Sega Clarifies Yakuza Franchise's Title Change in the West
The revered Yakuza franchise is about to undergo a huge change, far as its Western audiences are concerned, because Sega has just announced that it's going to sunset the title in lieu of a different one. Specifically, future "Yakuza" games will instead be titled "Like a Dragon," which is a far cry from what many fans will be used to, but as the publisher has explained, it's not without its reasoning.
While Yakuza has become a household name for this franchise in the west, the same cannot be said for it in Japan, where its entries had always been known as Ryu ga Gotoku, which translates to «like a dragon.» In fact, the developer of Yakuza games, RGG Studio, is named after this very same phrase, and Sega now claims that the time is right for the franchise to do away with its Westernized title variant, so that its marketing could «more closely align» with the original.
Yakuza Spin-Off Like a Dragon Gaiden Revealed For 2023
A Sega representative recently went on record saying that they could confirm that the series will be known as Like a Dragon moving forward, which has since been echoed by Scott Strichart, Sega's localization producer. This piece of news comes just after the announcement of Yakuza 8, which is still generally referred to as a "Yakuza" game by the community. While the title change has been hinted at since the launch of Yakuza: Like a Dragon — which was effectively just Yakuza 7 — it's almost certain that it will take a good long while before everyone stops using the franchise's old name.
This change is effective immediately, as was shown during the announcement of a number of upcoming Like a Dragon games. Like a Dragon: Ishin's launch in the west, for example, is going to be the first new franchise entry to
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