Did Sega just completely change the spirit of Yakuza 3 by recasting its lead in the remake? Does Silent Hill f really look prettier without fog? And when will Nintendo finally support smaller SD express card sizes and ditch those dreaded game key cards? It’s another edition of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku’s daily roundup of gaming news and culture. Fed chair Jerome Powell says tariffs aren’t driving up inflation just yet as companies eat the cost of the new taxes. I guess he’s not trying to buy a new game console!
Game devs aren’t happy about Switch 2 game key cards either, apparently
Bloomberg reports some backroom grumblings ahead of Tokyo Game Show 2025 this week regarding the health of game development in Japan and also, interestingly enough, anecdotal frustration with Nintendo’s game key cards for the Switch 2. It also confirms that Nintendo currently only offers 64GB sizes for all games, which increases the cost and appears to be the primary reason so many third-party publishers are opting for the plastic DRM keys instead.
It’s clear, however, that paying the higher cost of going physical on Switch 2 can pay dividends for some games. Bloomberg points to the recent example of Daemon Ex Machina: Titanic Scion. “In the UK, it was released as a standard physical cartridge, ready to play straight out of the box. According to Nielsen IQ, 72% of physical sales in the UK were for the Switch 2,” it reports. “In Japan, however, it was sold as a key card, and the results were reversed. According to Famitsu, only 40% of sales were for the Switch 2.”
Nintendo recently surveyed fans about their feelings on game key cards, and at least some publishers say requiring downloads helps with performance for more taxing games like Star Wars Outlaws.
A Yakuza 3 remake and more are on the way
I’m watching the Kiwami 3 Summit but seeing the new Rikiya is pissin me off pic.twitter.com/qDZE7covQn
— Jtastic (@JtasticVA) September 24, 2025
Announced during the Ryu Ga Gotoku Summit livestream, Yakuza Kiwami 3 will bring the last PS3-era entry in the series to modern platforms on February 12. It recasts a key character, Rikiya Shimabukuro, with the guy from Tokyo Vice (Sho Kasamatsu), however, and fans are not happy.
It’ll come bundled with a new spin-off called Yakuza 3 Gaiden: Dark Ties that follows main villain Yoshitaka Mine. Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut and remakes of the first two games are also getting upgraded ports for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
PlayStation will now make you work to unlock special merch
Sony unveiled Franchise Rewards this week, a new program through which popping certain trophies in games will qualify you to pay the company money for select swag. It’s kicking off with a pin and T-shirt for Ghost of Yotei that cost a combined $55.
This will be familiar to Destiny 2 fans since Bungie has been running this exact type of program, offering special swag to day-one raid players, for some time. The reason it works there is that it’s a limited-time group achievement. I’m confused as to why Sony seems to be having so much trouble figuring out cool rewards initiatives.
Silent Hill f players are already nuking the fog
Someone already removed fog in Silent Hill F lol pic.twitter.com/K6daHORlZ7
— Besk (@BeskInfinity) September 23, 2025
Konami’s latest survival horror game isn’t technically even out yet and it’s already getting the mod treatment. As IGN notes, fans are already adding cheats and ray-tracing while erasing the HUD and any other immersion-breaking elements. Now if only they could mod in a proper PS5 Pro mode for the console version.
Nioh 3 gets a release date
Team Ninja’s upcoming Soulslike is coming soon, according to a leaked store page on Amazon Japan. The PS5 console exclusive arrives February 6 (on PC too). In addition to its samurai combat, the sequel is adding a new ninja playstyle. Who’s ready for some “Soulsgaiden?”
Here are some Mega Man RPGs you probably never knew existed
Was I alone in never having heard of the Mega Man Star Force trilogy before? They were spiritual successors to Mega Man Battle Network that came to the Nintendo DS in the second half of the aughts and were mostly panned by reviewers at the time for failing to change up the formula much. Capcom is clearly still riding the high of the Battle Network collection selling over 1 million copies, and I applaud the effort to bring lost niche games to modern platforms. I’m morbidly intrigued.
