PSP World

Yakuza Goes Portable With Project K

Yakuza is to Japan what the Grand Theft Auto series has been to America and Europe. The hit Japanese console game allows player to take on the role of a Yakuza gangster, experiencing the ups and downs of one of the most feared professions in the land of the rising sun. Cleaning the streets of rival thugs, avoiding the mostly incompetent police, gambling and working menial jobs, the life of a low-level Yakuza is anything but boring. The series has been slow to make it to the West on consoles, but Sega has brought over the first three installments to moderate levels of success on our side of the Pacific. Hopefully the game will eventually generate the kind of massive fan base it deserves in America, but cultural differences and niche appeal might be holding it back.

Now, the successful franchise is headed to a new platform -- Sony's PSP. This actually makes a lot of sense given the astounding popularity of the Playstation Portable in Japan. Project K takes place in Kamurocho, the same city as previous Yakuza games. The PSP game will feature an 18-year-old Tatsuya Ukyou as the protagonist, who must work his way up in the organization by proving his toughness in the streets.

The game is definitely getting as much support as the console entries have from Sega: Series director Toshihiro Nagoshi will return to develop Yakuza: Project K on the PSP. Yakuza: Project K is due to release on the PSP in Japan this fall 2010.

One of the first screenshots we have for Yakuza: Project K on the PSP suggests that the game will look fantastic.