Yakuza developer explains Like a Dragon 8 title differences
Yakuza developer RGG Studio has released a statement to clear up confusion over the title of the next mainline game in the series.
When Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was revealed at last week's Xbox Games Showcase, many (myself included) believed it was a completely new game being announced in the series, and not the sequel to 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
However, following subtle rewording of its marketing for the game, RGG Studio and publisher Sega explained that Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is actually the title for Like a Dragon 8, which was initially announced under that name in September last year.
The new statement from RGG Studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama explained the game will be sold in Japan as Ryu Ga Gotoku 8 (literal translation Like a Dragon 8), whilst in the West the game will be sold as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
So, not much has changed for the title of the game in Japan, which has seen all of the main Yakuza games released as Ryu Ga Gotoku plus a number. Overseas, the Yakuza brand name has been dropped in favour of Like a Dragon to «more closely align with the Japanese name».
It feels a bit hypocritical, then, that Like a Dragon 8 is still being sold in different regions under different names. Yokoyama said the difference in titles between the game's Japanese and Western release is because the studio has «determined the messages and themes of this latest game could be perceived differently by fans in Japan and Asia versus those in the West who started the franchise from Yakuza: Like a Dragon».
Yokoyama continued, explaining Japanese players are free to add whatever subtitle they feel most suits the game as the developer «felt one subtitle simply isn't enough for Ryu Ga Gotoku 8 in Japan».
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