The Yakuza franchise has been wildly successful in Japan, selling well over a million units across the entire series.  However, in the US, it's been a bit of a different story.  Perhaps in part due to a poor release schedule, that franchise has failed to make any sort of a dent commercially, despite a generally positive commercial review.

With Yakuza Kenzan! being out in Japan for almost a year and Yakuza 3 right around the bend, neither with an announced American release date, we got in touch with Sega about the future of the franchise abroad.  The answer Sega gave us does not bode well, saying "We currently don't know what the future of the Yakuza franchise is for North America".  The rep we talked to did say, optimistically, that he hoped the games would continue to be released in the US.

The Yakuza series is a popular Japanese franchise that plays similarly to Grand Theft Auto or Shenmue.  Critically acclaimed for both excellent gameplay and for it's accuracy in depicting Japan's criminal underground, the series has spanned 3 games, with Yakuza 3 being the fourth entry to the series.  Yakuza 3 is due out February 26 in Japan.