Since Sega debuted this game series back in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, the Yakuza games have brought a unique flavor of open-world brawling to consoles worldwide. Think of it as modern Grand Theft Auto meets old-school River City Ransom set in Japan. I recall Area5 (you know, the former “1Up Show” people) referring to the series as “Shenmue done right.” Anyway, the PlayStation 4-exclusive Yakuza 6 is coming out soon in Japan, and it’s been reported by a Japanese gaming publication that New Japan Pro Wrestling stars will be appearing in the game as a rival gang. I love this; I want this; ALL of this; IN MY FACE!
Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is (from left to right) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tetsuya Naito, Satoshi Kojima, and Toru Yano. To say the cross-promotion effort by New Japan has been on a roll as of late is an understatement (and that includes their addition of Tiger Mask W). Also, as of this writing, there’s no confirmation on whether these wrestlers will be voicing themselves in the game.
So now, what about a North American release for Yakuza 6? Well, the good new is that the Yakuza series have a pretty good track record with Western localization (in terms of English subtitles) and releases, so my best guess would be “sometime in 2017.” The Japanese populace will get to play the game on December 8, but I’m sure we can stand to wait a bit longer to get our hands on Yakuza 6. Dang, this makes me wish for a NJPW game for modern consoles using a variant of the Def Jam: Fight for NY engine… #AManCanDream…
The PractitioNERD 