Yakuza 4 bonuses revealed
SEGA looks like it's serious about trying to make up for the controversy surrounding its edited domestic release of Yakuza 3 last year by playing up what Yakuza 4 will have for domestic audiences when the game fights its way into retail stores in March. It's widely known by now that the previously excluded hostess clubs are definitely going to be in Yakuza 4, but SEGA recently announced some extra details about the upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive that will make fans all the more excited for the game's release.
The first detail is that GameStop customers will have the opportunity to score a special dynamic PlayStation 3 theme if they preorder Yakuza 4. The theme will revolve around-- what else?-- hostesses. The preorder bonus will apply to customers who order in-store and online, so you can pick you poison based on how sociable you feel. This is a nice little bonus and a bit of a variation from the usual DLC unlockable items in-game.
The other announcement has to do with extra content for Yakuza 4. There are going to be special editions of the game coming out in other territories, but not domestically. These special editions will have extra content, including bonus costumes for the game's main characters, a Survival Mode, a new Fighting Arena (which becomes available after the first playthrough), and more. SEGA laid any fears to rest about everyone getting the content by announcing that one-time use DLC codes will be available in every new copy of Yakuza 4 and these codes will unlock all of the bonus features that the special editions will have. SEGA did something similar with Yakuza 3 in 2010, but it seems as though this bonus content has more to offer. Underground car park racing sounds intriguing, and the Survival Mode could extend replay value by at least a little bit.
March 15th isn't too far off, and then we'll see if the return trip to Japan to bust some heads is indeed worth the wait.
