PS3 Fanboy

[Via VG247]

The upcoming "real" Yakuza 3 will expand upon one of the franchises key selling points: girls. "GAL Magazine" will feature seven top Japanese fashion models: Sayaka Araki, Eri Touka, Rina Sakurai, Shizuka Mutou, Riho Nishiyama, Rina Aikawa, and Nemu. These girls will be featured in a more "advanced" cabaret system in the upcoming game. The game will properly render the fashion and speaking styles of the fashionable girls ... something we're sure many players will be paying attention to.

Check IGN for all the girls.

[Thanks, Gambit07!]

The real Yakuza 3 is on the way according to an interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi in the latest issue of Famitsu. Officially going to have "3" in the title, this game will actually be the fourth title in the series.

We've been billing the previous game Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan (which released in Japan on March 6 this year) as Yakuza 3 for the past year or so because, well, it's easier to write than the original name. We guess we won't be able to do that anymore. The game will be a direct sequel to Yakuza 2. It currently does not have a set release date.

[Thanks Hanson Y.!]

We didn't expect Yakuza 3 to take itself so seriously. A game that features so many quirky mini-games, UFOs, and a very Japanese sense of humor has a pretty heavy handed beginning. When Yakuza 3 launched in Japan, it was able to take the number one spot on the sales charts. Looking at this cinematic, do you want Sega to localize this title for the English speaking audience?

The PS3's install base continues to grow in Japan and with it, its software sales. Sega's Yakuza 3 has taken the top spot in the Japanese software charts -- one of the few PS3 titles to claim such a lofty achievement so far. With 181,000 units sold, it managed to outsell the rest of the top five titles combined. Perhaps the use of clever marketing tools helped this title's sales? Or maybe it was the attractive Satin Silver PS3 bundle?

Regardless, we're sure both Sony and Sega are quite pleased with these numbers. Hopefully, it won't be too long before more PS3 titles climb the software sales charts.

For the rest of the bestsellers, check out Next Gen.

After our initial wave of disappointment dissipated with the announcement that SCEA had no plans of bringing the Satin Silver PS3 stateside, we were actually starting to feel pretty good, that is until we saw the Satin Silver Yakuza 3 bundle. Now our feelings of woe have returned tenfold.

Limited to only 1,000 units, the Yakuza 3 PS3 bundle will be released in Japan on March 6 (the same day as the regular Satin Silver PS3) for about $440 and will include some really neato dragon stickers. However, like the regular Satin Silver PS3, it won't come with a DualShock 3, but who needs that when you can come home with Yakuza 3, right?

What makes this even worse for us is that Sega has yet to confirm a Western release of the game. Sega, can you please end our agony and just tell us when we can expect Yakuza 3?

[Via Kotaku]

The Japanese PS Store currently offers not one, but two demos of Sega's upcoming Japanese adventure, Yakuza 3 (aka Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan). At the very least, the two demos reassure us that there's a large number of things to do in this PS3 exclusive. However, as is typically the case with games of this nature, it seems the Jack of all Trades approach Yakuza 3 is taking means the game does many things well, but nothing stands out as particularly excellent.

For example, the combat featured in the game is simplistic at best. Sword fighting can be reduced to simple button mashing. Unfortunately, we don't see the depth that other games offer in this genre. Even relatively simple fighting systems, like the one found in Assassin's Creed, offers combat with much more finesse. The boss that's included in the demo was easily exploited by simply mashing the Triangle button. This being an early demo reminds us that there's much more work to be done in the game. As it is now, battles aren't quite challenging or interesting enough.

Rumors have surfaced regarding Sega's upcoming PS3 exclusive title, Yakuza 3. The game, whose prior two incarnations dealt with more modern-style gangster brawls, takes you back to the time when swords and skill were pretty accurate measures of your ability to earn respect. We'd love to know how it plays and that's where the rumor kicks in -- Sega may be releasing a demo on the Japanese PlayStation Store sometime this month. Sega hasn't said anything officially, but according to some random source over at Gamefront, it's coming. We'll find out, we guess.

[via CVG]

Despite the fact that Yakuza 3 appears to have little to do with the series' previous installments, we're more excited than ever at the thought of finally being able to play it. And with the game's release getting closer by the day, Sega has released its first commercial for the popular franchise.

While it doesn't showcase the massive amounts of blood and limb chopping that other videos have, it appears to introduce its audience to the game's cast, which we guess is okay. Yakuza 3 is set to hit Japan in March, and we expect an announcement to confirm the game is coming our way in the coming months.

We love the new Yakuza 3 (aka Ryu ga Gotoku KENZAN trailer. Why? Well, not only does it have awesome J-rap background music, it shows a lot of potentially fun gameplay. Yes, swordfights are good in any language. But, there's so much more than mindless killing. It appears that there are a number of traditional minigames for you to take part in. There's also a hilarious Leisure Suit Larry-esque romance aspect to the game as well. There's so much to seemingly do and see in the game -- this really is the Japanese equivalent of GTA. And unlike Rockstar's new effort, this one is exclusively ours. Nice!

PS3 owners that have access to the Japanese PS Store are highly encouraged to download the HD version from the Store. For everyone else, check this trailer out now.

Who doesn't want to be part of the Yakuza? Sega's PS3 exclusive Yakuza 3 looks to continue the series' legacy of brutal sword fights. Jeux-France has more than a handful of videos and new screenshots to peruse through. Watch out for some of the later pictures, though. The barely-clothed women may be considered NSFW for some.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to get into a swordfight with ancient samurai Yakuza, you'd probably imagine yourself in the middle of a crowd of bad guys who then back into buildings, then try to walk in a circle around you as you dispatch their comrades, right? Right? No? Well, the latest video of Yakuza 3 shows basically that level of enemy intellect, which is slightly discouraging. However, the game's still fairly early in production so they'll doubtlessly add some more artificial intelligence, but for now, we don't see much challenge in the game. We'll keep our fingers crossed for some improvement, though!

It's known that Yakuza sold like rotten bread outside of Japan which is why the second title didn't even make it overseas. However, in Japan, the two Yakuza titles by Sega have sold well, so we're glad to see a third iteration see daylight and hopefully, outside of Japan also. The funky thing is, this game takes place 400 years prior to the first one (so, that's 1605) and covers the journey of Kazumanosuke Kiryu, a bodyguard who takes any job for the right price. Wouldn't you know it, but he's approached by a girl named Haruka who asks him to kill Musashi Miyamoto, who is actually Kiryu's other self outside of the city. His past! His even darker half!

Sega is employing an all-star voice-acting cast for the Japanese track (Japan has a lot more pride in their voice-acting). In addition to that, many upgrades are being made to the game. You'll have a huge, detailed city to explore and four different fighting styles to make use of (fist, blade, dual blade, broad sword). You no longer have to train with a master to gain moves -- you still can, but you'll also learn moves by observing events, like a dog jumping to catch a bone. There will be over 100 subquests and multiple minigames, also. It seems Sega is really pulling out the stops with this, so we'll keep you posted how it looks at the Tokyo Game Show!

It's looking awesome. That's really all we can say about this Yakuza 3 trailer, containing more samurai action you can shake your bamboo sword at. Our inability to understand Japanese is becoming more of an issue with all these excellent game announcements, but fear not, as we're hard at work taking some lessons so we can sound slightly more impressive. The announcement for this game was very, very recent, so already having this amount of footage means Sega has probably been hard at work for a while and we can expect something new at TGS next week.