Sega’s gamble with its Yakuza spin-off Judgment seems to have paid off. The game’s Western release has apparently surpassed the company’s expectations. As such, the team behind it would very much like to do a Judgement sequel.
Judgment producer Daisuke Sato recently got to talk about the game with Spanish outlet Meristation, as translated by ResetEra user Lant_War. In the interview, Sato confirmed that Judgment‘s sales in the West were “very good.” As a result of this, he confirmed that his team would like to continue to work on more games in the series.
ALSO: Nintendo teases Super Mario Sunshine 2, Switch remake, or Odyssey DLC
Of course, a developer wanting to work on a sequel to a hit game shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. However, during a live stream last May, Judgment‘s director and Sega chief creative officer Toshihiro Nagoshi stated that no sequels for the game were currently planned. This was in response to rumors from the Japanese press that a second and third entries in the series were already in the works.
With this in mind, it seems that Judgment‘s sales have convinced them otherwise. That said, the game’s original Japanese release, called Judge Eyes, did sell well. This was in part due to the game being pulled for awhile in the country after one of the actors lending their likenesses in game, was arrested for cocaine use. Sales went up after said scandal and Nagoshi joked that people should have purchased the game in the beginning, as it would have been more helpful. Players wanting to get the game before the voice was changed would likely be a cause for the pre-patch rush. Regardless, the game as a whole sold 97% of its shipped copies.
If a Judgment sequel does get made, the strong Western sales seem to guarantee it coming over as well. While Sega traditionally focused on Japan with the Yakuza franchise, the company is paying more attention to the West as of late. On top of Judgment releasing in the West only a few months after its Japanese release, Sega also recently announced the Yakuza Remastered Collection, which finally brings the enhanced PS4 versions of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5 outside of Japan.
