Yakuza 4 Marketing Starts Early. What do you Think?

"These guys are so tough, they don't even use umbrellas."

I dunno what to think about this. It draw draw in a wider audience, but then again, I think it kinda makes Yakuza 4 seem more GTA than before. Well, I hope at least more people will try the series.

I'm just glad that they appear to see some room for success with this series outside of Japan. I think it's a good way to try and advertise the series to new customers who aren't familiar with it, even if it does give slightly the wrong impression of the game as a whole.

That was an interesting trailer. It definitely kept me hooked, that's for sure. Once I get a PS3, the Yakuza series is the first on my list.

Sure, this might be an interesting trailer but... Who the fuck is this trailer targeted towards? It's already an online-only trailer that only Mr. Gametrailers will watch, oh well atleast it's not Binary Domain.

Liked the trailer, narrator was a bit odd though, his voice just didn't fit to me.

Felt a little weird but it seems like its like a ripoff of gta.

The umbrella comment was easily my favorite part. Good trailer though. Looks like most of the workings of Yakuza 3 are still there (not surprising giving the quick turnaround between games) so hopefully it doesn't make it feel too stale too soon.

If they get rid of the Genesis-era combat and NES-era city exploration, then im in. I picked up Yakuza 3 day one and was so dissapointed.

Yakuza 4? Pfffff....Not as good as Yakuza 3 ;(
But Yakuza 5 only 5 months away!

The trailer is pretty cool, but... Damn, that narrator's voice is so frustratingly annoying.

I know a lot of people may be a bit irritated by the narrator's voice and all (I am too) and neither do I know who Sega is targeting with this, but it's nice to see them to try something a little different for the west instead of releasing the same trailer released one year ago with subs. I still thinks it's a nice move despite it being a bit corny.

Oh by the way, here's Akiyama's english trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v42tPe2oq50

I saw this trailer a while ago and I just feel weird with the way they are trying to market the game. Although, I am glad that this is marketing and that they are actually giving it an effort. I think emphasizing it's over the top beat'em up style would do a much better job though.

Hmmm looks interesting, the whole "super gangster" thing is at least new.

I was generally happy to see this trailer, the narrator did not bug me at all however, I can see why it would effect people, being rather identical to what you'd see within a Grand Theft Auto trailer.

P.S. did anyone see the new Yakuza 4 box art? it looks like a massive improvement compared the aweful job they did with the Yakuza 3 art.

The narrator is dope. What are you guys talking about? This game loooooks soooo freeeesh. Ha. I'm just glad to see Sega pimping this game out.

Loved the trailer, but thats the UK version... the US probably wont get the same treatment, if we are lucky we will...

Man i thought the blog title meant yakuza 4's release was pushed forward =[

I need this!

Better than no marketing at all.

I was interested until it hit the point where I couldn't hear/understand a damn word the narrator was saying. Mumbling, much?

Honest there's something about that trailer that just doesn't sit well with me. The one good thing to come out of all this though - atleast the cover art is kick ass. Yakuza 3's cover was just ugly. Yakuza 4's does seem to have a fair bit of style to it which i'm glad to see.

The narrator has a great voice, but not for a monologue. I lost interest halfway through only because he narrated a little *too* much. Trailers should focus on minimalism to keep some mystery lurking in our minds. It started off great but just... dried off for me. But as mentioned, at least the cover art is gorgeous compared to what they had before.

What happened to the zombies?

The niche fans of these games don't need a trailer. It's obviously meant for the wider audience, although who knows if this is the way to go.

Either way, I was a gigantic fan of Yakuza 2 and did the whole "OMG SEGA SUX, BRING YAKUZA 3 TO THE WEST WAHH"-thing. But halfways through Yakuza 3, I realized the formula had aged pretty badly for me and I wasn't really enjoying myself much.

I hope Yakuza 4 will bring some new ideas to the table, or I might just stop caring about this series, unfortunately. I feel like a piece of shit for even saying this.

Sega gets an A for effort, but they horribly misrepresent the Yakuza series.

It makes the game sound extra seedy. After watching this trailer, you would never expect the main character to be the owner of an Orphanage.

As mentioned in the article, I too wouldn't mind if this helps Yakuza gain more success in the long run, so I won't complain too much. Hope SEGA can pull it off this time!