Another pic after the jump.

「龍が如く 見参！」のコラボレーションケータイがソフトバンクより発売中 [IT Media]

In addition, as friend of the site Matt Hawkins was nice enough to tip us off to, two episodes of Retro Game Master will be screened at the event. You may know the series better as Game Center CX, in which host Shinya Arino is tasked with beating games under a time limit. This is similarly a North American debut and will feature Ghosts 'n' Goblins and Mystery of Atlantis.

Matt tells us that he's planning to review a good portion of this stuff in his Cinema Pixeldiso column for GameSetWatch. If you've never read the irregular column, it's all about video game inspired cinema and, furthermore, shame on you.

Like A Dragon & Retro Game Master [Subway Cinema]

Authentic, cinematic sequel. The gritty, genuine portrayal of life in the Yakuza is made more realistic throughout 16 gripping chapters with a return to the original Japanese voice cast and English subtitles.

Bravo, Sega, bravo. The game does a neat job of authentically capturing Osaka's nightlife (above) — though needs more people. Still, it's a PS2 game and quite a nice looking one at that!

Games Yakuza 2 [SEGA via Sega Nerds]

Nagoshi descended from the heavens and touched down in Tokyo recently to sample the signature dish based on the third Yakuza game, known there as Ryu Ga Gotoku KENZAN! Emphasis Sega's. The menu, appearing at a pair of cafes in the Tokyo area, features a trio of drinks that compliment delicious looking meat-on-stick fare and fresh salads.

For more pictures of Nagoshi eating and drinking, hit up Game Watch's coverage of the Ryu Ga Gotoku KENZAN! PR machine in action.

Ryu Ga Gotoku KENZAN! The Restaurant Opening [Game Watch]

Ryu Ga Gotoku Cafes [Game Watch Impress]

Give it up. Give it up for Sega and Yakuza's main man, Toshihiro Nagoshi. Not only does Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzen—to be known as Yakuza 3 outside of Japan, we're guessing—feature extraordinary cleavage, it also features turtle racing. Yes. Turtle racing. Turtle racing that you can wager on. There's some other stuff in here, too, like amazing depth and breadth of detail, pretty graphics and all that crap. But those turtles. My God!

We're thinking of giving Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 an international release.

Nagoshi took the stage earlier this summer with a cancerous coating of bronze to announce a couple of new PLAYSTATION 3 games. They went unnamed at the time, but with Tokyo Game Show just shy of a fortnight away, and eight days on the countdown, it seems the next-gen look at the Yakuza will be right around the corner.

Pity we won't get it over here.

Ryu Ga Gotoku [Official Site]

Sure, we knew that our favorite brown man and Monkey Ball creator, Toshihiro Nagoshi used to write articles for UK gaming mag EGDE in which he discussed important things like boozing.

Things to keep in mind about Nagoshi:

• He always wears white to appear darker.


• He does not save his money and lives month-to-month. Yes, he told me this.


• In his free time, he enjoys decorating his cell phone.

But a Nagoshi penned book? Now *that* slipped right under our radar! And we look for Nagoshi news. Daily. And yet, we missed this jewel. Back in late 2006, the tanned dude wrote a book titled Game Ya Jinsei ("Game Shop Life"). There are pages, words and everything. In it, Nagoshi talks about his experience and experiences within the industry. It's apparently just his previously written columns for Japanese game mag Game Hihyou put into book form.

To recap: Nagoshi has published a book, and now we must find it. Brian Ashcraft

Nagoshi's Book [Amazon]

For purists, subtitles are better than dubs. Just think how Sega's Yakuza could've been better with the original Ryu Ga Gotoku voice track. Just! Well, leave it to the French to get it right with Naruto. Ubisoft's North American arm is developing Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, but including the original voice actors from the anime. That's right! The French game maker is including a Japanese voice track with English language subtitles. What's more, everything in the game has been approved by the creators of the original series. Well done, Ubisoft. Brian Ashcraft

Naruto To Have Japanese [Xbox Thanks Scazza!]

Sure beats popcorn! Filmmaker Takashi Miike and Ryu Ga Gotoku (AKA "Yakuza") film star Kazuki Kitamura sit in a movie theater with weapons to promote the movie in Kansai Walker. Don't like their adaptation of the Sega PlayStation 2 game, they'll beat you. Then shoot you.

Hit the jump for in-game characters and in-film actor comparisons. Film opens in Japan March 3rd. Brian Ashcraft

The long form trailer can be downloaded here or via the official site that takes ages to load. Michael McWhertor

Ryu Ga Gotoku Official Site [via Twitch]

Back when Ryu Ga Gotoku ("Yakuza") was originally released in Japan, filmmaker Takashi Miike was roped in to make short promotional films, which were eventually cut into a forty-minute flick. The game went to be a smash, spawning a highly successful sequel, the cleverly titled Ryu Ga Gotoku 2.

Sega and Toei Studios teamed up for a feature length adaption, once again with Miike behind the camera and starring Kazuki Kitamura (in the title role), Goro Kishitani, Shun Shioya, Gong Yoo and Saeko. This actually could be an interesting game adaptation as Miike had practice making cinematic versions of the game. And they didn't seem to piss off anyone. What's more, he has made a handful of good films like Audition, Chakushin Ari and Ichi The Killer — Along with his fair share of garbage. So we shall see! Until then, check out the trailer here and pray that a possible international version is not dubbed.

Regular reader quiz: In the photo above, which of those gentleman is Ryu Ga Gotoku game producer Toshihiro Nagoshi? Brian Ashcraft

Ryu Ga Gotoku Movie Hits Japan March 3 [Game Watch Impress]

Sega stuff you can't get from a game you can't play. While Yakuza met a horrible dubbing fate, it's doubtful that Sega will give the game's PS2 sequel (called Ryu Ga Gotoku 2) the same drubbing for an US/Euro release. To get Japanese gamers ready for the title's December 7th domestic release, various stores retailers across the country are holding lottery type events to give away neat freebies like this jacket, which I'd actually wear anywhere except Japan. Brian Ashcraft

Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 Schwag [Insert Credit]

by Brian Ashcraft

"If you stick around, there's gonna be a talk show at 4:30 pm," says a girl wearing a slinky red dress and heels. "And they'll be talking about the game."
"We've got manzai tickets," a short college student-type replies. His friend stands by, arms folded, gripping two slips of white paper. Tickets, I assume.
"Nana Natsume will be making an appearance."
"Who's Nana Natsume?" he knee-jerks.
"She's the biggest adult video actress in Japan," the Red Dress clicks off. "Don't you want to see the biggest adult video actress in Japan?"
"Guess the manzai can wait a little bit."

Guess so.

South Osaka, in front of Namba Yes!, a showcase for the Yoshimoto Kogyo theater, the country's most influential comedy institutions. Wonder why all the famous comedians are from Osaka? Who invented the word "manzai"? Thank Yoshimoto. Me, I don't have manzai tickets and haven't heard of this Nana Natsume, either.

Across from the Yoshimoto theater with its orange awnings, I'm in line, a very short line albeit that, to play Ryu Ga Gotoku 2. There's a small trailer filled with HD monitors and PS2, providing a sneak peak before the game drops December 7 in Japan. It's the sequel to Ryu Ga Gotoku, known as Yakuza in the west. Earlier, I had contacted Sega Japan, requesting an interview with the game's producer, Toshihiro Nagoshi—famous for creating Super Monkey Ball and being really, really brown.

The girl in the slinky red dress is now talking to me, asking me if where I'm from in c-lear-ly en-nun-cia-ted Ja-pa-ne-se. Oh, you're from Dallas? She then tells me she lived in Tex-as, for a year. Lub-bock. Still clear as crystal and annoying.

Standing there, in that red dress, chatting me up, telling me she's going back in February. I'm the only person waiting in line to play Ryu Ga Gotoku 2, and Sega's hired out this girl to make sure I have a good time. It's like I'm at a hostess bar, minus the bar and the bar tab. So, this is how you promote a third-person sandbox brawler. All that's missing is an interview with Nagoshi.

Regarding that, Sega's reply was a polite, yet firm "no." I offered to send questions in Japanese if there wasn't time to meet face-to-face with Nagoshi in Osaka. Trying a work around, I asked Sega of America if they could help, and they politely declined as well. Okay, he's a busy man. He's got games to make, white clothes to buy. But it wasn't that I couldn't interview Nagoshi, it was that I couldn't interview him about Ryu Ga Gotoku 2. Period. Why? Sega hasn't decided to release the title in America, and I, living and paying taxes in Japan, fell under overseas press. Thank writing in English for that.

It didn't matter that anyone anywhere with a computer can easily access what I'm writing. The internet, it seems, has borders. And those borders follow things like domestic release dates for PlayStation 2 games. God forbid, people outside Japan read an interview about a game they cannot buy. Imagine the chaos when a customer goes into their local EB Games, asking for a copy of Ryu Ga Gotoku 2—only to be told it's not available.

She's now asking me if I've ever been to some anime convention in Dallas. "I-'ve be-en. I w-ent in cos-p-lay," she tells me in crystal clear Japanese. Oh, yeah? Just as I'm about to ask her what she went as, the girl in the slinky red dress disappears inside, comes back out and shows me to my demo console inside the makeshift trailer. "L-et me k-now if the-re a-re a-ny pro-bl-ems." 'K lady, thanks. She slinks away in that red dress, heels and all.

While the original title took place in Tokyo, Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 is set in Osaka. Historically, the Tokyo region (Kanto) and Osaka's (Kansai) have historically been rivals of sorts. Though, people in Osaka are more acutely aware of this rivalry. Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 attempts to capitalize by pitting the baddest yakuza in Tokyo against the toughest Osaka gangster.

I'm crawling through the Dotonbori, beating the tar outta some old dude. For all the chatter I've heard about the Ryu Ga Gotoku being slammed together from left over assets, so far, I'm enjoying it. So is the frumpy woman next to me, who's pounding out combos as she kicks some dude's teeth in. The opening stage I'm roaming around does look like Dotonbori—even if, the area that you can wander is greatly restricted, too much so. But yeah, sure, the game's fun.

On a loud speaker outside, I can hear an announcement: At 4:30 pm, there will be a talk show with Nana Natsume. No Nagoshi? On the sign promoting the talk show, Nana Natsume gets top billing (even though she's a minor in-game character). Well, she is the biggest porno actress in the country. And Nagoshi, he's brown.

I shuffle outside. A crowd has been assembled. A special area has been roped off in the front. That's for press. Japanese press. Sega didn't offer a spot for me, so I squeeze into a sea of looky-loo's. Guys in Sega jackets stand in front of me, blocking my view. They've got a video camera and a digi cam, so they're good to go. I, conversely, cannot see anything, save for the back of their heads. In front of them, I can make out some reporter.

Observation: As long as Famitsu or Game Watch Impress show up, that's all that Japanese game companies care about. The rest, well, you can go stand next to the old men in itchy green sweaters and tourists from the countryside eating takoyaki.

Moving right, I can see a small enclosed room behind the trailer. There's a roped off walkway, leading to the room.

Tan whiteness.

Nagoshi has arrived. He ducks into that little room, comes back out and smokes a couple cigarettes. Like many Japanese men, he only smokes it half way before snuffing it out. He looks directly at me, we make eye contact, and then, he immediately goes into that little room. Just wanna talk, dude, just wanna talk.

On stage, a woman, also in white and high heels, starts talking into the mic, announcing Nana Natsume. It's not "Nana Natsume," big time porn star, but just "Nana Natsume." That's the same Nana Natsume, a man in a business suit informs his friend, "that is in some movie where they draw a target around her butt hole in red magic marker."

Swell.

I'm off to the side, watching that enclosed room. A man in torn jeans emerges. He had escorted Nana moments earlier. He's carrying a Louis Vuitton purse. No doubt, Nana's. I've never seen a real porn star before, let alone a porn star's purse. And let me tell you, tacky.

The Lady in White calls Nagoshi to the stage. Smattering of applause. He seems nervous, and its difficult to hear what he's saying, because the sound system is shit, and I'm standing next to old men in itchy sweaters and tourists from the countryside eating takyoyaki and not sitting down front and center with the guys from Famitsu.

"We didn't have a lot of time," Nagoshi says. "And it was difficult, but Sega wanted me to put out a sequel, and I was happy to do so." He's now talking about the "human drama" element. And that it is essential in the game. The old guy next to me in an itchy green sweater pops open a cup of vending machine sake and sips away.

"Osaka and Tokyo are rivals. But I really haven't been to Osaka that many times," Nagoshi confesses. "A lot of my staff is from Osaka, though."

The crowd is at a standstill. Now, the Lady in White is rattling off info about the game. She clutches a piece of paper. A press release, likely. And seven minutes later, just as the assembled crowd looks ready to disperse, she announced a "very special guest" and the Nagoshi-solo bit is done. Just over six minutes by my watch. Next up:

Ladies and gents, Nana Natsume.

She appears from the side, decked out in a fedora and shorts. For a girl that had a target drawn on her anus, she looks disappointingly "normal." And from behind, there's a push of bodies, real close. Clapping, lots of polite clapping, loudly. The cup of sake lingers in my nose, and I can make out the faint smell of oil. Everyone has out their cameras, camera phones and is snapping away.

It's difficult to see and hear what's going on with the mob of bodies and stupid comments emitting from those bodies. I'm pressed close to a business woman, holding an arm full of press releases. Sega PR, I assume. She's inches away. I stick my camera in front of her face, and snap off a round of pics.
Nana's talking about her initial meeting with "Nago-san" (cute, he has a nickname). "I was so surprised when I met him. He was brown and white. And he was wearing sunglasses."

Nana's wearing all black and sandwiched by the two in white. It's like some bizarro Oreo cookie.

I press sideways, accidently spilling vending machine sake on my jacket. Packed like sardines. Close, closer. More camera phones. Taking pictures. None taking pics of Nagoshi, but of Nana or Nana and the Lady in White. I'm in sausage party hell.

"I was kinda worried," Nana adds. "But everything turned out alright."

Moving through the crowd, I try to get closer, passing a greasy kid who's asking his buddy if he thinks Natsume slept with Nagoshi.

"Definitely."

The Lady in White is rattling off info about the mini games Ryu Ga Gotoku 2. There's bowling, golf, Mahjong, roulette and a UFO catcher. Nagoshi's now talking about the mini-games and about how players can run (and design!) their own hostess club. Nana mentions she likes hosts. Porno non sequitur.

Yet, instead I'm wrapped in a sea of people coming out of Yoshimoto comedy shows and trying to find "the best takoyaki" in Osaka (which is in my neighborhood, fyi). Honestly, over the crowd's white noise, I cannot hear what the hell they are saying on the stage anymore. They are simply smiling and laughing. It's like their are on mute.

Comments from the crowd I overhear:

• What's wrong with that man?
• Who's Nana Natsume?
• I have a couple of her videos. There's a threesome. She's cute.
• He's really brown.
• This is so boring
• Gross.
• You can't tell from what's she wearing, but Nana Natsume has big boobies.
• Look at that brown man.
• I don't know who these people are
• She does porn.
• It's some game thing.
• What's wrong with that brown man?

My watch says there's only a few minutes left in this thirty minute event. I keep squirming forward as Nana's talking, saying something about how she learned how emotional a game could be, blah, blah. Nagoshi's talking again, but it's difficult to hear what it is exactly and realizing that it doesn't even matter because those Famitsu guys down front and center are talking notes for me and you.

There's clapping, and like that the Lady in White is ushering them off stage, where Nagoshi loiters about and smokes. It's over. Like that, the crowd disperses, off to listen to manzai and eat takoyaki. I kinda stand around with a notepad filled with idiotic remarks innocent bystanders made and an empty feeling. No news, no decent quotes, fluff and wall-to-wall nothing. The girl in the slinky red dress comes out front to hand out Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 movie fliers. She never did answer my questions about that she wore to that anime convention in Dallas.

"Excuse me, you said you went to some anime convention in Dallas."
"Y-es?"
"What did you wear?"
"Wha-t d-id I we-ar?"
"The costume. You said you went in cosplay."
"A uni-form fro-m Toki Memo. I m-ade it my-self."
Gr-eat, th-an-ks.

Tokimeki Memorial. That's not Sega, but Konami. The girl, hired for this event, makes a "Shhh" gesture. It's getting dark, and I head off, making my way down the crowded Dotombori along a row of blowfish restaurants, offering deadly delicacies. No worries Red Dress, your secret is safe with me.

Just as Yakuza goes on sale in North America for $50, Sony Computer Entertainment announces that the unlocalized version Ryu Ga Gotoku will be part of the "PlayStation 2 the Best" series and go on sale in Japan next month 1,890 yen (US $16). D'oh! Sure the game's not exactly new, but way to make everyone who's now paying full price feel like a chump. Brian Ashcraft

The Other Cheap Titles Here [Sony]

Sega has announced not only a sequel for Ryu Ga Gotoku out this December in Japan, but also a schedule feature film version directed by Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer), who also directed the live-action promo flicks for the original title. Known in the West as Yakuza, the game gave players a first-hand tour of the Japanese crime underworld. Sadly, the game was subtitled dubbed in English—ultimately killing some of the buzz around the title. Here's hoping Sega gets it right the second time. Brian Ashcraft

Eds Note: The localized version was not subtilted, but dubbed.

More Here [Eurogamer]

To promote Sega's crime blockbuster Ryu Ga Gotoku (retitled "Yakuza"), Osaka-born filmmaker Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition) was roped into create a short 40-minute "prequel" that was sold in Japan. The film's been broken up into four segments and is airing on Sega Europe's Yakuza site. The movie is subtitled, leaving me still puzzled why the game is not. The game, in all its dubbed glory, drops September 5th. Brian Ashcraft

Watch Here[Sega Europe] via Siliconera

Fortunately, the gameplay and unique setting still let Yakuza stand out, it's just a shame that, based on the first taste of English dubs, we'll be unnecessarily cringing at every other line.

Warning: NSFW language and kind of a bummer. Michael McWhertor

Yakuza Game Intro [GameTrailers]

Sega's stayed true to its insanity and is moving forward with its dub of Ryu Ga Gotoku (US title: Yakuza). The game was made by Toshihiro "I Love Tanning Salons" Nagoshi and features some crackling Yak dialogue. That of course is going to be replaced with tough-sound American English. Scary!

Here's a clip from the Sega release:

Yakuza, scripted by noted Japanese novelist Hase Seishu, features an intricate storyline driven by loyalty, honor, and revenge. The seasoned Hollywood cast will bring the widely varied characters to life with both subtle and impassioned performances. Adding his signature voice to the cast, Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Sin City) plays Shimano, a physically imposing Yakuza boss who relies on brutality to achieve his selfish goals; Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) voices Nishiki, a ruthless Yakuza member who has turned against his childhood friend, Kazuma, out of bitter jealousy; Eliza Dushku, (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bring It On) voices Yumi, who grew up with Nishiki and Kazuma in an orphanage, and is at the center of the mystery; Rachel Leigh Cook (She's All That) plays Reina, owner of the Serena hostess bar, whose secret love leads her down a road of betrayal; and Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Batman: New Times) voices the insane Majima, a violent Yakuza boss with a twisted sense of honor.

Yakuza speak a very different kind of Japanese, complete with tough rolling and guttural sounds. It's not easy on the ears, but that's the point. It's a weapon that Sega is robbing these characters of. Why is this game even called Yakuza? "Gangster" is more like it. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Firing Squad]

Frame Zero: IGN interview, dated May 30th, 2001. So full of light and laughter. This man knows only of monkeys and balls.

Frame One: F-Zero GX-era Nagoshi.

Frame Two: Got-Next interview, dated December 21, 2004. The endarkening has begun.

Frame Three: The Kikizo interview, dated October 31st, 2005. Chin scruff awakes, as does the knowledge of the hard-boiled road ahead in his eyes.

Frame Four: Nagoshi's own 1up page displays this presumably self-selected picture, documenting his aim to become Sega's first game-producing hybrid of Ursula Andress and Grace Jones.

Frame Five: Finally, a picture taken by Kotaku's own Mike "Michael" McWhertor, highlighting Nagoshi's complete transformation into a yakuza-inspired "method" game producer. We've slather the contents of an entire case of indelible markers over our body in tribute. Joel Johnson

The biggest mystery at E3, the thing that got everyone talking was not the Wii or the PS3. Rather, it was what the hell happened to Toshihiro Nagoshi's skin. Somewhere between bringing us classics like Super Monkey Ball and Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza), the acclaimed designer got locked in a tanning booth. In the center of the Earth. For years.

Everyone's worried about Nagoshi getting skin cancer or worse yet, being mistaken for a leather coat at Takeshimiya. So what gives? We're all huge fans and dying to know! Game site SPOnG (gawd bless 'em) found out in an interview with Lumines luminary and Q Entertainment honcho Tetsuya Mizuguchi:

SPOnG: Who are you still in contact with at Sega?

Mizuguchi: Ah, Many people! Hisao Oguchi, the president of Sega, sometimes we have dinner or go out for lunch.

SPOnG: Are you friends with Toshihiro Nagoshi?

Mizuguchi: Yes, very good friends.

SPOnG: Have you noticed his image change?

[Whole room, Miz, other Q staffers, outsourced PR people, all laugh out loud]

Screw talking about Lumines 2, this is way more interesting! More ballsy interviewing after the jump.

SPOnG: We ask because the last time we met him was with you, at the VIP Sega evening. He was dressed normally, had kind of straggly hair, looked a bit hungover... We've seen him recently and he's really skinny and his skin colour is golden! The most incredible tan we've ever seen ever. Do you have any background on his image change?

Mizuguchi: I feel very, erm... negatively about this...

[Everyone now in hysterics]

SPOnG: Were you surprised?

Mizuguchi: Oh yeah! But, you know, he's a very good guy! But I told him, 'I think this is not good!". I think he knows. He made the Yakuza game, and he set his mind into the game.

SPOnG: So, he's dressed like he's Yakuza?

Mizuguchi: Yes, I think so.

Ah, so Nagoshi's like a "method actor" in the vein of Brando or DeNiro. Take back every snide remark, this man is creating art! Brian Ashcraft

Full Interview [SPOnG]

At the Nintendo party earlier this week, I pulled aside Sega's Toshihiro Nagoshi (Super Monkey Ball) to talk about Yakuza's English dub. Titled Ryu ga Gotoku in Japanese, the game is one of the biggest budgeted ever and cost a cool 21 million US dollars. The game examined yakuza culture in great detail and paid close attention to the language, vocabulary and delivery Japanese gangsters use while speaking. Sega has decided to give the title an English language track, instead of subtitling the game.

"I think it's okay," Nagoshi said. "They've been taking the time to do it."

"But the language the yakuza use is so important," I replied.

"It is."

"It really helps you enter and understand that world. Don't you think it's a little strange to hear yakuza speak English?"

"It is a little strange, but people do this all the time with movies and books."