Sega hit a big coup with Takuya Kimura, one of Japan’s greatest celebrities evaluation Games. With Kimura comes bonafide star references and of course talent agency power. That last point could be the demise of the burgeoning franchise, according to one report.
According to weekly publication Nikkan Taishu, an insider of the Japanese entertainment world is quoted as saying that the imminent Lost judgment will be the last entry in the series. “Because”, explains the insider, “those on the side of the game developer and those on the side of the” [Kimura’s talent agency] Johnny’s should not be able to reach an agreement on the platforms for selling the game. “
Kotaku contacted Sega for comment but didn’t hear a response before posting.
evaluation was originally released on the PlayStation 4, but a remastered version appeared on the PlayStation 5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X / S. Lost judgment
However, last spring when the game was announced, the Japanese website listed Windows 10 and Steam. Yakuza fansite Tojo Dojo indicates that even after the entries were removed, the website code still showed a Steam logo – something from Twitter Wario64 also noticed.
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“The game is announced for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One,” a Sega spokesman said later PC player. “Sega has no plans, Lost. bring to evaluation at this point on the PC. “
According to Nikkan Taishu, Kimura’s talent agency won’t approve the game’s release on PC, which may seem strange given that the previous game was released on Stadia (but to be honest, it’s unclear whether the agency fully understood the platform). The problem appears to be due to proper PC publishing being allowed and how that would affect the talent agency’s management of Kimura’s resemblance and general aversion to a PC-based platform.
The point of contention as to. explained Nikkan Taishu
Some background information: Johnny’s is responsible for Japan’s biggest boy bands and has traditionally been internet shy. How Music times explains, “Johnny & Associates has historically refused to post photos of its talents online from press conferences and has since discouraged all of its artists from using social media.” Johnny’s only opened a YouTube channel in 2018!
The control that Johnny’s has over the likenesses of its artists has meant power. By allowing Takuya Kimura, one of the agency’s most famous stars, to appear in a game on an open platform like PC, the agency might think they’re giving up. So this could explain why Johnnys is rumored to be against a possible PC version.
Kimura was previously in a boy band called Smap, which imploded after three members of the group left Johnny’s in 2017. Another former member, Masahiro Nakai, left Johnnys last year, and Kimura is now the only ex-Smap member who still belongs to the powerful boy band agency.
The source tells Nikkan Taishu that Kimura, who is supposed to be quite a gamer, really got into the role evaluation‘s Takayuki Yagami and would very much like the series to continue. Since Kimura is such a big star in Japan, he acted by slightly different rules than other talents in the agency, most notably that his marriage and children were no secret.
If the talent agency actually prevents that, hopefully Kimura can help bring about a compromise that will ensure more Judgment Games in the future.
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