After sixteen years as a franchise, the Sega mainstay ‘Yakuza’ of the early 2000s has decided to drop its name in favour of returning to its original Japanese title of Ryu ga Gotoku or ‘Like a Dragon’.

For many, this may seem an arbitrary or bizarre change in an industry where brand recognition and loyalty are essential for continued sales. However, the reasons behind this change are much more nuanced and interesting than a simple decision to change a title. It bears mentioning from the outset that in Japan, Yakuza was always known as, and is still known as, the ‘Like a Dragon’ series ever since the first game in 2005. And although it centred around the Yakuza, that name was not tagged onto the franchise until the American release the following year. In the decade and a half that has passed since then, the series has evolved beyond its Japanese organised crime setting. Over in Japan, we were treated to historical drama games that have never seen the light of day in the west until now with the reveal of Like a Dragon: Isshin. 

Yakuza as a franchise has only majorly risen to prominence in the last few years through the influence of YouTube and meme culture finding the mix of over-the-top combat and at times hysterical side quests endearing. It set the stage for a positive reception when the seventh game in the series dropped back in 2020, with a full English dub cast not seen since the original. Even acting legends like George Takei of Star Trek fame lent his voice talent to the game showing that the series was coming out of the shadows of a niche cult classic to being seen as a well-loved franchise here in the west.

And it is with this love pairing with the ever-broadening appreciation in the west for Japanese and anime culture that the choice to make the name change back to ‘Like a Dragon’ lies for the latest game in the series.

The Yakuza name was a relic of the early 2000s western gaming industries’ belief that Japanese games had to be tweaked and localised to be appealing to a western audience. But now in 2022, the franchise recognition is based around the characters and style of the game regardless of if it involves the Yakuza or not. Both of the Judgment games take place in the world of Yakuza yet forgo the franchise title for western release to go on to critical acclaim. And now with the announcement of Like a Dragon: Isshin, games that the west was never able to officially play are finally making their way across the pacific for their audience to enjoy.

What does this mean for the future?

For many years, the Japanese gaming industry has been strangely closed off to the west for a lot of its more niche titles, based upon the idea that they won’t sell well in the west so it is better to keep them exclusive to Japan where they are guaranteed a profit. That has changed, no longer is Japanese games culture seen as a strange cult following that everyone would rather shirk in favour of playing the newest Call of Duty. It is an accepted part of western entertainment now, and Japanese companies like Sega are willing to take the chance in broadening the games they view as sellable to the west. Reverting to ‘Like a Dragon’ for western release is a sign that some parts of the Japanese games industry no longer seek to cloister their games behind the notion of ‘is this too Japanese for the west?’

Hopefully, more companies will take Sega’s example in bringing official releases to long-desired games moving forwards.

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SEGA reveals a snippet of Sonic Frontiers gameplay as part of an IGN First cover story this June

Sonic Frontiers, the next mainline Sonic game after 2017’s Sonic Forces, has a new gameplay teaser trailer, available here.

Looking to change the formula since Sonic Unleashed introduced the “Boost style” gameplay in 2008, Sonic Frontiers will be the series first fully open world game, similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Featuring various biomes, new robotic enemies, large and small and a combat system reminiscent of the werehog levels in Unleashed, as Sonic repeatedly attacks enemies with a barrage of punches and kicks, the game looks to be combining past staples, including rail grinding, into an expansive world.

Peaking at #3 on YouTube Trending is no easy feat, leaving a lot of people hyped for its release later this year.

Originally set to release last year, to coincide with the franchise’s 30th anniversary, it has instead been set back to late 2022, with Sonic Colours Ultimate being a hold over. Alongside Frontiers, Sonic Origins, compiling the Sega Mega Drive trilogy and Sonic CD, is releasing June 23rd and Sonic Prime marks the franchise’s return to television, as a 24 episode series airing later this year, making this year an important one for SEGA.

It will be available for PS4, PS5, PC, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

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Updates on the new compilation of classic Sonic the Hedgehog games could be coming soon

The run down

The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is set to have quite a busy year in 2022. Following the impressive opening weekend for it’s live action theatrical film sequel, two more video game projects and a new TV series are still on the horizon. Back in May of 2021, Sega hosted an online ‘Sonic Central’ event, announcing and teasing many upcoming products. Among the revelations was the now released, Sonic Colours Ultimate, and teased a next-gen Sonic game, which would later become known as Sonic Frontiers, after last year’s game awards.

However, also unveiled was the Sonic Origins compilation. A collection of 5 iconic classic sonic games from the Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis), including: Sonic the Hedgehog 1, Sonic the hedgehog 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, and Sonic CD. Not much has been heard about this upcoming collection since the initial announcement, leading some fans to speculate about what could be going on behind the scenes. Alas, it looks like the waiting may be coming to an end shortly, after some curious leaks.  As reported by VGC, the Game Rating and Administration Committee of South Korea has granted the PC version of Sonic Origins an All Ages rating.

Mere days later, what seems like Key Art for the game was leaked to twitter after having been allegedly uploaded onto Playstation Network’s CDN servers. In the art, fans can see the main trio of heroes, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, with Metal Sonic, Amy, and Eggman behind them. The logo for Sonic Origins is shown on the left side of the image, next to the characters.

All this new information at once can only suggest that an announcement may be coming sooner rather than later. But aside from a release date, what more is there to learn?

Sonic Origins cover image leaked via PSN #SonicOrigins #SonicTheHedgehoghttps://t.co/TgqX18MHEN pic.twitter.com/U59s0PS4tI

— GBAtemp (@GBAtemp) April 18, 2022

Further details

Though details are still scarce, a few pieces of interesting information on the compilation have been shared. As confirmed by the head of Sonic Team, and the brand’s social media manager, all five games will be remade from the ground up to be presented in widescreen, and will not be simple emulation jobs. This opens the door for additional content and features, or extended options being made available for these classic games. This will also mark the first time that Sonic 3 and Knuckles has ever been officially playable in widescreen.

Due to the footage used in the initial trailer, some fans speculated the games could be running in the ‘Retro’ (now ‘Star’) Engine, created by the lead developer of critically acclaimed Sonic Mania, Christian Whitehead. Whitehead led the development of the mobile ports for Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic CD, which were rebuilt from the ground up in his engine. These ports received praise from the fanbase due to their higher resolution, smooth performance, and additional features. However, only the port of Sonic CD ever made it to consoles, leaving the fan-favourite versions of the first two games, confined to mobile.

The long wait to play these classics on modern consoles in widescreen definition may be soon coming to an end. But, whether or not they will boast the same modern features, or even additional features to the ones enjoyed by mobile gamers, remains to be seen. Christian Whitehead, and many other Sonic Mania alumni, appear to be hard at work on the first project for their new studio, Evening Star.

Now that the Sonic 2 Movie has released, we should expect to hear more news on Sonic Origins, Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Prime, in the near future.

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Guys, Nintendo Just updated the switch online app. More Poorly emulated games from 2 decades ago to play that really should have been a part of the service at launch, and if you want to play N64 games you still have to pay extra!

I do not care for switch online. I dont expect nintendo to really fully match PC emulators but the emulation is so bare bones it isnt even vaguely competitive. The offerings are slow and right now the service still isnt even half way to matching the amount of games offered by the Wii Virtual console (a massive collection of retro games not only from Nintendo that, may I remind you, is now completely gone with the close of the wii shop channel. Nice preservation you got there nintendo).

Now, 3 new Sega Genisis/Megadrive games have been added to the switch online expansion pack. Yep, the expansion pack. Not the base service, the upgraded version where you pay more for badly Emulated N64 games. You can now grab the games light Crusader, Super Fantasy Zone, and Alien Soldier as part of the service.

Thats it. 3 new Genesis games, available to play on your nintendo switch, if you pay for switch online *and* the expansion pack. Yeah, uh, so heres the thing with that. You can play these games on PC. now obviously you can download the roms if you are willing to break the law to get them, however what you can do with light crusader and alien soldier instead is buy the games on steam. They are only about 80p at full price, meaning you can pick them up for a fraction of the cost of having them on switch for as long as you maintain the subscription, and you Own the games, rather than just having them for as long as the switch online service is maintained by nintendo. Hell, even though the official Sega emulator for the steam Releases of these games is kinda naff, you can take the files right out of your game directories and run them in any community made Sega Genesis/Megadrive emulator, like KEGA Fusion or Pico Drive.

So unless your a *huge* Super Fantasy Zone fan, I dont really see this as being a huge reason to Buy into the app.

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The judgment spinoff series of the yakuza franchise is in a weird spot right now. The second game, Lost Judgment, came out last year. However, with rumors that the actor for lead character Yagami was severing ties with the studio, it seemed that the series might be on its way out.

While right now there is still no word on whether we will actually see a third Judegment game, it does seem the franchise is set to continue in a new form. According to a report from the Japanese Publication by Nikkan Gendai, TV Asahi is preparting to produce a Television live action series based on the Judgement franchise, with series actor Takuya Kimura said to be reprising his role as private investigator Takayuki Yagami.

The live action version doesnt have an official title yet, but is being referred to as “Sabakarezaru” (裁かれざる [According to google translate]) which can be translated as “unjudged”, which was *also* the japanese title for Lost Judgement. Another source has said a film may be in the works, although no word on whether that is a made-for-tv film or A feature Film.

The news has come during a bit of a drought in Yakuza series content. Fans are currently Waiting to hear more about the sequel to the spinoff “Yakuza: Like A Dragon” (no, its not main series, you dont play as Kiryu), and there is a DLC for lost Judgement called the Kaito DLC coming but it currently has no concrete release window outside of “spring 2022”

As of right now, Lost Judgement is not on PC, which will probably be a sticking point for Sega given the main Yakuza series success on the platform. However, if the TV series turns out to be real it would suggest the actor and their agency are still willing to work on the franchise, even if it isn’t as a videogame any more.

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The future of the Yakuza spin-off Judgement has been unknown for a while now, but it seems there is hope for Yagami yet.

Concerns surrounding the lead character actor severing ties with the game studio lead fans to believe that would be it for Judgement. The most recent entry in the games series was the second of the series, Lost Judgement, which came out in 2021. The gritty crime investigation thriller was widely lauded as a worthy follow-up to the first iteration of the series, but rumours regarding the actor who provided Yagami’s voice and likeness exiting the series were rife even before its launch.

Though it is still uncertain as to whether the Judgement series will receive another game entry, the franchise seems set to continue in a new format. According to a report initially made by Japanese publication Nikkan Gendai and brought to attention for a global audience by Kotaku, TV Asahi is preparing to produce a television live-action series based on the Judgment franchise. Actor Takuya Kimura will supposedly reprise his role as PI Takayuki Yagami.

It’s been a while since we’ve had any updates at all regarding the Yakuza series. Though the sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon has been announced a while ago now, we’re still yet to hear any updates on its progress. There’s also the Kaito DLC arriving in Spring ’22.

While video games do occasionally hit the big screens, it’s not all that often we see a complete change of format. It’ll be interesting to see if the games continue at all, or if this is a permanent move to TV format for the Judgement series.

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Sonic Frontiers, or as I lovingly call it, Sonic Odyssey meets Sonic of the Colossus, was originally pegged for a 2021 launch (according to an investor QnA with SEGA). Luckily, the folks at SonicStadium have confirmed that Sonic Frontiers is now planned to release around holiday season 2022, mainly to allow time to improve the game’s quality.

“Not only for this title, but during the development phase, we have been steadily conducting analysis to improve the quality of the title before release, such as introducing game testing based on external evaluations, and I have a feeling that it will become a good game and have high expectations for it” – SEGA response in QnA.

Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice (surprisingly NOT a Game of Thrones crossover) has also been delayed for the same reason.

While there’s no gameplay available yet, SEGA has promised that Sonic Frontiers should be taking the Sonic franchise in a new drastically different direction from past titles. Considering the trailer (psst, right here) seems to promise a vast world of nature and ancient ruins (ala Breath of the Wild), it would be interesting to see how the game handles traversal and parkour platforming with a character known for being bouncy and speedy.

Compared to SEGA’s announcement of interest in NFTs, I’d say the delay info is good news! For the blessedly uninitiated: NFTs are essentially fancy-shmancy receipts for digital art, not giving you ownership, but essentially saying “oh, but consider this: I might own it! Therefore, give me 69 billion quid if you want to use it”. For a more in-depth explanation on the concept, have a look at Patrick Macintyre’s blog on Ubisoft’s NFT announcement and the analysis video on NFTs (Nasty F****** Things) from Jim Sterling.

Going back to SEGA specifically, they have been trying out ‘various experiments and we have already started many different studies and considerations but nothing is decided at this point regards P2E (play-to-earn)’. SEGA also noted the large-scale unpopularity of NFTs, so hopefully they’ll come to their senses sooner or later. I mean, SEGA. Honey. Baby. It’s okay, you’ve been out of the console game too long, we all make widdle itsy bitsy mistakerooneys, just don’t forget to take your meds next time (UwU).

In other news, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 developer GSC Game World has announced plans to avoid NFTs shortly after announcing plans to incorporate them, due to fan backlash.

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Sonic Mania, plus a fun art book! Knuckles and Knuckles, a bauble head, look!

Dying Light implies Living Darkness… Sleep paralysis weird, yo.

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As The Game Awards draw closer, game announcements are being teased for the award show

It’s now only two days until The Game Awards 2021 takes place from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and everyone is on edge waiting to see what world premieres and announcements the show has for us in store.

Well, it looks like we already have one teaser for what to expect, thanks to interactions on Twitter from the award show’s host and creator, Geoff Keighley, and it’s none other than everybody’s favourite hedgehog.

Sonic the Hedgehog Announcement

It all started when Geoff Keighley replied to a tweet claiming that there will be a number of big announcements during the Game Awards 2021, and Keighley’s response confirmed that statement. He then was asked if he was a Sonic the Hedgehog fan, to which Keighley replied with “very much so” and the eyes emoji, something usually used to draw attention or deliberately act suspicious regarding something.

After a few hours had passed, the official Twitter account for Sonic the Hedgehog tweeted the Game Awards’ creator asking if he had spare tickets for the event of Thursday.

Hey @geoffkeighley do you have any extra invites to TGA?

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) December 6, 2021

This was followed by a very funny reply and quote retweet from Keighley and got fans excited even more at the prospect of a Sonic announcement at the Game Awards 2021.

I see you are thirty and flirty. DM incoming… #TheGameAwards https://t.co/ju3E8V6nMz

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) December 6, 2021

Following you now because you were cool enough to hook us up with an extra invite 😉 Thanks again!

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) December 6, 2021

This would make sense the blue hedgehog has more announcements coming as it’s already been one hell of a year for the 30-year-old franchise. There’s also the discovery of a new domain that has been registered on the official Sonic the Hedgehog website, with the URL frontiers.sonicthehedgehog.com.

The site is unavailable to the public as it presents users with a 403 Forbidden message, but we can expect this to be revealed sometime soon as the 403 message suggests the URL is being used for something.

Sonic Frontiers is believed to be the name of the upcoming open-world Sonic the Hedgehog game that was first teased in May, during a Sonic Central presentation, and is expected to be headed to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC.

We can expect quite a few announcements at the Game Awards this year, as it was also teased there will be another big announcement that has been in the works for over 2 years.

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In the name of transparency, game developers and companies have recently committed to sharing their salaries. Alongside the rampant worker abuse allegations and anti-union sentiment of big companies like Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft, there have also been massive company-wide lay-offs from large companies, but I’ve got a feeling we’ll be covering more on that another day! Possibly today, we’ll see.

In addition to the salary reveals promoting transparency, they in my opinion, also highlight the vast wealth inequality between designers and CEOs. Essentially calling for reevaluation and discussion of why certain roles should or shouldn’t pay more than others.

The hashtag #GameDevPaidMe is currently trending on Twitter, mostly covering the pay developers and designers make per year of work. Below, you’ll find some from Christopher Giroir, a software engineer for Airbnb with 7 years of past experience at Activision Blizzard.

#GameDevPaidMe
Pre-Games
2007 – 65k First job
2012 – 95k

Blizzard
2012 – 65k Associate
2014 – 90k Mid
2015 – 115k Senior
2018 – 150k Senior II
+ Profit Sharing

Improbable
2019 – 170k Senior
2021 – 196k Principal
No bonuses

Post-Games
2021 – 250k Staff + Bonuses + RSUs

— Christopher Giroir (@kelsin5) December 5, 2021

From what I’ve seen so far in the hashtag section, most salaries in the late 2000s and early 2010s average around $25k to $45k a year. That’s around £18,850 to £33,930 for us limeys. It’s good that more recent salaries have been heading up to the hundreds of thousands, but most of the salaries are PEANUTS compared to the literal millions (and hundreds of millions in the case of Bobby Kotick) made by many CEOs who don’t always necessarily put in the same level of effort into a product.

While most companies are quite closed-off regarding publicizing employment salaries, Nintendo has been open with an annual report of it’s worker salaries that released last year, so gold star to comrade Nintendo for that!

In other news, SEGA has reportedly asked over 600 employees to retire, also cutting their salary recently, so in that sense, I guess SEGA really does what Nintendon’t!

I made a spreadsheet because I think there is important info other than Pay and Position. #gamedevpaidme

Fun Fact: 4 of these companies no longer exist. pic.twitter.com/eW3EeSqvce

— Tom Cassera (@Hildogen) July 29, 2021

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The EDM artist and DJ is hosting a Sonic-themed concert at the end of the month to honour its anniversary

From Kirby music to Sonic music…

Sonic has already had a spectacular year so far. For its 30th anniversary, everybody’s favourite blue hedgehog received a Minecraft DLC, a LEGO set, confirmation of a new Netflix show, Sonic Colors: Ultimate and more recently, became the first non-Capcom IP to receive a DLC in Monster Hunter Rise.

Yet it’s still not enough to celebrate the impact Sonic has had in the gaming industry, and EDM artist and DJ Steve Aoki will be honouring Sonic in a virtual concert dedicated to the SEGA franchise.

Sonic-themed Concert

Steve Aoki will be hosting a 60-minute set on November 30 at 8 PM GMT as another celebration to honour Sonic’s birthday. The virtual concert will be streamed live on the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube and Twitch channels for fans to tune in from around the world.

The setlist will consist of Steve Aoki’s original songs, as well as fan-favourite classics from Sonic’s 16-bit era to the present day and will take place in a virtual environment featuring various landscapes from Sonic games including the Green Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone.

If you’re wondering if Aoki is right for the job, he’s what he had to say regarding what Sonic means to him:

 

The best Sonic game is definitely the OG Sonic the Hedgehog. That’s the game that started it all for me. That’s the game I was most obsessed with, and I just remember putting it in the Genesis console and just rocking out.

“My favourite song from Sonic the Hedgehog is definitely Stardust Speedway. That’s why I remixed it: when I hear it, it brings me back to when I was a kid playing the game. – Steve Aoki, Behind the Scenes.

 

Steve Aoki’s virtual concert will be the second musical performance to celebrate the 30th anniversary after SEGA hosted a 90-minute concert on Sonic’s actual birthday.

Don’t miss the Sonic-themed virtual concert on November 30!

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