Sega stops Judgment sales following actor's cocaine arrest
After actor Pierre Taki was arrested for cocaine use, Sega stopped shipments and digital sales of Yakuza spin-off Judgment.
Sega's upcoming mystery-adventure now has another case to solve before it launches in the US. Sega has halted shipments and digital sales of Judgment in Japan after learning that actor Pierre Taki has been arrested for using cocaine, which is a violation of Japan's drug control law.
Gematsu reported on the arrest of 51-year-old Pierre Taki, a member of techno-pop group Denki Groove. Taki plays the role of Kyohei Hamura in Judgment, a spin-off of the Yakuza games, and he's seemingly a very important cog in the game's narrative. In the story trailer and smaller clips shown up until now, it is shown that Hamura beats a case in court but is still a prime suspect in a series of murders. Characters take on the role of private detective and former lawyer Takayuki Yagami as he investigates Hamura and his associates.
Here's a crude translation of the official Judgment statement from Sega via Google Translate:
"We believe that the arrest of Mr. Pierre, who is a performer of our product JUDGE EYES: The Testament of the Grim Reaper, is highly regrettable.
We have received arrest reports and are currently confirming the facts, but for the time being we have decided to refrain from shipping and DL sales of the product and posting of product HP etc. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers and related parties.
We will notify you of future responses as soon as we determine."
This isn't the first time one the titles from the Yakuza development team has had to make a change due to legal activity outside of the games themselves. At one point, Yakuza 4 was re-released with a major change to one of the four playable characters when original actor Hiroki Narimiya retired due to allegations of cocaine use. That change seems at least on par with Pierre Taki's role in Judgment, although it may not take as long because he's not playable, but US fans should expect a delay announcement in the near future.
Judgment was originally set for a June 2019 release in the US, but Sega is "currently discussing its course of action of regarding the western release of Judgment." No decision has been made yet, but stay tuned to Shacknews for additional updates on this and other gaming news.
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replyCharles Singletary Jr posted a new article, Sega stops Judgment sales following actor's cocaine arrest
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Dangit, I was gonna buy this when it came out.
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That's so bizarre. So his face and VA is probably going to be completely different for the western release? And then they'd probably have to re-do translation on his lines... what a mess.
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Japanese drug laws are very strict.
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Mushrooms were legal in Japan for awhile.
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Not sober, but definitely less detected by law enforcement.
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That doesn't make sense. In the US that's just a Tuesday.
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