"We took out certain bits in order to bring the game to the west in the time alloted [sic] for us to do so. The parts we ended up taking out were parts that we felt wouldn't make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn't resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club)," publisher Sega told the site.

Stereotypically frequented by businessmen, hostess clubs are an established part of Japanese culture offering the opportunity to drink, smoke, make conversation and sing karaoke with attractive young ladies in exchange for cold hard yen.

"We didn't replace the parts we took out," said the Sega representative, "but we made absolutely sure that the story continuity stayed intact so that the story experience was the same as the Japanese version and that it didn't take away the human drama so inherent to the Yakuza series."

Yakuza 3 arrives exclusively for PlayStation 3 in March, with pre-order bonuses on offer.