English Voices Included In Yakuza 3?
Yakuza 3Although all the Yakuza titles eventually find their way to North America (despite the typical one-year delay), they don't come with an English voiceover option. Well, that changes with Yakuza 3.
Towards the end of last year, it was announced that Sega would bring the third entry in the critically acclaimed franchise to the US, much to the delight of series fans. Remember, this is the first Yakuza title designed for the PlayStation 3 and it currently sports the best review scores of the series. But some people just don't like the Japanese voices and being forced to read the English subtitles (yes, that kind of laziness sadly does exist), even though many prefer it this way. Most of us just assumed this would all remain the same for Yakuza 3 but as PS3Center noted, Sega of America studio director Constantine Hantzopoulos has apparently confirmed that North American/European localization will feature English voices. This info came from the latest 4 Guys 1 Up podcast, which you can listen to through that link, where Hantzopoulos mentions the higher costs of bringing the game to the US and hiring new voice actors:
"The bulk of the cost is actually the [voice overs]. A lot of lines in [Yakuza 3] so obviously the more expensive it gets, you wanna land the right actors, voice the right parts. Whenever Sega brings a game over [to the US] and makes the investment, the heavy investment, into localization, we're talking over 500, 600, 700K to localize this game. Lot of voices, lot of different peeps, lot of different characters."
Yakuza 3 is slated to arrive on North American shores in March, and it seems a wider audience will now be satisfied with the production. Personally, I think a game like this requires the Japanese voices in order to give us the appropriate atmosphere (I mean, we're talking about the Yakuza, here), but I understand that's a matter of opinion.
Related Game(s): Yakuza 3
1/3/2010 9:46:47 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (33 posts)
to_far_apart
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:56:08 AM
I mean imagine having Mario with a French accent as supposed to an Italian accent right?
ah bonjour madamoiselle oh la la ca va
hm, i don't think many people would be convinced with that hahaha
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HeXeN
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:15:01 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:15:40 PM
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Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 1/3/2010 10:17:21 PM
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Buckeyestar
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:21:05 PM
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HeXeN
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:30:03 PM
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Douchebaguette
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 11:30:21 PM
Who ever says reading subtitles can distract you from the visuals? As far as I remember, reading subs and watching the picture melds naturally to me; I bet the same goes for many other people.
As for people hating on the Jap voice-overs: sometimes there is humour which would only be funny in a Japanese accent, or approach. Infact it works for the whole culture of their conversations and because of that do you know how much anime, how many films and how many games have been differed in English voice dubbing? Character tone and outlook have probably been comprimised from the original and you probably never knew it happened. Not that it's much of a problem anyway tbh [except anime, where it's distinctive].
Not entirely bashing dubs though, as sometimes they are decent [with games: mostly], sometimes so bad & cheesy that it's healthy to laugh at [e.g. Tenchu: Shadow Assassins].
Thumping people isn't nice =P
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:03:53 AM
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Alienange
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:31:48 AM
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LimitedVertigo
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:45:06 AM
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Banky A
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 1:38:41 AM
Sad face.
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godsman
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 5:33:06 AM
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Oxvial
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:29:22 PM
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Douchebaguette
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:45:22 PM
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Is it Yakuza 3 or Yakuza Kenzan? Pictures and info leads toward Yakuza 3 but you have used a Kenzan picture in the past and you also mention "this is the first Yakuza title designed for the PlayStation 3". As far as I remember, Kenzan is that game.
Actually y'know what'll be cooler? If both get released here.
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hellish_devil
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:46:17 PM
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I don't really mind reading subs, since I'm Bolivian, and sometimes English is so confusing (with all the slangs) =)
Last edited by hellish_devil on 1/3/2010 10:47:11 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:53:33 PM
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LimitedVertigo
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:58:00 PM
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Banky A
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 1:40:50 AM
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LimitedVertigo
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:57:06 PM
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Kangasfwa
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 11:46:24 PM
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Thing about Japanese voice acting is the fact that I don't speak Japanese. It's harder for me to pick up on the emotional delivery in Japanese voices. So if I have to focus on an actor's voice, I run into a similar situation from above.
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___________
Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 11:57:24 PM
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or they live in a cave working on their games and never look out the window to see whats happening in their industry.
yakuza came out, and they did not want to release it outside JP because they thought it would not sell well.
yakuza 2 came out, and they did not want to release outside JP because yakuza sold poorly.
yakuza 3 came out, and they did not want to release it outside JP because yakuza 2 sold poorly.
so they finally decide to release yakuza 3 here, but to solve the original problem they release the game in march.
the busiest month for next year.
the year that has final fantasy XIII, gran turismo 5 (JP), god of war 3, battlefield bad company 2, tony hawk ride (outside US), singularity, LEGO harry pothead 1-4.
there just a few games off EBs website due to release in march.
so let me get this straight.
the sequels have always sold poorly in Japan, so to solve that problem instead of releasing it in a quiet month there releasing it in a month with at least 7 other titles, 3 of them being big name hits.
yea, that should solve the problem LMAFO!
ok so which one is it?
are developers the dumbest human beings on earth?
or are they just stuck in their cave never looking out the window?
common seance looks like a word not in the developers dictionary.
nor is the word organization.
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Alienange
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:36:09 AM
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LegendaryWolfeh
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 2:00:27 AM
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___________
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 6:23:06 AM
yea in the west, yukuza 3 in Japan is the wests GTA.
i know the developers hate that comparison, but its inevitable.
any open world gang game is going to get compared with it, just like dantes inferno getting compared with GOW, or bayonetta being compared to DMC.
i hope my local blockbuster gets this game in because i want to play it, but im not dropping 100+ bucks on it.
annoying, for some reason all my local vid stores only get 2 or 3 games in per month, same with bluray movies.
they still do not have assassins creed 2, the saboteur or the avatar.
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Oxvial
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:01:50 PM
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Cholo Gamer
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:32:25 AM
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Alienange
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:41:20 AM
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Kiryu
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 3:55:20 AM
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1 up, 1 down
Alienange
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 9:23:12 AM
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rell
Monday, January 04, 2010 @ 12:44:51 PM
Last edited by rell on 1/4/2010 12:46:34 PM
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godsman
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Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 10:06:16 PM
Last edited by godsman on 1/3/2010 10:06:30 PM