[UPDATE : petition is up] Let's show our support to release Judgment (PS4 game from Yakuza team) in the west

[Zephy]

UPDATE : Change.org petition is up : Release Judgment in the west

Following the recent arrest of actor Pierre Taki who plays a major role in Judgment (Judge Eyes in Japan), the latest game from the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, sales have been halted. This was discussed in this thread.

While both the Sega USA and Sega Europe twitter pages still display as their banner the game's title with its initially planned June 25 release date, the latest word from journalist Takashi Muchizuki was that Sega was still considering whether to release the game to the west this year.

Aditionnally, according to Twinfinite's translation of Yakuza Studio's producer Daisuke Sato's tweet, he has said the following :

I will not end it like this. I won't let it be as if it never happened. One day, surely, I will make it rise again

Click to shrink...

This was the original tweet :

このまま終わらせはしない。​

このままなかったものにはさせない。​

いつか、必ず、復活させる。​

— 佐藤大輔@龍が如くスタジオ/龍が如く4 好評発売中！ (@satod_cs1) March 13, 2019​

As of today, it's unknown whether Sega has reached a decision regarding the game's future. Will they release it as is in the west ? Will they replace the actor's voice, likeness and animations in the game and delay it ? Will they just abandon the game ? The second option seems the most likely, but nothing is certain for now.

In support of Judgment's western release and the efforts of its creators to bring it back in Japan, I'd like to use this thread as an opportunity to call out all Ryu Ga Gotoku studio fans to show the game is important to us. If discussions regarding the game's future are still ongoing at Sega, hopefully we can help steer them towards a resolution that will satisfy most people.

It goes without saying that all messages directed to Sega should remain respectful and positive.

While I never preorder games, this is one I'm 100% sure I'm going to like. I've therefore decided to vote with my wallet and preorder Judgment following the recent events.

I've also sent out a tweet to Sega Europe asking for news regarding the european release. While a single tweet means nothing, if enough people show interest in the matter, maybe we will finally get an answer.

Let's make it happen people.

 

[lucebuce]

 

[ara]

I don't really know what else to say other than that I need this fucking game lol

Was gonna plan the start of my summer vacation around the release, so I can only hope nothing's changed wrt the western release

 

[Richter1887]

You got my sword.

 

[Blade24070]

I... feel like Sega is doing too much against the game itself for something an actor did. Maybe it's cuz I see no issue with some cocaine use (yeah it's bad), at least not on the level of like the Vic Mignogna shit.

 

[Rodjer]

SEGA Europe won't give a fuck about people tweets, the European branch is mostly PC focused, you should send to SEGA America or SEGA twitter.
https://twitter.com/SEGA

 

[Dojima]

I've been tweeting and showing my support to SEGA. Already preordered the game too before all this fiasco. SEGA have been superb this gen and they deserve all the love and support

 

[Piccoro]

The digital edition pre-order is still up in Europe: https://store.playstation.com/pt-pt/product/EP0177-CUSA13197_00-JUDGMENTPREORDER

I kinda feel like pre-ordering, but Sony isn't very trustworthy when it comes to refunds. Because the game will almost certainly be delayed/canceled.

 

[tyfon]

The digital edition pre-order is still up in Europe: https://store.playstation.com/pt-pt/product/EP0177-CUSA13197_00-JUDGMENTPREORDER

I kinda feel like pre-ordering, but Sony isn't very trustworthy when it comes to refunds. Because the game will almost certainly be delayed/canceled.

Click to shrink...

You can refund/cancel any pre-orders on psn eu as long as you don't download/use any of the other stuff like themes and whatnot.
Also, thanks for the link. I'll pre-order

 

[Mirage]

I hope this still comes out when they planned it to.

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

Aditionnally, according to Dualshockers' translation of Yakuza Studio's producer Daisuke Sato's tweet, he has said that "he will definitely not let things end this way, that he refuses for Pierre Taki's contribution to the game to be completely erased, and vowed to bring him back."

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Huh...

That's admirable of him somewhat.

 

[Mars People]

It's absolutely absurd what has happened with this game.
It's just one actor out of how many that are in the game.

 

[LuckyLinus]

This whole thing can only be summarized as "Wtf Japan".

 

[Piccoro]

You can refund/cancel any pre-orders on psn eu as long as you don't download/use any of the other stuff like themes and whatnot.
Also, thanks for the link. I'll pre-order

Click to shrink...

Yes, I forgot you could cancel pre-orders in EU.
I think I'll pre-order too, then!

 

[newmoneytrash]

It's so weird to me that this is considered such a huge offence because cocaine use is so normalised here

I'm very much looking forward to this game, and hope this doesn't set it back too much!

 

[Deleted member 9746]

I hope it doesn't get delayed or canceled in the west!

 

[AudioEppa]

The game has english dub, bruh, That was all ya boy needed to know. Day 1. Gotta always support my preferences when a developer caters to it.

 

[Piichan]

Aditionnally, according to Dualshockers' translation of Yakuza Studio's producer Daisuke Sato's tweet, he has said that "he will definitely not let things end this way, that he refuses for Pierre Taki's contribution to the game to be completely erased, and vowed to bring him back."

This was the original tweet :

このまま終わらせはしない。​

このままなかったものにはさせない。​

いつか、必ず、復活させる。​

— 佐藤大輔@龍が如くスタジオ/龍が如く4 好評発売中！ (@satod_cs1) March 13, 2019​

Click to shrink...

The tweet actually does not mention Pierre Taki or his contributions in any way. It's just about the game itself. I'd fix the OP so that people wouldn't get their hope's up for getting the guy back in the game.

 

[Prine]

I had no idea what this game was, would be helpful to prefix "Yakuza team", I assumed it was some PC indie title.

And then I saw the recent trailer, WOW, exactly the type of game I want, don't mind the QTEs for the world it set in.

I've got it preordered already for June's release. Day 0

 

[Zephy]

The tweet actually does not mention Pierre Taki or his contributions in any way. It's just about the game itself. I'd fix the OP so that people wouldn't get their hope's up for getting the guy back in the game.

Click to shrink...

I did seem to recall reading a different translation that said he wanted to bring the game itself back. I will uodate the OP and try to find a better translation, thanks.

SEGA Europe won't give a fuck about people tweets, the European branch is mostly PC focused, you should send to SEGA America or SEGA twitter.
https://twitter.com/SEGA

Click to shrink...

Good to know, I'll tweet them too.

I had no idea what this game was, would be helpful to prefix "Yakuza team", I assumed it was some PC indie title.

And then I saw the recent trailer, WOW, exactly the type of game I want, don't mind the QTEs for the world it set in.

I've got it preordered already for June's release. Day 0

Click to shrink...

I considered mentioning Yakuza in the title but didn't think it was necessary. I will ask to change the thread title.

 

[deadfolk]

This whole thing makes me very nervous about the game's future.

I just don't get it. People do bad things - nothing new there. Are they going to pull all films containing actors or worked on by people who have done bad things? All music? Literature? Where does it end? Utter nonsense.

 

[Arkanius]

I don't give a shit if someone consumes cocaine. It's not a crime in my eyes.
Give me the game SEGA, not everyone has the backward laws Japan has about that matter.

 

[Dojima]

This whole thing makes me very nervous about the game's future.

I just don't get it. People do bad things - nothing new there. Are they going to pull all films containing actors or worked on by people who have done bad things? All music? Literature? Where does it end? Utter nonsense.

Click to shrink...

IIRC Hollywood removes the actors just like what happened with Spacey

 

[Mifec]

I'll support it once they announce a PC release, until then the game may as well not exist for me.

 

[Deleted member 984]

I wonder if somebody at Sega had the misfortune of being sober and stuck next to the actor when on a packet. listening to a coke head all night would be enough to make me want to cancel anything.

 

[gdt]

I wonder if somebody at Sega had the misfortune of being sober and stuck next to the actor when on a packet. listening to a coke head all night would be enough to make me want to cancel anything.

Click to shrink...

You don't know he's a full blown coke head

 

[Bryo4321]

Release in the west as is and as planned. Nobody cares that he did coke. Seriously. It's a non issue.

 

[PARAdoja]

You have my fists.

I understand Japan's stance on this and all, but I do think it's a little extreme for us west folks.

I hope they come to a solution soon enough so we can enjoy the game.

RGG games are the only I pre-order/buy full price (and digital + physical). They and the localization team deserves all the support they can get.

 

[thepenguin55]

So they were planning an English dub for this game in the West, right? Couldn't they just move forward with that version of the game as-is and patch in the Japanese VO at a later date? Obviously this whole thing is kind of dumb to begin with but it's hard for me to come down on Sega when this is more of a cultural thing. Either way, I really don't see why this has to interrupt the Western release of this game.

 

[Deleted member 1777]

I completely understand that from a japanese perspective that this is a really big deal, but from a western perspective ? C'mon now. Do what you have to do for Japan but leave the western version be please, I'll be buying it regardless whenever it comes out but preferably sooner rather than later :)

 

[Razors4edge]

I hope it will be released.
I will buy it, love the new kicks etc, nice change from Kiryu. Hopefully a PC version comes too.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

I get it's a bigger thing in Japan, as they are more strict with drugs but don't punish us in the west just because one of the actors likes to "powder his nose"

Fingers crossed it isn't cancelled, I'd rather take a small delay than a full on cancel.

 

[MilkBeard]

most likely delay with replacement. It would not make sense to cancel the game after they put so much effort into the localization. Hopefully we get it without delay, though. I like Sato's dedication to it, at least. But brace yourselves for a delay.

 

[Kuksune]

I'll pre-order it when i get home from work.

 

[Zephy]

So they were planning an English dub for this game in the West, right? Couldn't they just move forward with that version of the game as-is and patch in the Japanese VO at a later date?

Click to shrink...

There is also the issue of the actor's face and I believe mocap being used in the game. It would need complete replacement.

 

[convo]

I wouldn't underestimate their ability to replace an actor in a game, as bad as this situation is, getting the game to a sellable state isn't that big of a pipe dream, especially since the game's not out in the west yet. Way too much effort went into this game's localization for it to get shafted.

 

[StraySheep]

I will sign anything you want me to.

 

[PARAdoja]

I think it's easy to replace. I believe the actors don't do mocap, but only the voice acting and face scanning.

 

[shadowman16]

Of course I'll get the game. I own two different copies of Dead Souls FFS! Plus it helps that having already finished Judge Eyes I know the quality of the game is damn near the best the team has ever put out. Changing Hamura will of course sting, he's the best thing about the game but its not enough for me to not buy the game.

As for if Sega will/won't replace Taki, they almost certainly will. Pointed out in another thread is proof that his character has currently been completely removed from the English site (rest of the site remains) and don't forget Tanimura was changed in Yakuza 4 as well - though its worth noting that 4 was never pulled (at least, I don't remember it happening, heck the PS3 game is still available digitally with the original actor) but I guess the difference is that Tanimura's VA was cleared of charges, while Taki straight up admitted to Cocain use so unless Sega goes against the grain here and brings the game back unalterated after a time, he's getting replaced. Still, this is better than the game disappearing completely, but seeing how much time and money has already been put into the game, I still see it as unlikely that the game is completely canceled. I trust Sega with its Yakuza series (if little else!)

 

[Zephy]

I think it's easy to replace. I believe the actors don't do mocap, but only the voice acting and face scanning.

Click to shrink...

I'm curious about this, is there any info out there regarding the mocap process in the Yakuza series ?

If it is just the model and voiceover, I suppose it won't be as big an endeavour.

 

[Apenheul]

I'm undecided, I want the game to release but I won't force my values on SEGA which is a Japanese company.

 

[Hieroph]

You got my sword.

Click to shrink...

And my axe!

 

[chirt]

I could not care less that he did coke, gimme Judgement!

 

[PlzUninstall]

At worst the Western release is cancelled forever.
At best we're looking at a massive delay for them to re-record his lines and put a new model in. I mean they did it for 4 on it's re-release.

See you guys in 9 years!

 

[thepenguin55]

There is also the issue of the actor's face and I believe mocap being used in the game. It would need complete replacement.

Click to shrink...

RIGHT. I forgot about that aspect. I guess that would take more time if the actor was involved with the mocap? What a shame.

EDIT: Also, why do some people seem to think the western release will be outright cancelled? As nonsensical as this whole scenario inherently is that really wouldn't make much sense to me as I would imagine that (financially for Sega) would just make a bad situation far worse than it needed to be?

 

[Bane]

I'm undecided, I want the game to release but I won't force my values on SEGA which is a Japanese company.

Click to shrink...

That's where I'm at. I'm seeing "I know it's a big deal over there but..." There's no but, it'd be a bad look for them over there to profit off of this with him being in it still. Give them time to sort their shit. I've no doubt it will release in time, I just hope it's not too long of a wait.

 

[Richter1887]

And my axe!

Click to shrink...

Now that you bring Golden Axe, here is hoping Golden Axe Revenge of Dark Adder would be an arcade game in the next Yakuza.

 

[PerrierChaud]

I'm undecided, I want the game to release but I won't force my values on SEGA which is a Japanese company.

Click to shrink...

That's where I'm at. I'm seeing "I know it's a big deal over there but..." There's no but, it'd be a bad look for them over there to profit off of this with him being in it still. Give them time to sort their shit. I've no doubt it will release in time, I just hope it's not too long of a wait.

Click to shrink...

So now wanting to play a game which involved hundreds of artists, developers, programmers, game designers who have virtually no part in the private business of one of the dozens of voice actors whom himself is being abused by a completely absurd justice system pulled straight out of a Kafka novel is forcing personal values on a Japanese company? Christ get a grip

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

I'm curious about this, is there any info out there regarding the mocap process in the Yakuza series ?

Click to shrink...

I watched some videos of Yakuza Fan's Forging the Dragon.



I recall some behind-the-scenes about the motion capture, I can't remember on which videos...

But it seems the motion capture are being done separate from the voice actors.

So yeah, the studio might only just looking for new actor to replace Taki while keeping the in-game body capture intact.

 

[deadfolk]

IIRC Hollywood removes the actors just like what happened with Spacey

Click to shrink...

That's a rare recent exception. There are numerous murderers, rapists and pedos in films.