We have some new information on Yakuza 5, courtesy of Andriasang. They say that the Kazuma Kiryu is going to be the main protagonist in the game. These details were revealed in Famitsu, which was translated, of course.
The game is a PS3 exclusive and will contain 5 locations – Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. The last Yakuza game for the PS3 was known as “The End” but this franchise is certainly profitable for SEGA, at least in Japan.
The release date is TBA, and is supposed to be early in development.
Here are some new details from Yakuza 5.
- The game will have massive volume.
- Nagoshi says that if likening the series to a house, 5 would be like building a new house rather than adding an extension to an existing house.
- The five cities will be of scale at or beyond the previous Osaka (Dotonbori) and Okinawa (Ryukyu) locations.
- Rather than seeking out hostesses to appear in the game, Sega will be traveling to the five cities to seek out girls who will serve as a cheering squad for the game. The girls will appear in commercials as well.
- The game will have presentation improvements, including shortened load times, improved camerawork and better character expressions. The team is using some of the knowhow they gained from working on Binary Domain.
- The game will also have improved technology to allow for seamless conversations and battles. Nagoshi says that you will be surprised with the result.
- The story will connect directly with Yakuza 4. It will not carry over from the zombie-themed Yakuza Of the End.
- Masayoshi Yokoyama is now a producer. On past Yakuza games, he worked on such areas as script and scenario.
- Development is currently in an early phase. Famitsu lists the game as date TBA.