Fans have been clamouring for SEGA’s classic Yakuza franchise to come to the Nintendo Switch ever since the console was first unveiled, but it seems as though fan requests have been continuing to fall on deaf ears. RGG Studio boss, Masayoshi Yokoyam, recently chatted with IGN about the prospect of the series coming to Switch and he was pretty blunt. Mr. Yokoyam is still a firm believer that the Nintendo Switch is a “system for a younger audience” and while he thinks that perhaps the “perception of the Switch, is changing,” he doesn’t feel as though the Yakuza series is really suitable for Nintendo’s versatile system. Here’s what he had to say:
“First of all, whether our games will run on the Switch is probably the first question. The second is, when people are doing things that they don’t want to do, and you lose the morale and urge to do it,.”
“And when it comes to the Switch, it’s kind of a system for a younger audience…it’s how we picture it in Japan anyway, for kids. So do we want to put a title, where we’re going and picking a fight with the world, and doing all this Yakuza stuff, on a Switch? Will people be happy if we do that? And we’re not confident that they will. So that’s why we’re probably not aiming for it.”
“I am, too, thinking that the perception of the Switch, is changing, and maybe because of that one day we will put it out on the Switch, but still in Japan the image of the Switch is more something you put next to the register at a supermarket or something. You’ll line up all those games. If you want to have the Yakuza game right there with all the others…I don’t feel like I want to do that yet,.”
“So yeah, we still think of ourselves as people of the night world. We don’t want to be walking around in the daylight with everybody else. For us, it’s showing this underground feeling. I say night world, but underground kind of feeling is what we want to do.”
Those are some really dumb reasons ngl
Can’t wait for Like a Dragon 8 and Ishin, coming to PS4,PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Loved the Rpg elements from Yakuza Like a Dragon 7, Like a Dragon 8 has a worldwide release slated for multiple platforms except The Switch. I hope they continue with the turn based combat, the job system and crafting system.
In Japan we don’t like money and the nintendo switch is making loads of money, so we want to stay away from that. 🤣
Japan is so lucky still. They always are.
First: are people not convinced enough that the Yakuza crew really don’t like the Switch? Since Nagoshi we already knew that.
Second: “And when it comes to the Switch, it’s kind of a system for a younger audience…it’s how we picture it in Japan anyway, for kids…” Yeah, my kids will certainly play Doom/Eternal. Wolfenstein. The Witcher 3, MK11 and more kiddy games on the Switch, alright. Plus let’s not pretend kids these days play even more adult stuff.
Third: “…but still in Japan the image of the Switch is more something you put next to the register at a supermarket or something;” I can’t even begin to understand that one. It’s like they’re complaining about the Switch making money.
Fourth: ” If you want to have the Yakuza game right there with all the others…I don’t feel like I want to do that yet,.”” Ah, I see. They’re afraid of not being able to compete with the other games that usually release on Switch. Although it sure took a long time in order to state that.
And last but not least: “So yeah, we still think of ourselves as people of the night world. We don’t want to be walking around in the daylight with everybody else.” Entitled, are we? No wonder the franchise isn’t that good nowadays, what with the massive amount of more-of-the-same titles and Lost Judgement not selling that much to the point most spin offs won’t be a thing anymore.
Considering there are already a fair share of games with an even larger “underground feeling” then Yakuza on Switch, thats just a nonsense excuse.
Typical Sega. Always making dumb decisions.
It sounds like SEGA have a bad
Let’s try that again. Sounds like SEGA still have problems making smart decisions or judging public perception. Switch is literally the 3rd best selling console of all time. (Not counting DS or Gameboy)
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No one tell them about Waifu Uncovered and Discovered, Perky Little Things, Gal*Gun series and the jiggle physics in all Xenoblade games which IIRC are games not for kids. There’s also Bayonetta but don’t tell them that as well.
I just want to establish that;
I do understand that people want to have Yakuza on the go without streaming, and that the older titles probably would run on Switch pretty well.
That said I’m glad they’re focusing on more powerful hardware because Yakuza demands a lot and it’s hard to notice how much they pack into those games, technically and size wise. Again, I’m no expert, but I would presume that the experience would suffer a lot on Switch on the newer titles.
Also, I feel Judgment in particular, but these titles are quite grown up. Both hard to understand at times (because they sometimes doesn’t make any sense at all xD) and because the tone of the games are actually very adult.
I’m not saying “because you’re an adult you can afford at least two consoles”, but Switch as the only console for an adult doesn’t always make the most sense. Sure, Mario, Smash, Zelda etc are system sellers — for adults as well —, but I can picture myself a decent amount of adults that have a Switch, has a secondary console. And if money is the issue, a Series S or used PS4/ONE console does make a bit of sense as well, with heavy online multiplayer and communication in focus, added with the fact it’s cheaper than a Switch in many cases, it would be the more natural choice by many adults.
But say you got two consoles, and performance and presentation is important for a specific title (I would say it’s important for Yakuza with it’s heavy focus on fighting and cinematic story telling), wouldn’t you prefer it on the stronger hardware? Ofc, taking it on the go could be as important, but would Yakuza be feasible on the go? Probably, but I don’t know, but I’m quite sure it would suffer for it.
Sega might be on to something when they say it’s not a fit for Switch. Might be paid by MS and Sony to keep it console exclusive. Might be their proprietary engine isn’t optimised for Switch, or people the most would just buy it on stronger hardware.
One big issue I see is that they remade the 2nd game on the Dragon Engine which Switch obviously can’t handle well. Switch fans can’t even experience the whole story without that game and then Yakuza 6 uses it too.