Yakuza 3 Remastered to be soft-delisted following the launch of Kiwami 3

While SEGA is generally loved by many in today’s day and age, the game publisher is not free from controversy, with game preservation being a particular issue at SEGA – especially when it comes to older titles which have since been re-released. Ahead of the official arrival of Yakuza 3 Kiwami in February, SEGA have confirmed that the original Yakuza 3 Remastered will soon no longer be purchasable standalone.

Ahead of the launch of Yakuza 3 Kiwami and Dark Ties, the team at RGG studio took to Twitter to announce that the arrival of the remake will coincide with the near-complete-removal of 2021’s more rudimentary remaster, writing:

“Those who already own ‘Yakuza 3 Remastered’ will still be able to continue playing it. For those new to the series who wish to experience the original version, it will be available with purchase of the ‘Yakuza Complete Series’ bundle.”

While worded somewhat awkwardly, in essence, the original Yakuza 3 Remaster will no longer be purchasable following the arrival of Kiwami, with the only way to obtain it being through the Yakuza Complete Series package which includes 7 titles (currently costing a total of over £100.)

This isn’t the first time that SEGA has done something like this, with the release of Sonic x Shadow Generations coinciding with a similar soft-delisting of the original game – also only being purchasable through a bundle.

While a close experience to their original counterparts, the Kiwami remakes are very much their own thing, and so it is disappointing to once again see SEGA making the original experience harder to obtain in favour of the remake. Hopefully they reverse course at some point.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this strategy? Is it shady? Should this type of soft-delisting be allowed? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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