Sega’s Changes to Pierre Taki’s Character Model in Judgment – DONE
Judgment
PlayStation 4™ – US & EU
Last March, Sega surprised everyone when it started pulling out Judgment from shelves and digital stores worldwide, after the arrest of actor Pierre Taki on possession and use of drugs. Taki plays the role of Hamura in the game and Sega have to replace the actor for Kyohei Hamura at the very last minute.
Finally, Sega revealed that the replacement for Taki’s character model is already done, via an interview of IGN with Yakuza studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi.
“It’s an original character this time, not a performance capture. You’ll have to wait to see what he looks like.”
Nagoshi also shared how the development team went about the process of Taki’s replacement.
First of all, we had to replace the character model and re-record all of the dialogue. But replacing the character model is only the start: We had to change all of the pre-rendered cut scenes Hamura appeared in; also, his face appears on some of the evidence that you present on your smartphone, so we had to replace those textures, and some trophies had to be changed too.
The Yakuza studio head even mentioned that he had made the decision to replace Taki within hours of hearing the news of his arrest. If he made up the decision a little longer, a possibility of a delayed western release could have been met.
There was an option to leave it as it was, but personally, I felt strongly that changing the character was the right decision. It’s hard to know how big the risks are. If the game had already been on sale for several years, I don’t know what the outcome would have been. But this was just three months after the Japanese release, so it was still hot, and I think that requires a sensitive approach.
Judgment is slated to release on June 25, 2019, in the West for PlayStation 4.
Where to Buy?
The Europe version of the game is now open for pre-order here at Playasia. Click the button below to reserve yours.
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Read more about the game here.
Who is Pierre Taki?
For those who may not know, Pierre Taki or Masanori Taki in real life is a member of the Japanese synthpop group called Denki Groove. He is also an actor who made appearances in movies such as Attack on Titan, Shin Godzilla, and more. More so, he played the Japanese dub voice of Olaf in Frozen.
Disney also revealed that they are currently planning on recasting the actor in the upcoming Frozen 2. The company even stopped selling the Frozen Blu-rays in Japan because of Taki’s issue on drugs, as reported in Japan Today.
Game Overview
For the overview of the game, this game takes you in the modern day of Tokyo, Japan. The main protagonist, Takayumi Yagami, is a private detective and a man with strong principles to fight for his beliefs despite the hopelessness he experienced. As he faced betrayal from his client, his credibility goes rock bottom not until he caught up in a serial murder case that might push his limits with his investigative skills to solve the case.
Meanwhile, Judge Eyes: Shinigami no Yuigon (JUDGE EYES：死神の遺言) Japanese Version is still available on our website. It was released last December 13th for PlayStation 4 as well. Click the button below to secure your copies!
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【FEATURES】
- Dual Audio – Players can switch between the Japanese and English VO tracks at any point during the game. Experience Judgment using whichever language you prefer
- Dual Subtitles – Subtitles change based on which audio track is selected – Japanese or English. Japanese voice subtitles are presented in a way that represents the traditional Yakuza experience while English voice subtitles match the English script
- Localization Pedigree: Judgment’s localization has been handled in-house by SEGA of America’s talented Yakuza series localization team
