Yakuza Kiwami’s Switch Success Proves It’s Time for a Series Habit to End

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 28, 2024 16 Views 9 Min Read
Yakuza Kiwami's Switch Success Proves It's Time for a Series Habit to End



For the majority of its existence, the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has been a PlayStation-exclusive franchise. Almost every mainline Yakuza game and spin-off in between, from Yakuza (2005) to Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, has initially debuted on a Sony console. Over the last 5 or so years, though, series publisher Sega has adopted a more multiplatform approach with its long-running franchise. In 2019, the company brought Yakuza Kiwami, a formerly PS4-exclusive remake of the first entry in the series, to Windows PCs. Eventually, Sega ported every Like a Dragon game that was available on the PS4 to PC and Xbox One throughout 2020 and 2021.




These days, the Like a Dragon series enjoys simultaneous multiplatform releases across PlayStation and Xbox consoles, in addition to PCs. Sadly, Nintendo fans have been unable to join in on the fun, at least for the most part. While Sega has recently brought Yakuza Kiwami to the Switch, there are currently no other Like a Dragon games on it, and upcoming releases such as Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii are skipping the platform. The Like a Dragon series still has a long way to go until it becomes fully playable on the system, but the success of Yakuza Kiwami‘s Switch port may encourage Sega to bring the franchise to Nintendo consoles on day-one from now on.

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It’s Time for Sega to Bring Like a Dragon Games to Nintendo Platforms on Day-One


RGG Studios Didn’t Want to Bring Like a Dragon to Switch Because It Thought The Console Was Too Kid-Friendly

The Nintendo Switch is, by far, one of the most successful consoles of all time, having sold over 146 million units as of November 2024. One would think that, given its popularity, Sega would have put several Like a Dragon games on the Switch by now, but that hasn’t happened yet. In 2022, Masoyoshi Yokoyama, the head of Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, shed some light on the matter. He explained that RGG was hesitant to put its games on the Switch because the company viewed it as a console for kids. Yokoyama added that the developers at the company viewed themselves as “people of the night world” and that the Like a Dragon series was too mature in nature to appeal to the younger audience on the Switch.

Since there is no shortage of mature and adult-oriented games on the Switch, these statements did seem a bit odd at the time. To Yokoyama’s credit, though, he did note that the “perception” of Nintendo’s hybrid console was changing and that maybe one day the company would bring the Like a Dragon series to the platform. Now that Yakuza Kiwami is currently on Nintendo Switch, it’s clear that day has finally arrived. The Switch port of the game is, according to Masoyoshi Yokoyama himself, “selling like hotcakes,” so it’s evident that his assumption about the Like a Dragon series being too mature for Nintendo consoles was a misjudgment.


More Like a Dragon Switch Ports are Nice, But Sega Should Take Things a Step Further

Shortly after the release of Yakuza Kiwami on Switch, Sega posted a survey on its website asking fans if they would like to play more Like a Dragon titles on the Nintendo console. Taking this into consideration, it seems likely that more Switch ports of RGG Studios’s hit games are on the way. While it would be great if Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and other previous Like a Dragon titles got released on the Switch as well, staggered launches like these wouldn’t be enough for Sega to take full advantage of the console’s install base. If the company truly wants to make the most out of supporting Nintendo’s console, it needs to start embracing simultaneous releases on the platform.

If possible, Sega should try to bring Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and other future Like a Dragon games to the Nintendo Switch on the same day they are released on other platforms. Pirate Yakuza, in particular, will be playable on PS4 and Xbox One when it comes out in February 2025, so with some technical wizardry, it may be able to run on the Switch. If not, though, then Sega and RGG Studio should aim to bring Like a Dragon games to the Switch 2 as often as they do on PlayStation and Xbox consoles.


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