The latest issue of Japanese gaming bible Famitsu reveals that SEGA is currently developing Yakuza 3 for PlayStation 3, with a scheduled release date of spring 2008 (for Japan).

Yakuza 3 shifts the in-game setting from modern-day Tokyo gang-war to the 1605 Edo Period of medieval Japan, also featuring new fighting styles for the main character, including bare fists, single and double blades, and huge blades.

“At the moment we have no plans to release Yakuza 3 in Europe”, a SEGA U.K. rep told SPOnG this morning. Bah!

We should be getting a steady drizzle of Yakuza 3 screens and art in the coming days. We’ll also be sure to dig a little deeper and do some investigating to get to the bottom of SEGA’s current thinking as to why Yakuza 3 might well not get a Euro release.

See SPOnG's Yakuza gamepage and our Svend's laudatory review right here.