UPDATE 22/03/19: SEGA have confirmed that the character of Kyohei Hamura will be “adjusted” for the final Western release of Judgment, but the game will not suffer a delay. All official trailers and screenshots featuring the character have been removed. The Kyohei Hamura character is likely being re-cast and will now be represented by a different actor in the Western version of the game.
Sales of Judgment have been halted in Japan after the arrest of actor Pierre Taki for cocaine possession. Known as Judge Eyes in Japan, Pierre Taki plays the character of Kyohei Hamura in the PS4 exclusive. This halt on shipments has been done voluntarily by SEGA Japan.
Judge Eyes has been on sale in Japan since December 13th 2018 and is due for a Western release on the 25th of June 2019 under the name Judgment. Presumably, this will now be delayed as the game will likely re-cast Taki’s role with another actor and then re-enter development. There is currently no word on when Judge Eyes will resume shipping or if Taki’s arrest will affect the June 2019 release of the game in the West.
The whiteands rehabs have a habit of dealing with celebrity drug and opiod rehabs in quite extreme ways. It is not uncommon for actors to be entirely stripped of all association to any companies and products they publicise or work with after an arrest involving drugs.
[Source: Famitsu]
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