Judgment Sales Suspended After Actor Caught In Drug Bust; Western Localization Uncertain

Judgment, which launched in Japan as Judge Eyes, is a brand new IP from the makers of Yakuza that was going to offer an all new style of gameplay, including investigations of crime scenes. It looked cool, and it was even confirmed for a western release with English VA (which even the Yakuza games have never received), and two separate sets of English subtitles. Put simply, it was going to be a big release that Sega was clearly putting a lot of its money into.

However, actor Pierre Taki, who plays Yakuza boss Kyohei Hamura in the game, has now been arrested in a drug bust involving cocaine. Some context—Taki voices a character and has lent his likeness to him entirely. Drugs are a very big deal in Japan (you get five years for just marijuana), and cocaine even more so. With Pierre’s arrest, Sega has voluntarily withdrawn Judgment from sale in Japan, not just at retail, but also digitally on PSN. The Wall Street Journal’s Takeshita Mochizuki reports that the western release of the game is uncertain for now too.

Hopefully, Sega is able to recast the character, re-record the necessary parts, and put the game back on sale worldwide. It’s clear they intend Judgment to be a long term IP, and it would suck if this torpedoed that from ever happening.

Sega: discussing what to do with western release of its "Judgement" game after a related Japanese actor's arrest. No decisions made yet.

— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) March 13, 2019