Sega has announced that the fourth installment in their Yakuza series won’t be given a western release. Marketing representative Ray Almeda confirmed the rumor while speaking to the Examiner yesterday.

This news is bound to cause an uproar from Yakuza fans who have already endured the 21-month delay between Yakuza 2‘s Japan and North American release dates.

Sega has claimed “low sales” led to their decision, even though the series is a massive success in Japan, boasting top-class voice talent on each game. Despite excellent reviews, Yakuza 2 has only sold approximately 40,000 copies in North America, a pittance in comparison to Sega’s other titles.

With this revelation, English-speaking fans may never play a new Yakuza game in their native tongue again, with Yakuza 4: Heir to the Legend already in development and expected to be released in Japanese only.

For die-hard Yakuza gamers who may wish to pick up the NTSC-J versions anyway, there is some good news regarding Yakuza 4. Hiroki Narimiya and Kenta Kiritani will both be taking lead roles in the voice-acting department, with Sega utilizing the latest motion-capture technology to insert their appearances into the game.

Yakuza 3 was released in Japan February 26 for the Playstation 3, while Yakuza 4 has no set release date as yet.