Sega producer/studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi shares his thoughts on bringing the third game in the Yakuza series to the west.

Will the western market be accepting enough of Yakuza 3 when it comes out in March to warrant a Yakuza 4 localization? (I hope so.)

“I wanted to lend Yakuza the air of a cinematic experience,” he said in an interview with PTOM. “When players in the west plays, they will not only see the difference, but feel it as well.”

The first game release in the US received a full English makeover, but not Yakuza 3, it will follow the path of Yakuza 2 released on the PS2, using only subtitles.

“We felt this was the best way to convey the feelings delivered in the original dialogue,” Nagoshi explained. “We did minimize certain parts of the game that would be difficult to understand to people outside of Japan.

“We think this should make the game play more smoothly as an overall experience.”

He added: “I wanted to explore how difficult it is to believe in someone, but at the same time, that it’s important to believe in others. “Nothing in this world is simply black and white,” the producer concluded.

PTOM went on to say, “more than anything of the prior games, Yakuza 3 is the best reproduction of modern Japan in videogame form to date.”

ThreeTwoFiveSix via gamesthirst.com »