Yakuza 3 Demo Hits PSN Today

Already available on the EU Playstation Store, a demo for the English-subtitled version of Yakuza 3 should be hitting the US Playstation Store when the update is pushed through today.

The Yakuza franchise is a decidedly Japanese one. When the first two entries were released to the West, back on the PS2, they didn't go over very well with the public. While the series has always sold very well in Japan, and has a hardcore following (mostly of Otakus and those nostalgic for the old school third person brawlers) in the West, it just didn't really generate sales here. So, even though Yakuza 3 released in Japan almost a full year ago, the Western release still isn't coming for a few more weeks.

Thankfully, though, Sega has decided to release the demo that came out all those months ago, in Japan, to the rest of us. Though, I get the feeling that most people who download the demo will really be doing so just to get a taste of the game, as those with any plans to buy it won't be swayed from doing so. Unfortunately, I feel like this one is going to be faced with the same low sales as its predecessors, meaning any future entries in the franchise are still likely to not see Western release.

Yakuza 3 has a US release date of March 9th and an EU release date of March 12th.