Yakuza Dead Souls DLC Region-Locked?

[Efroh]

I have the US version of the game, BLUS30826. A friend of mine has an extra DLC code for the EU version of the game, BLES-01399. Does anyone know if the DLC is region-free? I.e., if I use my EU PSN account to download the DLC in the EU store, will I still be able to see the DLC when I play the US game using my main US PSN account? I don't want to waste my friend's DLC code if it turns out I can't use it with my version of the game.

[RubyEclipse]

DLC is almost always region-locked, to my knowledge. (Based on how PSN operates.) I don't believe this will work, but just in case someone has had success with it, we'll leave the thread open to other comments.

[Son ALA]

I just tried with one of my old games (Genji) and it didnt work.
it wouldnt find any of the free dlc items from the other regions.

I guess it makes sense since if i were to have 2 regional copies of Dead Souls or Genji, each title would appear as 2 different games with 2 save files, 2 installs and 2 trophy list

[jpoppawusc]

This is precisely why I started the petition for expanded Yakuza content in America. SEGA claims that they are streamlining their American publishing business and focusing on digital distribution, yet so much of the content that they could be capitalizing on gets delayed or forgotten by the American division. If you're tired of SEGA skimping on American content, deciding for us that American players have no interest in content that is ridiculously cheap for them to provide, please consider signing the petition we've posted on Change.org.

http://www.change.org/petitions/sega...uza-in-america

Like Nintendo has done with Xenoblade and The Last Story (leading to Project Rainfall), SEGA seems to have based its evaluation of American interest on low sales figures from past releases. However, most gamers would argue that those past releases were simply not worth purchasing, and if SEGA would concentrate on the games and digital content that we actually want, they would see sales figures increase exponentially. The "Project Redemption" petition is designed to forward SEGA's supposed agenda for digital content while reinforcing players' desire for certain Yakuza content. Thank you for your contributions on this, as the gaming community has seen increased success with these campaigns in the last few years. Just look at Dark Souls for PC, a title that would never have existed without the unsolicited support of true gamers.

[Efroh]

DLC is almost always region-locked, to my knowledge. (Based on how PSN operates.) I don't believe this will work, but just in case someone has had success with it, we'll leave the thread open to other comments.

My thanks for the response Ruby and also to you, Son ALA. It's too bad, but that's the way it is, I guess. It's Yakuza and zombies so I'm sure the game will still be a ton of fun. I'll let my friend know he should give the code away to another friend.

[Efroh]

This is precisely why I started the petition for expanded Yakuza content in America. SEGA claims that they are streamlining their American publishing business and focusing on digital distribution, yet so much of the content that they could be capitalizing on gets delayed or forgotten by the American division. If you're tired of SEGA skimping on American content, deciding for us that American players have no interest in content that is ridiculously cheap for them to provide, please consider signing the petition we've posted on Change.org.

http://www.change.org/petitions/sega...uza-in-america

Like Nintendo has done with Xenoblade and The Last Story (leading to Project Rainfall), SEGA seems to have based its evaluation of American interest on low sales figures from past releases. However, most gamers would argue that those past releases were simply not worth purchasing, and if SEGA would concentrate on the games and digital content that we actually want, they would see sales figures increase exponentially. The "Project Redemption" petition is designed to forward SEGA's supposed agenda for digital content while reinforcing players' desire for certain Yakuza content. Thank you for your contributions on this, as the gaming community has seen increased success with these campaigns in the last few years. Just look at Dark Souls for PC, a title that would never have existed without the unsolicited support of true gamers.

I'll sign the petition, but I'm worried that the difficult economic climate Sega faces will only make Japanese HQ less inclined from taking steps, however small and easy to implement, that would increase their North American sales figures and grow the audience for their games.

[jpoppawusc]

I'll sign the petition, but I'm worried that the difficult economic climate Sega faces will only make Japanese HQ less inclined from taking steps, however small and easy to implement, that would increase their North American sales figures and grow the audience for their games.

That's just it, though. SEGA of Japan has practically no involvement in any of the requests listed in the petition. All of that content has already been developed. The American branch would only need to perform minor translation work on the games and DLC, which is exactly what their "streamlining" has called for. Minimal localization costs are the name of the game with Yakuza; SEGA of Japan has a firm marketing plan in place to fund the development, then distribution in both America and the UK are minimized by changing very little of the game's content. Most of the items requested by the petition would be suitable for digital download instead of hard copy production, thus decreasing the overhead cost to a drop in the bucket for SEGA of America.

How much does it really cost to have a few guys sit around a computer translating text?

My biggest problem with any publisher is when they ignore the content they could be distributing just because they think players don't care. The cost is so small that they should take the risk every single time. Players will almost always react positively and support a game better when they know the publisher stands behind it. Who cares if Yakuza: Dead Souls only scored a 5.5 on IGN? It still sold 20,000 copies in its first two weeks, and many more copies could be adopted late if compelling DLC became available. User reviews have also been scoring between 7.5 and 9.0 for the game. Besides, Yakuza: Dead Souls is certainly not the only support that we're asking for in the petition.

http://www.change.org/petitions/sega...uza-in-america

The point is, if SEGA wants to improve its bottom line with digital content, then they shouldn't ignore the best digital content that is ready and waiting to be localized. The American division doesn't develop its games. It licenses games in America for its Japanese parent company and some third-party studios here in the West. And if they don't have direct control over the content that's being developed, then what's left besides making intelligent decisions about the content that they license and publish? I love SEGA. I have been a SEGA fan since the 1986 release of the Master System, and I want nothing but success for them. Period.

[Yas]

How much does it really cost to have a few guys sit around a computer translating text?

If localization were that simple, we would have already released the games Yakuza fans have been asking for in this forum long ago. Larger games like Yakuza 4 have enough English text (~500K words) to fill a 1000+ page novel.

Now imagine those words put into a game that has 200+ hours of total gameplay that has to be tested to ensure that it doesn't have logic bugs or crash, and that the translated dialog, subtitle, etc. are presented with proper English.

It takes much more than "a few guys" sitting around translating text to localize a game. When all is said and done, I basically had a team of 20+ people working on Y4 and YDS. And that doesn't even include marketing people like Ruby.

We'll continue to do our best to bring titles from Japan to the West, but please understand that it's not a trivial process, whether games are in the physical or digital domains.

And for the record, we collaborate closely with certain teams in Japan to make games that are considered to be targeted to Western markets.

[jpoppawusc]

If localization were that simple, we would have already released the games Yakuza fans have been asking for in this forum long ago. Larger games like Yakuza 4 have enough English text (~500K words) to fill a 1000+ page novel.

It takes much more than "a few guys" sitting around translating text to localize a game. When all is said and done, I basically had a team of 20+ people working on Y4 and YDS. And that doesn't even include marketing people like Ruby.

Hold up. First, I appreciate you responding personally, Yas, since I greatly respect what you and your team does. But let's try and understand what I'm saying here. I didn't say it only took a few guys for a major game like Yakuza 4 or Dead Souls. I understand how massive those games are and how difficult it must be to translate all of that and make sure code works. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that it didn't take a lot more than "20+" people, considering the quality of work that you've produced.

My point was directed towards much smaller projects, particularly the digital content requests that I listed in the petition. Kenzan would definitely take time and money to localize, but a Yakuza 3 add-on for the missing mini-games or one of the smaller-scale Black Panther games wouldn't take half of those resources. A Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Collection might require the approval of the Japanese offices, but otherwise it's already been translated for the original PS2 releases.

Please understand that the previous comment was not to undermine the stellar work that SEGA of America achieved with the bigger games. Yakuza 4 was a work of art, and Dead Souls has dominated my time in the last month just because it's so stickin' fun. Out of context, my comment that you quoted could be read as scathing or ungrateful, but what I'm really talking about is the small stuff, the seemingly minor digital projects that I fully believe could make SEGA some quick revenue. I want to see all of you at SEGA succeed, and I simply think that NOT putting content like this on the market would be a mistake.

The entire purpose of the petition I organized was not to oppose SEGA, but to support them/you by voicing a demand for content that the SEGA bosses may not believe is marketable. I will continue to be a champion for this cause, as it is designed to be good for everyone involved. At any rate, thank you for everything you do for us and for SEGA, and I appreciate you paying personal attention to the topics of this forum.

[Yas]

The entire purpose of the petition I organized was not to oppose SEGA, but to support them/you by voicing a demand for content that the SEGA bosses may not believe is marketable. I will continue to be a champion for this cause, as it is designed to be good for everyone involved. At any rate, thank you for everything you do for us and for SEGA, and I appreciate you paying personal attention to the topics of this forum.

I understand the spirit of your petition and intent, and we are extremely grateful for support from passionate fans like yourself.

Please continue to voice your opinions in our forums and let us know what you want.

For example, games like VF5: Final Showdown would never have happened unless SEGA fans demanded its release.

My colleagues and I will continue to do our best to bring titles from Japan to the West!