How accessibility helped the Yakuza franchise explode in the West

sportskeeda.com:

When I first entered the business of being a game journalist, the Yakuza 4 was right around the corner on the PlayStation 3. The game sparked my love for the franchise I champion to this day, but it took several more years for the Ryu ga Gotoku (Yakuza) series to erupt into the mainstream.

What has changed? What allowed the series, now known as Like a Dragon in the West, to become such a mainstream success? Much of it can be credited to the franchise's popularity, and Masayoshi Yokoyama of RGG Studio agrees.

After all, video games these days are incredibly expensive. It’s hard to invest in a series you’ve never played, especially when there are eight mainline entries to the said franchise. It’s incredibly daunting, and when you tack the cost of games on top of it, many gamers would prefer what's immediately before them.

Again, I started with the fourth game in the Like a Dragon series, and though I loved it, it certainly took a lot for me to come back and try the earlier games. Why? Accessibility. Picking up a PS2 and finding the first couple of games can be incredibly expensive.

Accessibility strikes hard here. Yakuza Kiwami, Kiwami 2, and the 3, 4, and 5 ports have all shown up on modern consoles. Eventually, these would find their way to subscription services like PS+ and in particular, Xbox’s Game Pass.

Eight games are available on Game Pass for the Like a Dragon franchise, and players can play anytime they want, provided they have a subscription. Suddenly, it’s incredibly easy to try the series! There’s no major monetary commitment, and if you like them, you can buy them permanently.

Masayoshi Yokoyama, Director of RGG Studio, recently spoke to Twinfinite and had something similar to say:

Now that gamers can try the series