We didn't believe Sega would ever localize Yakuza 3. We also didn't believe Yakuza 3 would sell enough to justify a localization of Yakuza 4. We were wrong on both counts! Today, Sega announced that it's bringing the PS3's Yakuza 4 to North America and Europe in spring 2011, to the delight of everyone who likes beating up gangsters so severely that they feel compelled to apologize and offer money.

Rather than focusing entirely on the exploits of ex-crime boss/family man Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 4 splits the story between four different characters, including a homeless man, a detective, an ex-con, and Kazuma. If you don't mind paging through a bunch of Japanese text, you can try it out right now, thanks to a demo on Japan's PlayStation Store.