For people in the west, Sega's "Yakuza" series has long been more than just a surprisingly deep brawler set within Japan's mafia scene. No, most people here in the states treat the game as a virtual tour of everyday Japanese life. It was no wonder that early western fans of the series cried out against the original's lack of a Japanese audio track, or last year's release of "Yakuza 3" that was largely stripped of key elements like Hostess Bars, that are so unique to Japan (not to mention something that even Westerners in Japan are often denied permission to enter).
Well this year Japan-o-philes, you have very little to worry about. After speaking with Patrick Riley, localization's Senior Producer for "Yakuza 4," he assured me that very little of the content seen in Japan will be omitted from its release stateside.
"The only thing we're not including are some bits that feature Japanese trivia," he tells me. "That stuff's just too obscure to include. And yes, you will see hostess bars."
Obviously I can stand behind the decision to omit the trivia as there's nothing really unique to Japan about the experience of answering questions. And besides, if that means they can include an optional ping-pong game where there is a dedicated button to zoom in on your female opponent's breasts, I can't imagine players will be missing obscure questions about Japanese history.
And no, you did not just mis-read that text about a breast-viewing button during ping-pong matches. How Japanese!