Judgment PS4 sales have been stopped in Japan. Sega announced the move following the arrest of one of the game’s actors on alleged drugs charges. Pierre Taki, who plays Kyohei Hamura in Judgment, is accused of using cocaine. The game launched in December 2018 in Japan, but is yet to hit western locations.
Sega announced the halting of Judgment PS4 sales in a press release: “Sega has received the arrest reports and are currently confirming the facts, but for the time being, we will voluntarily refrain from shipments and digital sales of [Judgment], as well as from things like posting the product’s homepage. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause for customers, as well as the parties involved.” Sega has begun deleting tweets about Judgment the game following this incident.
Pierre Taki has admitted to using a small amount of cocaine which could lead to seven years in prison for the actor. Following tip-offs, authorities searched Taki’s car and home but found no evidence of drug use. However, Taki’s cocaine use was confirmed through a urine test [via Mainichi]. Pierre Taki’s role in the game is that of the captain of the Matsugane family, a faction of the Kamurocho-based Tojo Clan. Taki has also appeared as the Japanese voice of Olaf in Disney’s Frozen and Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts 3.
Regarding Judgment’s western release, Wall Street Journal reporter Takashi Mochizuki stated, “Sega: discussing what to do with the western release of its “Judgement” game after a related Japanese actor’s arrest. No decisions made yet.” [via Twitter]. Sega has addressed similar issues previously. The Japanese studio replacing a character within Yakuza 4 for its PlayStation 4 re-release. The move was made after actor Hiroki Narimiya was removed as Masayoshi Tanimura following allegations of cocaine use.
Judgment is currently scheduled to be released on June 25 on the PlayStation 4 in the west. We recently previewed the Yakuza spin-off.
