The first Yakuza entry hit store shelves in Japan on December 8, 2005. To celebrate the franchise’s 15th anniversary, Sega plans to host a stream this coming December 8th from 8:00pm JST to 10:00pm JST/6:00am EST to 8:00am EST. Fans interested in tuning into the broadcast, which will be in Japanese, can do so via Yakuza’s YouTube channel. During the stream, presenters will both take a walk down memory lane and share announcements about future endeavors.
Several presenters are on board to participate in next months’ YouTube broadcast. They include Takaya Kuroda (Kazuma Kiryu), Kazuhiro Nakaya (Ichiban Kasuga), Toshihiro Nagoshi (series General Director), Daisuke Satou (Producer), Masayoshi Yokoyama (series Chief producer), and host Yurika Tachibana (hostess in Kurohyou 2: Ryu ga Gotoku Ashura Hen). Others are scheduled to take part in the 15th anniversary celebration, as well.
According to Gematsu, Sega intends to build the list of participants by inviting fans to get involved through Zoom calls. Applications are currently live and will remain open until next week on November 26th at 11:59pm JST/9:59am EST.
A Yakuza playthrough series on YouTube is also on the cards. Everyday from December 2nd to December 3rd, Sega will host “Yakuza Series 15th Anniversary 151.5 Hours PlayStation 4″ on YouTube. A number of developers and other participants will spend the duration of this broadcast trying to get through the series from Yakuza: Kiwami to Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.
Yakuza has experienced quite the year. Earlier in 2020, Sega published Yakuza: Like a Dragon in Japan. The game recently landed in the west on the PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms. A PS5 version is slated to launch on March 2, 2021. In addition, a live action movie adaptation is in the works from 1212 Entertainment (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) and Wild Sheep.
