Persona 5 R was announced late last year in the most confusing way possible. We got a video that confirmed it is a thing, and that it will be on PlayStation platforms (though not necessarily exclusive to them), but we don’t know what it is, or if it even is an “it”—it might just as well be more than one game, for instance.

The one thing Atlus did confirm was that they would be sharing more information on the game come March. And now, Sega has announced Sega Fes 2019, its annual show, for March 30 and March 31 2019, and confirmed that all partners in the Sega group (which includes Atlus, since they own Atlus) will be showing up there. This seems to indicate that we may finally get an update on Persona 5 R at the event.

Other Sega games, such as the new Yakuza title, might also be shown off here, as might be new announcements entirely. It’s unclear what all we can expect from the show—but if you are a fan of Sega’s output, be sure to tune in.

With rumours teasing a PlayStation 5 reveal some time this year, it’s good to know that the current machine still has plenty going for it. Let’s take a look at those games that will be releasing for the PS4 this year and beyond, whether they’re timed exclusives or first party wonders.

This list consists of all types of exclusives: Full, timed and console exclusives.

Judgment

This isn’t your typical Yakuza game…even if it is developed by the same team and utilizing the same combat system. Instead, Judgment is classified as a “legal thriller”. Players control private investigator Takayuki Yagami as he follows a string of murders taking place in Kamurocho. Yes, the same Kamurocho from the Yakuza series. Despite all the similarities, Judgment does have a few tricks up its sleeve including an Investigation mode for detecting clues. Will it have the same zany substories that define Sega’s other action adventure series? Here’s hoping for that and a karaoke minigame or two.

While the Yakuza series has been mostly associated with the PlayStation up until now, it looks like the games may also make their way onto other platforms. Yakuza 0 did recently release for the PC after all, with a Yakuza Kiwami launch and – possibly – a Yakuza 6 release in the pipeline as well. The series’ Executive Director Toshihiro Nagoshi has now revealed that Microsoft and Nintendo had initially rejected pitches for Yakuza- but of course, that they want the games now.

Apparently, Microsoft and Nintendo hadn’t initially understood why Nagoshi had created the game. In an interview with Edge magazine (September 2018, Issue 322), he stated, “I’ve never said this before, but while we released this game with Sony, I’d done presentations about it to Microsoft and Nintendo. Back then they said “No we don’t want it.” Now they say, “We want it!” (laughs) They didn’t understand the reason why I created it.”

And why did he create it? Nagoshi also discussed how the idea for Yakuza came into being, essentially being born from the fact that he didn’t want to make a game that was specifically made to cater to Western audiences, but do something different- cater to the male Japanese audience instead. He said, “It became difficult for Japanese companies to compete with western games of high quality and big budgets,” he said. “If we wanted to do, it would have to be sports, or military, or fantasy (…) and it would need to release worldwide. Since everyone was thinking the same things, everyone was making similar games (laughs).”

“But I thought it wasn’t right to follow that direction,” he continued. “So, first, I abandoned the idea of selling worldwide. Next, I decided I wouldn’t mind if female players didn’t like the game; then that no children were allowed. When I decided all that, the only target left was the Japanese male.”

“My bosses took some convincing,” Nagoshi went on. “I did a presentation twice, and didn’t get approval. Sega was struggling for cash and was very close to bankruptcy, so it merged with Sammy. As soon as it happened, I went to see the new owner and presented the game to him, looking for his approval. Professionally, this was highly irregular and quite wrong. But I knew if the owner said “yes”, it would be good for the entire company. I got his approval, but our CEO was really mad about it (laughs). He said it was unfair.”

In the same interview, Nagoshi also went on  to talk about how he basically draws inspiration based on what he likes and the people he meets. “I’m often asked how I did all the research, but it’s Japanese culture,” he said. “But I did some of my own, yes. I like drinking. I also like women. I was having lots of fun in my life for a long time – whether to shake off my stress from work, or deepen the connection with my subordinates. (…) I learned a lot of interesting stories from the people I met. And some surprising stories, and some sad ones. They became elements of Yakuza’s story. The name Kiryu is one of them (…). I often do that in my games – I use the name of a person I liked or who looked after me well. I still do that today.”

He also talked about the upcoming game, called – for now – Shin Yakuza, and how he hopes to introduce the character of Kiryu to new fans. “It will still be quite hardcore at the beginning, but I want the player to think “Oh this game seems really interesting” – that’s what I’m aiming for this time,” Nagoshi said. “That goes for the technology too, though I don’t want to say more as it will spoil the fun. By introducing new and more current systems, I’d like to increase the number of players. And if I do that, I can re-introduce Kiryu-san to some new fans. That would be ideal.”

That’s pretty interesting insight into the series and how the people behind it went about conceptualizing it. Nagoshi’s statements about his intended target audience are also quite interesting- and they reflect in the game’s popularity as well. Until very recently, while Yakuza was wildly successful in Japan, in the West it only used to have a very niche audience. Of course, it’s great that that’s changing, and hopefully future games in the series will prove to be just as successful.

During a recently held Yakuza event at the Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California, series producer Daisuke Sato spoke a little bit about the future of the franchise, and in addition to speaking about the currently in development code-named Shin Yakuza, as well as the possibility of a direct sequel to last year’s Yakuza 0.

Sato mentioned that Yakuza 0 is as well loved within the development team over at Sega as much as it is by the fans of the game, and as such, the team has often bounced around ideas of possibly making a Yakuza 0-2, a game that would be set between Yakuza 0 and the first game in the series. Such a project, though, is not in development right now, as per Sato, nor are there any plans to work on it in the near future.

What is being worked on right now is a game that has been given the code-name Shin Yakuza (which was already revealed in 2017), and Sato gave plenty of interesting details on that particular project. The game will take players to new locations and will be set after Yakuza 6, and might see the return of several characters from past games. Since Yakuza 6 was series protagonist Kiryu’s last game, though, Shin Yakuza will feature a new protagonist in Ichiban Kasuga.

Sato also went on to speak about how Kasuga will be different as a protagonist than Kiryu. For one, he will be a much more emotive and outspoken character than Kiryu was. Also, when Kasuga’s story begins, he will have no money, power, friends, or support, and the game will show how he rises from that.

It definitely sounds interesting, so here’s hoping Sega will announce some more concrete details on the game soon. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more updates.