Apparently a retailer out in North America placed a reorder for these classics, sooooo limited reprint! #yakuza #thatNewGameSmell pic.twitter.com/koJnYEdARI
— Sam Mullen (@sam_mullen) February 10, 2017
It seems insane that Sega would make more of a PlayStation 2 game — any PlayStation 2 game — in 2017, but it’s definitely a cool thing the company did for fans. While the first Yakuza game isn’t particularly difficult to come across, less successful sequels like Yakuza 2 are difficult to come across; the going rate for a used copy often exceeds $100.
Unfortunately, these games are priced close to or at the original MSRP, so both Yakuza and Yakuza 2 cost $50. Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4 cost $40.
The original Yakuza was released in 2005 in Japan and 2006 in North America. The game has seen five sequels and multiple spin-offs. For fans that jumped on to the Yakuza series later on, many have hoped that an HD port would occur for the first two Yakuza games. That port actually did occur, but was a Japanese exclusive. While the PlayStation 3 is region free, the game lacked any english subtitles or voice acting. Some fans have actually imported the Japanese HD port and followed along with a guide. That’s dedication.
It is cool that Sega has taken the time to re-release these games for fans, but many are wondering if Sega will give past generation Yakuza games a modern remaster. Unfortunately, last year’s Yakuza 6 wasn’t a breakout sales success in Japan, so it’s not looking likely that Sega will invest the resources to remastering past Yakuza games. On the other hand, Yakuza 0, a prequel to the original Yakuza, came to North America last month and has become something of a critical darling in the U.S.
Yakuza 6 is currently on track to launch in North America in “early 2018.”
