Sega Suspends Sales of Judgment After Voice Actor Pierre Taki Arrested for Cocaine Use
Jorge Arenas
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Sega Games Co. suspended sales of its PlayStation 4 game Judgment after voice actor and Denki Groove band member Pierre Taki was arrested on suspicion of cocaine. Taki provided his voice talent to the game as Kyohei Hamura.
Sega made the announcement in a press release saying “we have decided to refrain from shipping and DL sales of the product and posting of product HP etc.”
Not only did they stop sales, but they also took to their official Twitter account to indicate they deleted tweets about the game as well.
販売自粛に伴い、『JUDGE EYES：死神の遺言』に関するツイート等は削除いたしました。何卒ご理解のほどよろしくお願いいたします。https://t.co/ET4m1CxJdz
— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) March 13, 2019
The Japan Times reports that Taki, who real name is Masanori Taki, was arrested after the police were given tips of his drug use. They searched his vehicle and home before arresting him. Following his arrest, the voice actor was tested via urine sample for the illegal narcotic. It came back positive.
A report from Tokyo Reporter also indicates currency found in Taki’s home also tested positive for cocaine. a number of rolling papers for maijuana were also discovered. They indicate that after Taki was arrested he admitted to the allegations.
If convicted of possession or use of cocaine, Taki could spend up to seven years in prison in Japan.
In Judgement, Taki provided both voice and facial capture for the character Kyohei Hamura. Hamura is a captain of the Matsugane family. They are a subsidiary to the larger Tojo Clan. In the official bio of Kyohei Hamura is described as being “heavily involved with [protagonist Takayuki] Yagami throughout the serial murder case.” His character appears to be completely scrubbed from the official Judgment website.
This isn’t the first role that Pierre Taki voiced in video games. He also voiced a character in the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts 3 as Frozen’s Olaf. Kotaku reports that Square Enix, the company behind Kingdom Hearts 3, will remove Taki’s voice work in the game in a future update. They plan on going with a different voice actor.
He also stepped into animated voice acting in the past, providing the voice of Olaf in the Japanese release of Frozen as well. Sora News reports that Disney stores in Tokyo began removing Frozen-related merchandise including Blu-rays and soundtrack CDs from their stores. They also report that Disney halted production of Frozen Blu-rays and DVDs for the Japanese market. Taki has also been removed from the Japanese dub cast of Frozen 2.
The story of Judgement revolves around the struggle of disgraced lawyer now turned private eye Takayuki Yagami as he pursues a serial killer. The game is set in the Kamurocho red light district, a fictional district in Tokyo.
Before the events of Pierre Taki’s arrest, the game was set to be released worldwide on June 25th. Now its in doubt. Judgment was created by Ryu Ga Gotoku studios.
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