Gamertell

Fans of the Yakuza series (me among them) were seriously bummed that Sega hadn’t announced any plans to localize the third installment. Now, 1UP, citing sources close to the project, reports that Yakuza 3 is being localized for the US and European markets.

It’s possible an announcement about the Playstation 3 exclusive game could come at the Tokyo Game Show, September 24 through 27, 2009.  There’s a precedent here as the US localization of Yakuza 2 was one of Sega’s announcements at TGS 2007. Yakuza has been termed the “spiritual successor” to Dreamcast classic Shenmue thanks to its vivid depiction of Japanese culture.

As far as basic gameplay, Yakuza is a series of beat ‘em up adventures. Your character uses everything in his environment ranging from pool cues to trashcans. It also includes nods to famed Sega franchises including Virtua Fighter, which appears in screenshots on arcade machines in the first game. The Yakuza series has never achieved huge sales in the U.S. which is why there was concern Sega wouldn’t release the third game over here.

A fourth installment for Japan has already been announced and will be on display at TGS 2009. It’s a good time to be the digital version of a Japanese gangster.

Read [1UP] Also Read [Kotaku]