Yakuza 5 Confirmed With New Cities, Characters

You didn’t really think that Yakuza: Dead Souls was the end of Sega’s gangster saga, did you?  Silly game geeks…

Famitsu has confirmed that Sega is developing Yakuza 5, the latest in the ongoing gangster series, and it sounds like it’s going to be the biggest game to date.  It features an all new engine that allows the game to move from battle to adventuring scenes “seamlessly” while looking better than ever.

In addition, the game will spread across five cities – Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka – and introduce several playable characters.  You’ve got Kazuma Kiryu, taking up duties as a cab driver in Fukuoka; escaped convict Taiga Saejima, who’s landed back in jail; Shun Akiyama, who’s hanging out in Osaka; and playable for the first time in the series, Kiryu’s daughter Haruka, who’s got her own little agenda.

Seeing as how the game isn’t officially announced yet, we don’t have further details, but it’s expected to release in Japan this December.  Maybe Sega will have information for us at E3?