONLY GO TO THE WEST BUT ALSO COUNTRY ALL AROUND THE WORLD THAT USES ENGLISH. ARE YOU SAYING THAT JAPAN CULTURE DOES NOT RESONATE WITH THE WORLD?

Posted by Yakuza Fan on March 12th, 2010 at 11:11 pm

Comment # 779

I just talked to a friend of mine who is a lawyer, and I wanted to tell the fans that if they are discontent with Yakuza 3 because of the certain cuts that were not officially mentioned by sega. Then you can ask for a refund from sega, if they do not answer or if they refuse than you have the choice to sue them for Truth in labeling and Fals Advertising. Acording to my friend.

Just a thought for those who bought the game and did not realise the extensive cuts that were made to the game.

Posted by PISSEDOFFGAMER12498 on March 13th, 2010 at 8:27 am

Comment # 781

I just talked to a friend of mine who is a lawyer, and I wanted to tell the fans that if they are discontent with Yakuza 3 because of the certain cuts that were not officially mentioned by sega. Then you can ask for a refund from sega, if they do not answer or if they refuse than you have the choice to sue them for Truth in labeling and Fals Advertising. Acording to my friend.

Just a thought for those who bought the game and did not realise the extensive cuts that were made to the game.

Another friend of mine has already asked for a refund, he is waiting answer.

Ps I am pretty sure I posted this message once in here, and I found out it was gone. Good work Sega.

Posted by PISSEDOFFGAMER12498 on March 13th, 2010 at 3:48 pm

Comment # 783

I imported this game because Sega lied to gamers by saying it won’t be released in the West. Then a few months ago I thought wow I get to finally play the game I spent 100 bucks on and not have to use a FAQ that spoils the gaming experience because I have to read everything first to understand what I have to do to play a game that Sega was too lazy to release properly the first time.

Why would you cut content? Why can’t you manage to release both east and west games at the same time without lying to your fans? Sega does not care about it’s supports!

Posted by angry gamer on March 14th, 2010 at 8:12 pm

Comment # 785

Stop lying to your fans Sega, i just read about how many missions were cut in the above posts. You owe the fans who supported you an apology and content.

Posted by angry gamer on March 14th, 2010 at 8:19 pm

Comment # 787

Irony at it’s best:

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/1707/img01396.jpg

(Courtesy of gamefaqs Yakuza 3 board)

Posted by Rip on March 15th, 2010 at 1:44 pm

Comment # 789

Firstly, I bought Yakuza 3 knowing there would be significant cuts. Am I happy? certainly not, it just feels weird. Now I am indeed LOVING the game every single bit of the way, but the desire to see what I’m missing lingers; Its distracting, upsetting. All I hope for is that Sega will notice how hurt the true fans are and do something about future hopeful releases such as ryu ga gotoku kenzan or Yakuza 4.

Posted by Casey on March 15th, 2010 at 3:22 pm

Comment # 791

Sega had just destroy a good game, and could even be the best game of the year. Ppl might say that it might be GOW3 or FF13 but to me, it will sure be yakuza 3 but not the cut version. Perfect game like this with full of content and you go cut it ending up that it only left with 70%+.

I REALLY DUN KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE UP TO, PLS AT LEAST GIVE SOME REPLY TO THIS.

Posted by Yakuza Fan on March 16th, 2010 at 12:36 am

Comment # 793

SEGA do you realise Yakuza and newcomer Bayonetta are your diamonds in the rough? You give them to us Westerners with cuts or bugs (PS3 Bayonetta frame rate) but your cheesy kiddy Sonic games are fine, NO CUTS OR BUGS, are you for real… NO ONE CARES ABOUT SONIC ANYMORE!

Posted by Menace on March 16th, 2010 at 5:27 am

Comment # 795

SEGA you are evil, and you failed your customer by hiding all your wrong doing. Put it back to a DLC SEGA!

Posted by Jsiu on March 16th, 2010 at 10:16 am

Comment # 797

I guess Yakuza will never get a complete translate? What about Euro version? Maybe one day another studio will transfer it in the future.

Posted by Jeff on March 16th, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Comment # 799

It’s over dudes. Sega doesn’t seem to want to respond. The comments have reached to a count of almost 800 with many other forums having giant threads about this subject. If they haven’t responed by now… I just encourage everyone to now divert their attention to Yakuza 4. Just wait ’till you play through the last chapter of Yakuza 3, you’ll see why…

Posted by Seven5 on March 17th, 2010 at 12:15 am

Comment # 801

Day 8 without Yakuza 3. What am I doing? Battlefield during the noon and God of War III. Sad really, without Yakuza 3 in full. I’m hanging in there so far. I did without Bayonetta’s crappy PS3 port since January and I can do without a censored Yakuza 3.

Posted by Stan on March 17th, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Comment # 803

This probably why Sega had to cut content; “Financial year ends 5 April. The last Friday of March has often been a dumping ground for slightly more niche stuff, there was a crazy day for the DS a few years back IIRC. ” Basically it;s to save on taxes

There’s also another theory involving atlas;
” Sega wasn’t going to release this. They found out that if they didn’t release it in this quarter Sega of Japan would license it to Atlus in a deal with Yakuza Kenzan and first dibs rights to all future Yakuza games. They freaked out and realized that they’d lose the rights to Sega’s biggest Japanese franchise that their Japanese side will be pouring money into regardless of Western sales, so they’re cobbling it together just to hold onto the license for the future.
-Weş”
Source
http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2010/02/yakuza-3-ruined-by-segas-stupidity.html

Posted by Seven5 on March 17th, 2010 at 7:48 pm

Comment # 805

DUDE WHY DONT WE JUST SEND THEM A LETTER! THE ADDRESS IS IN BACK OF THE GAME ! USE IT AND ABUSE IT THEN USUALLY A BLOG SITE WHERE CEO DONT LOOK !

ADDRESS IS

SEGA OF AMERICA Inc. 350 Rhode Island Suite 400, San Francisco 94103

Blogging gets no where

Posted by Tony on March 17th, 2010 at 9:04 pm

Comment # 807

I was gonna get a PS3 solely for this game. It seems to offer a unique gaming experience and offer things other similar series do not.

I never actually played Yakuza before, but from the reviews, I probably would have become a repeat customer.

Bad move on removing content. I guess we should all just go back to White Boy games like GTA and MW2

What a waste of time. no respect for us at all.

Posted by disappointed on March 18th, 2010 at 12:08 am

Comment # 809

Well, in fact all content is still on the disc. So… 100KB for ten bucks = happy fans!

Posted by Yakuza-dono on March 18th, 2010 at 9:35 am

Comment # 811

Oh, and if you wonder how do I know that content is still on disk – just compare a data size of japanese and american version. What you will see? American version is slightly bigger.

Posted by Yakuza-dono on March 18th, 2010 at 12:27 pm

Comment # 813

This game was just incredible…you guys are crazy for not getting it….no hostess clubs, but I still got around 60 hours out of the game. 60 HOURS! They didn’t take much out…and the story was amazing. GET THE GAME DAMMNIT!

Charlie.

Posted by Charlie Robson on March 20th, 2010 at 10:39 am

Comment # 815

They didn´t take enough out to make this a bad game, no it´s still one of the best PS3 games even with the cuts. But our point is that we want the game to be uncut, especially when the cuts are not just “a little less trivia” complete sidemissions that had nothing to do with the Hostess club/mahjon/shogi etc. have been cut.

Yes those who truly didn´t buy the game are indeed missing one hell of a game, but i doubt that everyone who said he won´t buy the game didn´t atleast rent it.

Posted by Samael on March 20th, 2010 at 1:03 pm

Comment # 817

SEGA should check their boards and address this complaint!

Posted by angry gamer on March 20th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

Comment # 819

well…couple of things, why bother cutting content when you can basically copy and paste+ english subs which brings up my next issue. WHY DID THE SUBBING TOOK A YEAR >=( put everything back in dammit

Posted by Kenny on March 20th, 2010 at 5:00 pm

Comment # 821

Come on SEGA, any news/update on whether we are going to get the cut content put back in the UK/US versions of Yakuza 3?

I’m from the UK and have the game and I think it’s really good but the missing content still badly needs to put back into the game via a patch or DLC to do the game proper justice.

PLEASE! make this happen SEGA, I can honestly say that if you get all the missing content put back into the game then I think it would be one of my favoutive games EVER!

Finally, PLEASE! hurry up and release Yakuza 4 in the UK/US.

Thanks!
RJB

Posted by RJB on March 22nd, 2010 at 2:20 am

Comment # 823

@822

It would be easy to give up, but me personally I’m just hoping SEGA do the decent & correct thing and put the content back in the game, so although I fear the worst I’m certainly not giving up hope.

The content should be released for FREE, but I’d happily pay for the content via the DLC route if it meant we got the complete game “how it should be”

I love Yakuza 3 but I’m still very upset by how many side missions and overall content has been cut, it’s just plain wrong and most importantly there’s simply no GOOD excuse for this at all.

SEGA would win back a lot of fans support if they sort this mess out, I just wish that SEGA would come out and respond, and let us know if it will ever happen?

Posted by RJB on March 22nd, 2010 at 5:58 am

Comment # 825

I bought Yakuza 3 on release day and have maybe played it once or twice. I’m not even going to consider starting a proper playthrough of the game until I get confirmation either way from Sega that the cut content is or isn’t going to be re-instated into the game via patch/DLC.

Sega, I hope that my purchase of the game (and everyone elses) somehow contributes to your decision to give us the cut content and also bring Yakuza Kenzan and Yakuza 4 – both completely uncut – to the US and Europe.

Ruby, if you’re still reading and compiling these comments isn’t there anything more you can tell us yet? You say you are sending our complaints to the higher-ups but why haven’t they responded to them? Or even acknowledged that they’re listening to us and taking our concerns seriously?

Posted by Flint on March 22nd, 2010 at 11:03 am

Comment # 827

Bring back the Cutted content.

Only Nazi´s censor things

Posted by Samael on March 23rd, 2010 at 8:15 am

Comment # 829

SEGA would be seeing better sales with the content intact.

30% less content! Brought to you by SEGA.jpeg

Posted by Stan on March 23rd, 2010 at 10:33 pm

Comment # 831

I played part of the Okinawa part and ya….meeting the hostess in the Burger shop is kinda awkward……. put the rest of the content back in!

Posted by Kensan on March 24th, 2010 at 7:44 am

Comment # 833

Yes that the clubs are still on the map is just to laugh about those who know the cuts and bought the game. Same goes for the persons that say “here take this and enjoy your hostess club” after you beat them up, it´s just to show you that even though you beated that punk almost to death, Sega still owned you.

And another thing i found stupid was the Part where you follow a character in an hostess club, so whats the point of cutting out the hostess club if you think we are to stupid to understand what they are?

And why are these guys clothed in white, that where giving out flyers for the Hostess clubs, still running after me and saying, “we give you a good rabatt”

Why are the MEB centers still in the Game? They are useless! Why are so many people in the game talking about Hostess Clubs if you don´t want the gamers to know what these Clubs are?

Why are they thinking that “foreigners” can´t enjoy a game like Yakuza 3? Why aren´t they giving any reply that gives an clear statement?
Why didn´t they Dub this game? I mean those people who really wouldn´t resonate with those things they felt “that wouldn´t resonate with the western audience” are exactly those who would have prefered a Dub version! Those who don´t like the Japanese Culture won´t like this title no matter how much you cut out of the game. You can´t translate an game and then just come up with some stupid excuse like “Foreigners wont understand/like this or that” and cut something out and who are they referring to by “no matter how foreign” anyway….

Posted by Samael on March 24th, 2010 at 10:24 am

Comment # 835

I think Kazuma should be able to bang on the closed doors at the clubs that appear on the map or be able to pick up somthing and smash the signs with the pics of the hostesses on them.

Yeah I am glad its subtitled cause it just sounds cool when a yakuza starts rambling and cursing in Japanese but yeah if they dont think the game will resonate with westerners why didnt they just dub it.

Posted by Kensan on March 24th, 2010 at 1:32 pm

Comment # 837

SEGA U SUCK! last thing i buyed from your company was shen mue 2 for x box because your localization SUCKS BIG DONKEY BALLS! Yakuza 1 only with english dub WTF?
But the tip of of the icberg is lieing about to cut just 2 things ,in the end it was 18% content that doesnt even have any conection to the host club and the quiz. The choice was yakuza 3 short or not at all outside japan.HAAAEEE?Didnt sell yakuza 2 like crazy?
Its like not making a sequel of a blockbuster movie and shit on the potential making big money.You lazy to translate?Aint you have enough branches in the world.Like the europeans with ther bad translations including wrong typing and black & white manuals that charge more for they game as the rest of the world?Wasnt supose all nextgen games had to have multilanguage?U relased the game much to late and then to lazy totranslate?
You satisfied with the japan sales even u selled the last titel good world wide?Didnt you want to show with this Series how beautyfull your japanese culture is? Doesnt it make no sense to cut content that was in the last two yakuzas and now not in the 3rd?(hostess bar) U Japanese dont let foreginers in your Hostess bars ucould at least let people expierience what its like if u could and what its like. My last word from me to you Sega:
EPIC FAIL! I never buy stuff from you again.Usucked with your console sales and ist just a matter of time when none wants to buy your games anymore. I only feel sorry for your employess that losing ther jobs because of your bad management.

Posted by pete on March 24th, 2010 at 2:52 pm

Comment # 839

I was at a local GameStop and asked how much the trade-in value was for Yakuza 3 and it was $18. However, the trade in value was at $22 just 2 days before hand. Guess people must have trade in some copies to drop the trade in value. Amazon’s dropped from $37.50 to$33 in just recently.

Posted by Stan on March 24th, 2010 at 11:06 pm

Comment # 841

ROCK STAR should tap this market, bigtime… they should start by sending some of their execs to check out the hostess clubs in Tokyo hahaha

Posted by disappointed on March 25th, 2010 at 12:44 am

Comment # 843

I like Yakuza game and I will buy it, but not buying a new one, I rather wait and buy a second hand one so Sega doesn’t make money from me. Damn you Seaga!

Posted by siu on March 25th, 2010 at 9:59 am

Comment # 845

I seriously hope someone at Sega reads this. Evey single one.

Posted by RagingBoar on March 26th, 2010 at 9:55 am

Comment # 847

No buy, of ANY copy of the game until SEGA announces if DLC is coming or will be even possible. Money still held in check until then

Posted by fathamburger on March 27th, 2010 at 12:58 pm

Comment # 849

Here you go, a massive and ongoing list of what is cut.

http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?t=322120

PLEASE PLEASE return all of the stuff that should have originally been in the game back!

Posted by Balrog on March 31st, 2010 at 10:44 pm

Comment # 851

A month since it’s release date, no reponse to DLC, no nothing, shame on you SEGA.

Posted by Balrog on April 9th, 2010 at 5:42 am

Comment # 853

Day 32 without Yakuza 3 and I’m still playing Bioshock 2. I’m so glad I heard about the cut content before I made my final purchase, but luckily I was able to get my pre-order deposit back.

Sega is like the AIG insurance group; they take your money and just bath in it forgetting about where the money came from spending it on themselves.

Sonic 4: 30% less content! Brought to you by Sega.

Posted by Stan on April 10th, 2010 at 11:30 am

Comment # 855

Alright Sega, gawdammit… you got perhaps a year from the launch of Yakuza 3 (preferably sooner) to announce that there will be a full Yakuza 3 game… I believe you’re all cooking something up back there on fixing this situation, but until then, I’m not going to even buy or play the game. I’m not going to play one incomplete version and a complete version a year later. It seems to be a trend in games like Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV coming out with remakes on discs. Both DLC and Yakuza 3 Uncut will absolve this mess you’re in that will taint Sega forever. But thinking you can just take out content and then put it back in later is fucked up. I certainly hope you all there at Sega aren’t following in this trend. I will continue to wait. Day 35 without Yakuza 3 here.

Conduit 2: 30% less content! Brought to you by Sega.

Posted by Stan on April 13th, 2010 at 8:31 am

Comment # 857

“Ultimately, the choice that had to be made was either no Yakuza 3 in the west, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia.”

Bullshit… giving your fans an ultimatum… how about this for an ultimatum: A COMPLETE YAKUZA 3 OR NO $$$.

I vow to boycott Sega until this situation is rectified and hope Sega of America gets driven into the ground.

YAKUZA 3. 30% LESS CONTENT! BROUGHT TO YOU BY SEGA.jpeg

Posted by Stan on April 15th, 2010 at 10:36 pm

Comment # 859

Sega of America is either gawddamn lazy or trying to shun away their only Yakuza fan base. I can’t believe this. I’ve talked to a number of other fans of Yakuza that I’ve met via the internet and they’re all unaware the cut content. Unbelievable. Spread the word people.

Yakuza 3, 30% less content! Brought to you by Sega of America.jpg

Posted by Stan on April 18th, 2010 at 1:28 pm

Comment # 861

I honestly don’t care about the cover art because that all the US & UK versions needs to distinguish themselves from the JPN version. But, thinking you all there at Sega can take out content and change them around is absolutely the worst possible thing you all at Sega have done. I’ve never advocated for anything else, not even politics. But Sega, you will be jeopardizing your position in the game industry. Let me remind your community team that the other blog is still ongoing:

http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2010/03/10/yakuza-3-arrives-in-the-west-review-scores-soar/

Take a look at the forums too:

http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?t=317410&page=10

Yakuza 3! 30% less content. Brought to you by SEGA.jpg

Posted by Stan on April 20th, 2010 at 8:19 am

Comment # 863

Just what the crap you are talking about, we did bought the game but so what? Still not a single reply. Are you saying that the gamer should support the game be4 they could get the full game, are you meaning that your life and choice is control by the game developer?

WTF, they should be the one to make sure their game sells by having euff advertisment and full content that please the gamer to make them wan to buy the game and not us.

Posted by Yakuza Fan on April 22nd, 2010 at 7:14 am

Comment # 865

I heard a news from Kotaku where some SEGA employee got lay:
http://kotaku.com/5522373/seventy+four-sega-employees-restructured-out-of-their-jobs
But I don’t feel sorry because SEGA America is not doing such a good job on title like Yakuza3 here. Go fire those people who responsible to the cut contains and ignore customer request on putting it back to the game. Yes, they asked for it.

Posted by Jeff on April 22nd, 2010 at 4:01 pm

Comment # 867

866 comments and SEGA DID NOT WILLING TO HEAR. So guys, do we need to march on to their office and wreak havoc there? What they did to us is solely a CRIME. And whoever did this to us after a year worthless waiting shall pay for it…

They aren’t willing to HEAR? why don’t we MAKE THEM HEAR and PAY

Posted by Nappy Febrianto on April 26th, 2010 at 9:53 pm

Comment # 869

I wonder if some of the SEGA employees being layed off comes from some of us writing to Sega Japan and maybe we got noticed?

Posted by Kensan on April 29th, 2010 at 12:40 pm

Comment # 871

# 869 – Nah. I think that if that were the case and someone over at Sega Japan was upset enough over the cut content that someone got fired over it they would have already made a public statement to the western fans apologizing for the cuts or something. It’s an independent incident that I don’t think pertains to any of this. And I highly doubt that neither Sega Japan or the creators of the game know nothing about the cuts. Pains me to say this but we need to accept the fact that nothing is gonna be done about this. Nada. No one but us cares…sad as it may be

Posted by Sammie on April 29th, 2010 at 6:01 pm

Comment # 873

So sega is just a lame… seeing how I have a game that I just can’t enjoy playing… I only played the game for a few hours looking ffor the hostess club to lern its not in it… so I decided to wait thinking there will be an add on…. so I stopped playing the game… it just collects dust… what a waste of money. I knew i should have just imported the game when it first came out. I dont care anymore screw you sega… lazy company. Well I guess I have to settle with just Yakuza 2 and pretend 3 was never made.

Posted by Alexia on May 6th, 2010 at 6:57 pm

Comment # 875

#872
The review from gametrailers also doesn’t mention one single word about the cuts in the western version. Why? Because they got money from SEGA to shut up about this topic.
And SEGA, about your butchery of Yakuza 3. We won’t forget that.

Posted by Dragoon on May 10th, 2010 at 4:58 pm

Comment # 877

I actually pre-order and bought Yakuza 3 during its release. It was fun and i really enjoyed it but the cut of Mahjong puts a damper for me ( Yes, i’m Asian and yes, i do play Mahjong for fun).

Bottom line is, if you EVER decide to “release” a Yakuza 4 in US, don’t cut anything out. Perhaps the Hostess bar tho, cause i never get into that whole ” pay for company” bullshit.

Posted by This Guy on May 17th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Comment # 879

I sure hope a fix is on the way… but just in case, pull your share holdings out for Sega stocks if your have any (too late by now if you bid early April)… it would be wise, their charts fell since late April (ironic seeing the “dark cloud cover” pattern depending on how you look at the chart) which is probably due to all their layoffs, but I can’t help but wonder if the layoffs were factored by crap like IM2, VC2, crappy Bayonetta port, Y3 cut content, etc.

Posted by Stan on May 19th, 2010 at 10:55 pm

Comment # 881

# 880 – Agreed. But we are gonna get Y4…

Posted by Denise on June 8th, 2010 at 6:29 pm

Comment # 883

do you have yakuza 3 for ps2,cuz i didt”n HAve PS3.

Posted by jun on June 10th, 2010 at 9:09 pm

Comment # 885

OMG !!! …

YAKUZA 3

!@(*^$@&*#@

how to enjoy the game if u cut something ..

Please Be Fair …

If something like this happen how can we support you ..

We all Dude … all grow up …

Posted by Opie on July 29th, 2010 at 12:09 am

Comment # 887

While I understand that the aspects of the trivia game and hostess clubs may not appeal to the western market, CENSORING your product is not the way to go. Time constraints? Right… So you say you left in most of the content but had to cut out that 1% due to time constraints?

Do not buy censored products. I was really excited for this, it’s a shame I’ll have to pass.

Posted by ConcernedCitizen on August 10th, 2010 at 8:46 am

Comment # 889

Disappointing. Considering it’s a niche title, the game should be full. I hate these differences between the Japanese and Rest of the World versions. I hope the same mistake is not made in the following games. I still appreciate it’s getting localized, but these decisions don’t make sense.

Posted by Reaper on October 14th, 2010 at 3:19 pm

Comment # 891

SERIOUSLY! SEGA IS MAKING A VERY BIG MISTAKE FOR REMOVING THE CONTENTS! BY DOING THIS, SEGA IS GONNA LOSE MANY MANY CUSTOMERS! PUT THE GOD DAMNED HOSTESS BACK IN YAKUZA 4 !

Posted by Kami on November 8th, 2010 at 12:13 pm

Comment # 893

Sega of America FAIL.

Posted by Balrog on December 20th, 2010 at 6:35 am

Comment # 895

hah buying this used at gamestop for 25 bucks, pleasure doing business with you sega, if the content wasn’t cut i would have bought it day 1…but alas

oh well not like i care its a hell of a game for 25 bucks X3

Posted by Justin on February 15th, 2011 at 7:15 am

Comment # 897

@881

More like 50%!

http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?322120-Full-list-of-cut-content

Posted by Balrog on March 8th, 2011 at 4:45 pm