News
American Yakuza 3 Loses Hostess Clubs
Nudity Remains Unaffected. Thank the Gods.
If Disney had gentlemen’s clubs, they’d probably be a lot like Japanese hostess clubs. They’re not really strip clubs, per se, and they’re definitely not brothels; they’re more like companionship clubs where attractive hostesses make male patrons feel comfortable by offering them attentive, flirtatious conversation and general companionship. In Japan, these clubs are common, but here in America, they’re virtually non-existent. That’s why they won’t be in the American version of Yakuza 3.
In addition to hostess bars, a Japanese history quiz was also in the Japanese version, but won’t make it to the States for fears that gamers will have no idea about the subject material.
A Sega representative explained the omissions;
"The content between Yakuza 3 US/UK and Yakuza JP is a little different in that we took out certain bits in order to bring the game to the west in the time allotted for us to do so. The parts we ended up taking out were parts that we felt wouldn't make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn't resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club),"
While it’s always a little disappointing to see omitted features in localized versions of games, losing these two doesn’t hurt too much. Most American gamers wouldn’t want to play a Japanese history trivia, and the loss of hostess clubs hurts a lot less when you consider the fact that strip clubs have not been removed. And why would you go to a non-strip club when there’s strip clubs around?
Comments
I think I would (and the fan base of this series) indeed want to play a trivia game, seeing as how the Yakuza series is supposed to be a look into the underworld Japanese culture it'd be a nice diversion.
I'm wondering if the omission of the hostess club partially has to do with the fact that some of the models used in the game are AV (that's the japanese euphemism of pr0nz) idols. Licensing obligations and all that.
thats bull. it was one of the more interesting lifestyle aspects included in the previous games, and this version was supposed to take it further than before, allowing you to run your own crew of hostesses and the like. it's a damn shame, and the fact that these girls will still appear in the game as random dates is even more perplexing. at this point though, im just glad that we're still getting the game.