Lost Judgment could be the last in the series due to the actor’s image rights, it is claimed

by



[ad_1]

Lost Judgment could be the final game in the Judgment series due to lingering issues with Sega and actor Takuya Kimura’s talent agency, it has been claimed.

Japanese showbiz news site Nikkan Taishu claims sources tell them that Kimura’s talent agency Johnny & Associates has blocked PC versions of the Judgment series games because they don’t want Kimura to appear in them. pc games.

While it’s not entirely clear why, the site suggests that because Johnny & Associates “has strict control over the [likeness] the rights to his talent and the use of their image online is still limited to a few, ”the agency may be treating PC games differently because personal computers have direct access to the Internet.

The report claims that Sega tried to bring Judgment and Lost Judgment to Steam, but because the agency is preventing that from happening, they can draw a line under the series after Lost Judgment.

Note: To view this integration, please allow the use of functional cookies in the cookie preferences.

“The game makers have decided that if they can’t distribute the game on Steam, it will be very difficult from a commercial standpoint, and the series will end with the second game, Lost Judgment,” the report said.

VGC has reached out to Sega for comment on the situation.

Lost Judgment will arrive on PS4, PS5, Xbox and Xbox Series X / S, without PC version confirmation. The original Judgment has been released on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and Stadia, and has not received a PC port either (although Stadia technically counts as a home PC version, Stadia is currently not available at Japan).

All games from the main Yakuza series, as well as the Yakuza: Like a Dragon spin-off, are currently available on Steam. None of these games feature Kimura.

Lost Judgment is the sequel to Yakuza’s 2018 spin-off Judgment. It was officially revealed via a preview video in May and will release worldwide on September 24.

“I have no doubts that we have created a game unlike anything you’ve seen before,” said Toshihiro Nagoshi, recently appointed Creative Director of Sega and Creator of Yakuza, during the presentation.

The “legal thriller action game” will retain the fast-paced action of the original, rather than adopting the turn-based RPG system used in Yakuza: Like a Dragon in 2020.

In addition to Kamurocho, he will take players to the port city of Yokohama, and returning protagonist Takayuki Yagami will go undercover at a high school.