Looking back on it now, it is baffling the amount of influence that follows the Yakuza franchise. Now with it going multiplatform, the creators are moving forward with a new title, ‘Like a Dragon’. With the latest entry, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, now RGG Studio is shipping future entries with the same moniker. This includes the recent reveals for Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like A Dragon 8, and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name which took place this week.
But where else can the IP go? This week, both Judgment & Lost Judgment finally received native PC ports over on Steam. But, can Nintendo be a viable option? We saw this with HD releases of Yakuza 1 & Yakuza 2 on Wii U, but were received poorly. Even with the birth of the series being denied by Nintendo years ago, that does not cement chances are out the window completely as Microsoft even gave the same answer then too.
In a new interview as per GameSpot, studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama shares the possibility of the IP on Nintendo Switch is faint due to the “underground feeling” left by its story. “Do we want to put a title like this where we’re going around and picking a fight with the world and doing all this Yakuza stuff, on a Switch.
“We still kind of think of ourselves as people of the night world, right?” he says. “We don’t want to be like walking around the day with everybody else. Like for us, it’s kind of showing this kind of underground feeling. I think the underground kind of feeling is what we want to do.”
Like mentioned previously, Microsoft when first shipping Xbox was approached by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio for Yakuza, but shuttered the approach for the platform. It was not until fall 2019 that Microsoft went on to welcome aboard the Yakuza IP with Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2. So, there could be a change of heart – even for Nintendo perhaps. You can read the full report by heading here.
Are you in favor of Yakuza/Like a Dragon on Nintendo Switch?
Source: GameSpot
