SEGA has confirmed that it will release a sequel to the critically acclaimed Yakuza in Europe for the PlayStation 2. The Japanese beat-'em-up will be out some time this year.

We're sorry to be so vague, but all we have right now is that fact that it's due 'exclusively on PlayStation 2 during 2008'. While we're underchuffed by the lack of date-detail, we're quite over-chuffed that our old-skool 60Gb PS3 will have something brand new to be backwardly-compatible with.

Here's what SEGA has to tell us on the subject - "Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist of the first Yakuza, is named Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan but unexpectedly retires from life in the clan the same day. However, his personally chosen successor is assassinated by a former allied gang called the Omi. These events set in motion an engrossing storyline that sees Kazuma travelling through Japan, on what could be the last opportunity to stave off an all-out war between the Tojo and Omi clans."

SEGA also promises ramped-up combat and larger environments.

If you're interested to read what Gary Knight, European marketing director for SEGA has to say about it... here you go! “Yakuza 2 is one of the most requested Japanese titles in our portfolio and we’re delighted to finally announce a European version”, he uttered.

SPOnG's certainly not going to grumble about the fact that it's already been 16 months since the game was released in Japan...

Yes we bloody well are. 16 months! What is with that? Localisation our arsu!

If you're a little baffled about why you should be bothered, check out SPOnG's review of the original Yakuza. That's the game, not the gangsters...