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Since previous chapters in the Yakuza franchise have managed to wander outside their native homeland of Japan, we naturally thought an English localised version of the third entry in the tough organised crime-based series would eventually appear on this side of the world.

Not so it seems as, despite rave reviews and selling like hot-cakes in Japan, Sega have confirmed to Eurogamer that they have “no plans” to give Western gamers the chance of getting their hands dirty with the latest Mafioso themed game. A North American release was also deemed “unlikely” when Examiner’s Matt Furtado recently spoke to a Sega marketing denizen. 

It feels like only yesterday we were discussing the fourth entry in the popular franchise but now it appears we’re not even going to get the third one. Ah well, we promise to import it and let you know what you’re missing with minimal gloating. Yatta!

Related Posts:

• Deals of the Week – 12th June 2010
• Yakuza 4 Confirmed For Western Release
• Yakuza 3 – The PS3 Attitude Review
• Yakuza 4 demo now available in Japan
• SEGA confirms content cut from Yakuza 3