Like a Dragon? Yakuza? Like Yakuza?
In spite of its very modest commercial performance in the West, the Yakuza franchise is generally well liked among enthusiast media, and its fans are passionate. Earlier this year, Luke Plunkett of Kotaku wondered where the hell Yakuza 5 was. The Yakuza games are just the sort that tend to hook people in once a gamer makes the investment, and this can be seen especially with the mainline entries, with its dynamic plot full of political intrigue and personal conflict and a combat system that evolves throughout playing the game.
It’s common knowledge that localizations for the mainline entries are reported to be quite costly, due in large part to their text-heavy nature. Also, franchises that are not commercial blockbusters in the West but are also lengthy experiences built on immersion and involvement like the Yakuza franchise may have difficulty breaking through the Western market. However, I’m prompted by discussions I have seen online in the past few months to see if measures beyond continuing to localize Yakuza games are necessary for the franchise.
So, the question I ask to our readers is this: Would rebranding “Yakuza” be better for the franchise? If so, what would you do? Change the franchise’s name in the West? What type of series should it be marketed as? Or instead, do you think that the series as it is known outside of Japan is fine and needs little change from Sega beyond more investment in advertising? Would you even be satisfied with a digital-only Yakuza that sold as much as it has previously?
Tell us your thoughts!