Following its recent launch on Nintendo Switch, Yakuza Kiwami is supposedly "selling like crazy" on the hybrid platform.
This comes from comments made by head of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Masayoshi Yokoyama, over on YouTube (thanks, VGC). According to Yokoyama, he assumed that many people had already experienced Kiwami before on other platforms, and so may have looked at potential Switch sales too conservatively:
“So, it looks like Kiwami is selling like crazy. I’m really glad. You know, the company’s executives had been making sales predictions, but I was way off. I guess I looked at it too conservatively.
“The whole thing has been really exciting. But yeah, this is great. It’s been 20 years since we made the first Yakuza game. And now, even though it’s been rebranded as Kiwami, we already released Kiwami a while ago, right? I thought it had been out for quite some time and that people all over the world had experienced it already.
"This time, though, with the drama on Amazon Prime and other factors coming together, it’s finally arrived on the Switch. Though, technically, it’s just a port. And it’s only available as a digital download. But still, the fact that people are willing to play it again makes me really happy as a game developer."
He went on to state that he downloaded the game on Switch himself, and is looking forward to playing it on the go:
“Remakes are tough to pull off. Selling the same game a second time isn’t easy. So I’m just really relieved. I feel great about it. I think a lot of people are going to enjoy it on the Switch. I even downloaded it myself! Being able to carry it around is really nice.”
Perhaps this could be an indication that more Yakuza ports may be considered for the Switch in the future. We'd love to see the entire series on Nintendo's platform, though we suspect the likes of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Judgment, and the upcoming Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii would perhaps be better suited on the eventual Switch successor.
What do you make of Yakuza's apparent success on the Switch? Would you like to see more entries from the series ported over? Let us know with a comment.
[source youtube.com, via videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 36
Great news. Hopefully it leads to 0 and the rest of the series being ported.
Love to hear it for the game itself, it increasing the chances of us getting more Yakuza/Ryū ga Gotoku games on Switch and/or its successor and it putting to rest Yokoyama-san's ridiculous reasoning for the series to not be on the platform (https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/09/yakuza-dev-still-doesnt-think-switch-is-the-right-platform-for-the-series), getting it myself digitally as soon as I can 100% confirm that I can't get it physically without going for the LRG release - you might say that it's confirmed at this point, but it took more than a month for them to announce the LRG one, not to mention that I could really use a physical version considering this game's hefty download size and my 1TB card being almost full!
He talks like a former US president.
all of the ps3 era games could be ported, like 0, 3, 4, and 5, but i doubt the dragon engine games would work. also remember when they said that yakuza isn't suited for switch? betcha there realizing how insane that was to say.
so, people DO like this game, just not the one person assigned on this website to review it 😆👍
@Jack_Goetz the interview was in Japanese so that's just whoever translated putting their spin on it.
@Oni
yes I am also FAR more interested to revisit the shenmue games 👍👍 I might get into Yakuza one day but not before Shenmue.
Its not just the fact it seems like a good game, they offered it at an amazing price, I think thats what did it - £40 and more people would have passed it over
Thrilled that the sales are getting RGG's attention. It has been fun playing through again on Switch. My only gripe is that some battles with either lots of opponents or im particularly busy parts of Kamurocho, the framerate dips alot. The graphics themselves are fine; it obviously is not as good as PS4, but it works nicely. My personal favourite is when you go out on Mahjong with a Ron. It might be because the lighting is different, but Kiryu's facial expression just brings out a lot of joy for me.
Not a fan of ports normally, but If this leads to more Yakuza ports for Switch 2(name pending) then great!
Now give us the other ones, especially 0.
I feel like anyone with half a braincell could have guessed there was a good chance that this hugely popular game would sell well on a hugely popular system. Why they assumed for years it would be a bad idea is kinda nuts.
Third-parties are learning their games CAN sell well on Nintendo platforms. Love to see it.
@IronMan30 More of them could have understood it a little earlier, couldn't they? It would have been great. I mean, earlier within the Switch lifespan, but I think you're referring to Nintendo's previous consoles too
I thought Switch fans were boycotting this series after one of the studio heads said Switch is for kids?
@ButterySmooth30FPS Nope, lol. Just, everyone hated the stupidness of BOTH Ryū ga Gotoku Studio's CEOs, the ex one (Nagoshi) and the current one. They both hated Nintendo.
Good to hear so bring on the other Yakuza games, always welcome more games on Switch
No physical release, except for Limited Run... when hey will learn? If I want to get digital games, I'd get them on Steam Deck or PC...
It's on my wishlist. I haven't played a Yakuza game even though my friend has highly recommended it. I was hoping to play to Yakuza 0 first, since everyone says to start with that one.
I recommend just waiting for Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami 1 is not a great starting point and is probably the weakest title in the serie.
Good. Yakuza 1 is infinitely better than the NL review score indicates.
Glad that they finally got the sales they deserve though I'm afraid they came to the realization too little too late. There's no guaranteed that the Switch install based will stick around for Switch 2 so had they start in the mid part of the Switch generation they would had easily sold even more but I'm glad this proves that there's an audience for their games on Nintendo platforms. I'm not expecting Yakuza or all its spinoffs games to all be available on Nintendo but getting them all on the big N platforms may come slow and spoil as the series is already mildly available elsewhere on the other platforms.
One series that could be save and benefit on Nintendo platforms and is still not here is the Shenmue series of games. For the longest time Yu Suzuki still tries to avoid releasing games in this franchise on Nintendo's platform only targeting the other platforms turning this into a failed franchise and still wonder why it doesn't sell. With Yakuza been a success on Switch hopefully this open Yu Suzuki's eyes to bringing the Shenmue games to Switch as well so the series had a better chance of seeing the light of days of completion rather than just ending on a cliffhanger like that.
Almost seems like it's better than a 6 .
@AStupidID
you know, they would never match a reviewer with a Nintendo first party IP that wasnt already a megafan of the prior work if not the genre at large, yet with eiyuden chronicles, yakuza, and others in recent memory that's exactly what happened.
Port the rest of the series please. Start with 6, please and thank you.
Zero would be a good fit for Switch I think, plus had some of the funniest missions for me, Miracle Johnson, and the bit with the band asking you to help them act tough which had some really funny lines.
I want Zero and I want it now!
Bring Yakuza 0 now
-140+ million install base
-popular series
-been asked for ports for years
“It sold this good?”
Turns out the stereotype that mostly everyone that plays a Switch only touched Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon is bogus.
They should obviously port 0 next.
Gib Yakuza 0!
(what's this about comments needing to be "constructive?"... the Kiwami review sure wasn't "constructive" lol).
I'll be looking forward to Sega eventually releasing a bundle and then eventually putting that bundle on a 75% off sale so I can finally justify adding another several-hundred-hour series to my backlog.
And then they probably lost some when they announced LRG was handling the physical version.
Wish them the best of luck, though.
Not my type of game but any success on switch makes me happy.
Guess if you build it they will come. Which is exactly what I say when they said they wouldn't bring Yakuza to Nintendo systems.
Love to see Switch owners proving what the studio head said a couple years ago about the Switch audience completely wrong.
Of course this game is selling like crazy, it's good!
They don't need to this site and look at the abysmal review and assume the game's too hard and not play it?!
Huh? Yakuza is on Switch? I thought the series was deemed too violent and "underground" for it just two years ago. Now the system is on its last legs and it's somehow worthy of a Yakuza game? Sega doesn't make any sense.
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