Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi has said there are currently no plans to localize PlayStation 3-exclusive action-adventure, Yakuza 5.
Speaking with EDGE Online, Nagoshi-san, commented, “We don’t have a plan for that at the moment. The Yakuza Studio team is a fixed size, and we have to choose between forging ahead with the next game or localizing the one that just came out. This time the size of the game was so large, os rather than localizing that game we chose to focus our manpower on the new game. But we get asked about it a lot. We get lots of complaints!”
Yakuza 5 was released in Japan in December 2012, and picked up a perfect score of 40/40 from Famitsu. The game features a new graphics engine, and takes gamers to five locations across Japan while offering five playable characters, including series staple Kazuma Kiryu.
It is perhaps surprising to hear that Yakuza 5 won’t hit the U.S. and Europe, as SEGA has made considerable effort to localize the past few Yakuza titles — including the zombie-based spin-off, Yakuza: Dead Souls.
The next installment in the Yakuza franchise, Yakuza Ishin, is currently in development for PS4 and PS3, and will be a launch title for the former in Japan.
Fortunately for fans, Nagoshi-san seems keen to reach out to western gamers with this latest chapter in the long-running franchise.
“I’d definitely love to reach the whole world, haha, if we have the manpower and the money to do it,” he said in response to whether Ishin would be localized.
SEGA confirmed in June 2011 that the series had shipped five million units worldwide.
Stay tuned to PSU.com for more details.