Sega intends to resume sales of Judgment in Japan on July 18, over four months after it was pulled from shelves due to a drug scandal involving voice actor Pierre Taki.
A press release from Sega (translated by Gemastu) explained a ‘new price version’ of the game will be made available in the coming weeks, however, this revised edition won’t feature Taki’s likeness or voice performance.
The controversy began back in March, when Taki was arrested by investigators on suspicion of using cocaine. He subsequently admitted to illegal drug use, which is considered a grievous offense in Japan (where drug laws are still incredibly strict), prompting Sega to remove the game from sale.
Somewhat ironically, Judgment then proceeded to sell-through 97 percent of its stock in the following weeks, massively depleting the game’s worldwide inventory.
The western release of Judgment is still on track to launch on its original date of June 25, and will feature the same revised version of Taki’s character Kyohei Hamura as the reworked Japanese edition.