Comment # 1

Surprise, surprise. Still not a damn word about the cuts. Good job with the being up front bit.

So you could waste budget on translating some videos but not to actually translate the whole game? Great prioritizing there.

Pre-order today? That’d be a laugh, you won’t even say what you’re selling.

Posted by Velsper on March 5th, 2010 at 4:25 pm

Comment # 3

MeanBob – I’ve been passing on the comments and feedback, and will continue to. That’s really the most I can say right now, sorry that I can’t go into much more detail. I’ll make sure people understand that many fans do want this content, and how important it can be to them.

Posted by RubyEclipse on March 5th, 2010 at 4:45 pm

Comment # 5

Is that website working for anyone else? I keep getting a red screen with a loading thing in the middle.

Posted by Dean on March 5th, 2010 at 4:57 pm

Comment # 7

@5 continued: Never mind it’s kind of working now. I think it should say the game has cut content in the game info section though.

Posted by Dean on March 5th, 2010 at 5:09 pm

Comment # 9

And the hits just keep on comin’….I love it, misleading people into thinking you delivered a truly authentic experience. Your authenticity is as authentic as saying that Panda Express IS Chinese food….disgusting.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 5th, 2010 at 8:08 pm

Comment # 11

What. Else. Has. Been. Cut.

Where Sonic has failed time and again, Valkyria Chronicle delivered. Then I found this series. No sooner than did I renew my faith in Sega, this happens.

Shadiest business practices. Worst PR spins.

This is a complete debacle. I hope heads roll from this garbage. I don’t care whose.

Posted by hizke on March 5th, 2010 at 8:43 pm

Comment # 13

well said plaznos

good luck at the ending of yakuza 2

Posted by Matt007b on March 5th, 2010 at 9:16 pm

Comment # 15

Ruby – Thanks for your response, really appreciate it. It must really be a headache for you and everyone over there, but at least we’re all trying our best.

Anyway, I can’t wait to play. We’ll just have to wait and see, everyone, to get an official response from the “higher ups”

Posted by MeanBob on March 5th, 2010 at 9:26 pm

Comment # 17

“radar2670″ you’re my hero. that is how must be.

Posted by Treasurefan on March 5th, 2010 at 10:49 pm

Comment # 19

We want a full original game with everything in it.

Posted by Cortez on March 5th, 2010 at 10:53 pm

Comment # 21

Man people are still complaining about this non-issue?

Good site. Good idea putting the recap vids on there. I know those are in the game, but it’s good to have them online too for people who don’t know they’re in Yakuza 3.

Velsper is still an idiot.

Posted by James on March 6th, 2010 at 7:07 am

Comment # 23

Well 3 days before the game launch you guys put up the official website. More great Sega marketing I guess.
I love how on the site under Game Info it says:
“…Yakuza 3 offers an unprecedented level of exploration and interaction not seen in the franchise before.”

I seem to remember being able to play mahjong and go into host clubs in previous ones. More false marketing speak from the folks at Sega <3

Posted by Deekman on March 6th, 2010 at 7:45 am

Comment # 25

FFS is it so fucking hard to announce a DLC????????

Posted by silverfox on March 6th, 2010 at 8:01 pm

Comment # 27

This has got to be the most hilarious game release I’ve ever seen. Well, it would be hilarious if Yakuza weren’t such a great series.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a publisher try to run their own game into the ground as much as Sega is with Yakuza 3. There’s is no possible way you could accidentally both pick a suicidal release date (same day as FFXIII in the US) AND cut content while actively trying to deceive your fans over what content’s cut. That last one was completely avoidable as well, all Sega needed was some good communication skills.

The best/worst thing is, Sega will use this as proof no-one wants Yakuza 4 when in reality, it was either their own malevolence or sheer incompetence that ruined any chance of this game selling.

Posted by LiquidSolid on March 6th, 2010 at 11:34 pm

Comment # 29

you perverts forget about the hostess bars! play the game for the story. Go Sega go yakuza 3!

Posted by harley on March 7th, 2010 at 1:44 am

Comment # 31

THANKS FOR THE WEBSITE OF A GAME I’M NOT GOING TO BUY

Posted by fhfhfh on March 7th, 2010 at 2:20 am

Comment # 33

I hope that game will sold well, we need you here, Sega.

Posted by Ítalo Tabosa on March 7th, 2010 at 8:33 am

Comment # 35

Actually James, if this were any other place other than the internet, I’d fucking kick the shit out of someone that talked to me the way you are. Cheers mate.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 7th, 2010 at 10:31 am

Comment # 37

Don’t mind James, he’s just another internet tough guy that was bullied in school and now he’s taking his frustrations out online.

Posted by Velsper on March 7th, 2010 at 12:56 pm

Comment # 39

Hi RubyEclipse

It was cool to meet you (Im Rob’s friend, Danielle) at the Yakuza Night Fever event on Friday. I am looking forward to Yakuza 3 and hope things work out with the cuts. Thank you very much in letting the higher ups know that we want the extras etc.

Posted by lyricaldanichan on March 7th, 2010 at 7:50 pm

Comment # 41

Wrong announcement. Please try again.

Posted by Shaun on March 8th, 2010 at 6:14 am

Comment # 43

I really don’t think they will announce anything until they see a NEED for the download content.
I really looked forward to the mahjong and shogi. I have a shogi set and it and Mahjong dens are a HUGE part of the underworld in Japan.

Hopfully SEGA will see the numbers of people who want the stuff in the game or MAYBE it was their plan from the begining? You can get Yakuza 3 from Japan for Around $35.00-$40.00 its a best seller game now so.

Posted by Kensan on March 8th, 2010 at 12:56 pm

Comment # 45

Yea Ruby, I looked forward to Shogi and Mahjong too, tell your boys at SEGA thanks for being so “up front” with their fanbase and customer base about this. Really noble.

Posted by Kazahashi on March 8th, 2010 at 4:15 pm

Comment # 47

YAKUZA 3!!! DAY!~!! Even with all the negativity I cannot wait to play this game! Me and my little brother spent all week beating YAKUZA and YAKUZA 2. It was crazy there was this game called SHOGI on there and my brother went nuts getting obsessed with it! He at least spent a good 20 hrs on SHOGI alone lol. This is a hip hop junkie btw definately not your typical audience Im glad he was exposed to this! He said he is very excited and looking forward to playing SHOGI on YAKUZA 3 tonight at midnight!!!

Posted by Spacecity on March 8th, 2010 at 4:55 pm

Comment # 49

ah man just assume no one cares about rubyeclipse at sega since his ‘sending of the comments of feedbacks’ as ushered in no response so far from Sega. Rubyeclipse’s opinion at Sega must have like zero value. GJ Ruby if I were you I would quit b/c at least I would retain some sort of dignity, but I guess thse are tuff economic times and you want to keep your job no matter how shitty you must feel after work. PPL stop posting here, SEGA DOESN’T GIVE A F*** ABOUT THE POST COUNTS OR YOUR OPINION, THEY’RE HAPPY JUST BREAKING EVEN.

Posted by whoever on March 8th, 2010 at 11:55 pm

Comment # 51

Imagine going to a restaurant with a friend. You go to a nice italian place, you both order lasagne. Your friends food arrives first, strangely. 10 minutes have passed and your friend has finished his and has moved on to dessert. Finally after another 10 minutes of waiting, yours arrives. However, it’s only half a plate full, it’s a much smaller portion than what your friend got. You’d complain, wouldn’t you? The waiter replies with “sorry, we didn’t have enough time to cook all of it, but hey, it sure is a tasty looking lasagne! Be thankful that you got it in the end!”.

It baffles me to no end about the people either blindly supporting SEGA over this or trolling the upset fans by calling them whiney babies. Why are people so happy to accept an inferior product, when they know full well there is something more complete out there? Saying that we’re lucky to have it released at all or we should buy it just incase there is a chance of getting Yakuza 4 is no justification. Saying that if we don’t buy Yakuza 3 in it’s hole-ridden state, we won’t get any future Yakuza games does not hold any water. If SEGA decided to ever release Y4 in the west (it could be some years, folks!), who’s to say they won’t cut more content again? Will you still be happy then?

I was over joyed when I heard we were getting it, then sorely disappointed when we were told in a sly, in direct and insulting manner that we weren’t getting the whole game, TWO WEEKS before launch! First it was because they didn’t think it resonated, then we find out that it’s actually because they didn’t have enough time. After a year of waiting, coupled with some arbitrary date in the midst of some much bigger releases, how could there have not been enough time? All you had to do was translate the language text into English and European dialects, surely it couldn’t have taken that long? What was wrong with delaying the game? Why are you trying to run this into the ground so blatantly?

I am not a whiney loser who just wants to play this game so I can sweet talk hostesses, I am a dissatisfied gamer who feels confused and angry that any game content was cut for no real reason. Shogi, Mahjong, everything else that was cut (we still don’t know the full list yet!), hell i’d argue that giving the AnsXAns history quiz a translation would be great. The principle of the matter is that there are things missing and also in the way that SEGA confirmed there were content cuts, followed by stoney silence.

Give us a response, tell us what you removed, tell us precisely why you had no time or money to finish these things and more importantly, tell us what you are planning to do about it. You really ought to release this stuff as DLC, for free. Releasing it at a premium might satisfy a few willing to throw more money your way, but that is out of order. You’ll easily quell the rage if you just put everything back in.

You really shot yourselves in the foot for cutting it in the first place, the uproar over this has been tremendous and could so easily have been avoided by not doing it in the first place. You’ve made so many mistakes over the past decade, it’s a wonder you’re still in business really. I cancelled my pre-order, here in the UK and bought a Japanese copy from ebay, second hand. With the help of an online guide, I am managing just fine and enjoying this game. I might purchase the western release when it’s perhaps a bit cheaper, to make it easier on myself, but only on the proviso of the content being reinstated. I won’t buy a full priced product that is not complete.

Listen to us, SEGA.

Posted by Adam on March 9th, 2010 at 4:28 am

Comment # 53

@52

Another nail in the coffin?. Can the sega coffin fit anymore nails?

Posted by Shaun on March 9th, 2010 at 4:50 am

Comment # 55

Just want to semi confirm with you guys (since SEGA failed to tell us what exactly are the cut contents) that minigames (Mahjong, Shogi) are CUT AS WELL. None of it whatsoever in the game, even though you can go to the mahjong parlors, you cant talk to anyone.

Dating is still in, I’m not sure how the process is but you can still take girls out to date and play bowling, karaoke, etc.

Well, I’m bummed out that the minigames I wanted to play isnt in. That is going to be one more sale gone. I’m so very sorry. I’m gonna wait for the price to come down or they put it in. Otherwise, I guess I’ll go play the Japanese version.

SEGA, COME THE HELL ON!

Posted by Luke on March 9th, 2010 at 7:36 am

Comment # 57

I’m very unhappy with cuts, but I can’t just cancel my preorder!

Posted by Tajomaru on March 9th, 2010 at 2:07 pm

Comment # 59

The cuts shouldn’t be surprising since SEGA has hated money since the Saturn era. I’ve always been a fan of the quality software but the American division must be the most inept team of business men around. I can’t believe they remain in business after so many shortsighted decisions.

The game was always destined to be a financial disaster being released against Final Fantasy 13. But they cripple their product even further by removing Japanese culture related stuff from a game that’s essentially about Japanese culture. Sadly, I’m gonna buy the game anyways because I’ve dedicated time to the series and some small retarded and unrealistic portion of my brain hopes SEGA learns their lesson if they decide to publish Yakuza 4.

Ruby, can you please give your higher ups the message that in my humble opinion they should be unemployed? Give Atlus publishing rights as they actually know how to localize a Japanese game for the US market.

Posted by Kevin on March 9th, 2010 at 6:23 pm

Comment # 61

To comment #49 – I’m going to make you eat those words, someday.

Posted by RubyEclipse on March 9th, 2010 at 6:59 pm

Comment # 63

Dear ALL Fans, My name is PISSEDOFFGAMER number 12498. This is a message to all of you great people (not sega). I wanted to tell you guys that as much as Segta is giving you the silent treatment I want you to not give up complaining or give up hope, this is not just for the fact that you want the cut content, because the message you are sending is not just a whining fact that you want more minigames, but also a clear message that it is YOU not THEM who decide what you want to play and not play in the game. It is YOU that decide if the hostess game is too japanese for the your taste, it is YOU that decide if you want to test your japanese knowledge on the trivia quiz minigame, it is YOU that decide if you want to frustrate yourselves (just me probably) on the rules of Mahjong and Shogi. Do not allow Sega to start thinking that they can censor game content because THEY think you would not understand their culture. Do not listen to the excuse that they had too litlle time to translate the game into text, as using a year to do that was already unaceptable. Also do not let them use this as an excuse to not release yakuza 4 to the west, complain and keep complaining by making forums and signing petitions and make sure to tell them that without YOU the fans, gaming industry is nothing! YOU are their consumers and YOU decide not THEM.

A meesage by a concerned Japanese citizen.

To all who wish to try something else in the mean time I suggest you test the demo of Yakuza 4, I think you need to make a Japanese user on the Ps3 before you can access it, but I can promise that even if you do not understand what they say, it is worth checking out.

PEACE OUT! and FUCK YOU AGAIN SEGA!!

Posted by PISSEDOFFGAMER12498 on March 9th, 2010 at 8:16 pm

Comment # 65

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 # 67

Haha, that video is awesome and I am glad some one is taking such a swipe at SEGA for their lack of competence.

Posted by Adam on March 10th, 2010 at 6:25 pm

Comment # 69

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 8:28 am

Comment # 71

well this is really something…ive been waiting a long time for this game since i finished playing yakuza 2..im really happy hearing that this game would b exclusive on ps3 thats why i prefer ps3 than x box and now after the release of this game…im really ..really…really dissapointed…..i even prefer to play this game than ff13…and now after i read..i heard …i saw…i experienced myself…that some of the game being cut for unknown reasons..im speechless…i kinda feel like dont want to play it anymore….despite its just a mini game and a sidequest only but at least give us some info about that if you gonna cut it…sigh…..we are fans not kids…we have rights to know what we are buying…maybe 50 bucks not worth to you all but worth for us……lying to us and dissapointing us may ruin you in the future
But with all respect dont do this next time…dont ever thinking of it again…and as the payment for your sin here you must localized yakuza 4 without anything cut off……
very please respect all of your fans…
you live from our money dumb ass….so respect and hear what our request..
thank you

Posted by gray on March 16th, 2010 at 1:31 pm

Comment # 73

So, it’s been about a month since SEGA announced the cuts, 1 we STILL don’t have any word about what’s been cut, and 2, I’m not sure what the hell I’m buying, SEGA can you please pull your fingers out of your asses and tell us what you plan to do to fix this?

Man, someone should totally sue SEGA, we have a case.

Posted by Balrog on March 23rd, 2010 at 6:45 am

Comment # 75

why the hell am I going to follow this franchise any longer if Kenzan and the cut content are never coming state side… I can only assume that Yakuza 4 is going to have cut content and like Kenzan, I doubt highly Sega US is going to bring Yakuza: New Chapter Black Panther for the PSP to the West… this is the end of Sega for me

Posted by Stan on May 13th, 2010 at 8:39 am

Comment # 77

Apparently Sega thought it would be OK to cut around 14% of the game before the US release. It isn’t just the hostess bars and the Mahjong that were cut but also they cut many of the side quests and extra content in the first 6 chapters leading to more grinding in order to beat the game. I am really disappointing that Sega has ruined what could have been one of the best games this year. Sega could have won back many fans with this release, instead you have made many of us gamers want to outright boycott you for trying to cheat us like this. I can’t speak for anyone else here but if I don’t see some Yakuza 3 DLC for FREE (don’t even think of charging us for what SHOULD have been in the game to start with) containing the missing content for this game it will be the LAST Sega game or product I buy.

Posted by Wolf on June 10th, 2010 at 6:40 pm