With Xbox 360 fans likely performing glee-fuelled cartwheels at the prospect of exclusively securing Team Ninja’s new Ninja Gaiden II title, which is due to arrive in 2008, PlayStation 3 devotees that enjoyed Ninja Gaiden Sigma could probably do with an exclusivity pick-me-up.

Well, how about news that Yakuza 3 (or Yakuza Kenzan! as it is also known) has this week been tied exclusively to the PlayStation 3… does that ease the pain at all?

The game gurus over at IGN have revealed that the latest edition of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu describes the next Yakuza adventure as unfolding its narrative in Japan during the early 1600s – the Edo period – and will see the player stepping into the action-packed fray as Japan’s most renowned warrior and swordsman (as well as author of the “Book of Five Rings”) Musashi Miyamoto.

While clearly a historic departure from the modern day Tokyo setting of SEGA-published Yakuza or Yakuza 2 scant little is known about the core gameplay, features, and unique attributes of Yakuza Kenzan! That said, Famitsu also offers that some of its fundamental fighting nuances will include a weapons-free approach, a single sword stance, a double sword style, a powerful broadsword attack, and also a variety of specific specialty moves too.

Something to look forward to, though it is perhaps worth hoping the final game in no way resembles recent Tenchu and Dynasty Warriors offerings.

Sadly, however, any PlayStation 3 fans that perhaps enjoyed the previous underrated Yakuza entries on Sony’s stalwart PlayStation 2, and who might be currently wiping away their Ninja Gaiden tears with a sense of relief, shouldn’t put the tissue box away just yet.

Because, at this present moment, Yakuza Kenzan! has only been pencilled in for a release in the Japanese region. That said, if it fits the North American and European markets, then it is more than likely to arrive in the west as some point… and exclusive is exclusive, even if it’s subject to localisation delays.

Expect the Japanese version to hit some time in 2008.