On Tuesday, Sega announced the launch of the demo version of Yakuza 6: Song of Life for PlayStation 4. However, soon it pulled the version after realizing that it allowed gamers to unlock the full game for free.
Earlier this year, Sega informed players of the delay in the Yakuza 6 release, but tried to make it up by announcing to release a demo version of the game. However, when players actually got to see the demo version, they noticed something odd about its file size.
The size was unusually large for a demo. Some of the gamers even questioned why a demo is as big as 36.5GB. Later, players discovered that the unusual file size was because of the inclusion of the full game, and they also found a way to unlock the full game without paying anything.
Sega, however, was quick to realize the mistake after the surfacing of multiple reports, and scrapped the demo from the PlayStation Store in the U.S. In Europe and Australia, the demo was still available, possibly because it was the correct version, i.e., it had only the demo, notes TechTimes.
“We apologize, but have had to remove the Yakuza 6: The Song of Life demo from the PlayStation Store. We are as upset as you are, and had hoped to have this demo available for everyone today. We discovered that some were able to use the demo to unlock the full game,” Sega tweeted. The company also informed that it is investigating the issue.
As of now, there is no information of when Sega will re-upload the demo for the Yakuza 6 for the U.S. players. Also, it is not clear how it would affect the players who were able to unlock the full game. Sega hasn’t yet said anything about it. However, the company initially said that players, after they buy the full game, would be able to continue their progress from the demo.
Yakuza 6 is an action-adventure title from Sega. This PS4 exclusive is the seventh main title in the Yakuza series. It was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show in 2015. The game was initially scheduled for release on March 20. However, earlier this year, Sega announced a delay, and the game is now expected to arrive on April 17 in North America and Europe. The game maker gave no specific reason for the delay, but said, “This was a tough business decision we didn’t make lightly.”
In Japan, the game has been available since Dec. 2016. The gap between the release date in Japan and the rest of the world has typically been due to the western localization of Yakuza games, notes GameSpot. The Yakuza 5 was launched internationally three years after its debut in Japan.
In separate news, Sega Fes 2018 details have been announced. The event will run from April 14 to 15 at Bellesalle Akihabara in Tokyo. Entry will be free. According to Gematsu, the event will cover three floors: 2nd Floor – Museum Zone, themed after Sega’s “Present, Past, and Future”; 1st Floor – Huge Attraction Experience Zone; and Basement 1st Floor – Stage Zone to host all the events intended for the fans.
