It looks like Lost Judgment could be the end of the Yakuza spinoff series if a reported dispute between SEGA and actor Takuya Kimura's agency can't be resolved. The main point of contention is the decision to release the games on PC via Steam over actor privacy concerns. 

A new report from Nikkan Taisu, a Japanese entertainment site, claims that Lost Judgment could very well be the final entry in the Yakuza spinoff franchise because of a talent agency that represents many of the actors that bring these characters to life. The core of the dispute is that SEGA sees the opportunities of Steam and PC platforms, both in terms of sales and western outreach. With the expansion over onto Xbox having already procured bountiful results, PC aims to strengthen that growth's viability and the franchise's outreach. Takuya Kimura, the actor behind Takayuki Yagami (the game's protagonist), is represented by Johnny & Associates, a company that has a very strict policy when it comes to talent and their likeness. According to the report, the agency does not want any of their actors on "a PC platform that is not a game console platform and connects directly to the internet." 

We dove deep into Rule 34 and modding ethics earlier this year. Moreover, the portrayal of gaming characters, regardless of likeness, is a hot topic within the modding community. There are so many incredible mods out there that enhance games, fix broken issues, add new content, and expand upon the original vision. There is also the other side of that coin, a side that many feel breaches upon an actor's privacy; something that the agency has issues with in this particular situation. By keeping the games on console, the reduction of inappropriate mods is cut down immensely. It will never fully go away; people port games to PC all of the time with the purpose of platform expansion and modding, but it does add a level of containment that a Steam release can't offer. 

The disagreement could halt the production of future games if the platform limitation demand continues, especially since this conversation is not a new one between the two companies. SEGA has reportedly had its eyes on getting both Lost Judgement and Judgement on Steam for a while now. 

It has been interesting to see the growth of the Yakuza franchise. It has always been a wonderfully entertaining series, though in the past it hasn't reached the same fame in the west as it had in Japan. That changed through the years, and that change happened more noticeably when Yakuza made the jump over to Xbox platforms and SEGA finally began to drop a new title on a global scale all at the same time. Where the franchise's spinoff series goes from here is anyone's guess. The hope is that, eventually, the agency will either negotiate with a more open mind with SEGA, otherwise the permanent halting of Judgment could be made a reality. 

What do you think of the two-sided dispute? Is the agency out of line and outdated, or are they doing right by those under its care? Let's hear from you, dear reader, and shout out those thoughts in the comment section below! 

Over the past week, Titanfall 2 players have been dealing with an "unplayable game" after the same hacking group that took over Apex Legends servers allegedly took to the multiplayer portion of the Respawn game. Players have been taking to online to vent frustrations over the deliberate sabotage of the servers, while others are bidding a lamentful farewell to a beloved game. But, before you start uttering out that eulogy, all is not lost yet. Respawn Entertainment is working on the security issues regarding Titanfall 2, but the size of the team isn't offering much hope.

The original report about the state of the Titanfall 2 community came via Pure Xbox as the game's servers continue to be "destroyed" region by region. The sabotage rendered the game completely unplayable, but Respawn is working on a fix. Respawn community manager Jason Garza recently held another "Morning Tea" livestream where he addressed a community that feels "abandoned." 

"You're not abandoned," Garza told community members. He ventured on to confirm that security fixes are in the works, but that he can't revealed detailed plans "because now it's a different type of game with these people who DDOS and stuff like that, and blacklist and things like that, so we can't telegraph our moves, we can't say what we're doing. All I can say is we're working on it."

The good news is that it is being worked on, but the bad news shortly followed with Garza adding, "We only have one or two people on it because everyone else is on Apex." The battle royale game is more demanding in its own right beyond being a live-service title. Apex Legends has been undergoing its own DDoS attacks. Between that and the new projects that Respawn has under its belt and a plethora of changes on the horizon for Apex, the hacking couldn't have come at a worst time for fans and the studio, the best time for the hackers themselves. 

While some reports are saying that the game is back up for many regions, at the time this article was written I could not connect to the servers. The Titanfall outages have also gone down, according to DownDetector, but far from eliminated. 

[Source: Respawn via MP1ST]

Final Fantasy 14 definitely pulled its own No Man's Sky. When the game first launched, it left little to be desired. From lackluster gameplay to a grind that didn't feel like it had purpose, the launch was anything but a successful drop. Instead of quitting, however, Square Enix doubled down and ended up crafting something truly beautiful. With the hype surrounding Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, the community has grown exponentially; so much so, that Square Enix even ran out of digital copies for the game. 

With the MMORPG at the center of its niche, it even comes with its own meme of people trying to get newcomers in with the free trial, one Redditor happened to notice that the online store for Square Enix showed no stock available for the game, even in a digital format:

As the original poster notated, server congestion is absolutely temporary, but it is wild to see when reflecting back on the launch era of that game.  When looking at the store presently, everything seems to be restored back to usual, with the waitlist option detailed above no longer necessary. 

The overflow impacted more than digital codes. Long queue times, inaccessible character creator, and more issues tied to the online status of the game were all impacted. With the MMORPG having recently smashed through its previous record for concurrent players, it's no wonder that the servers were overloaded and that demand for this game was — and is — high. Pair that with Asmongold, a renowned World of Warcraft streamer, recently making the public jump to the Final Fantasy MMORPG, and Square Enix had a lot of excitement on the studio team's hands. 

At this point and time, it looks like everything is back up and running. Which is good, because now you have no excuse not to play, especially so with it now on PlayStation 5.