Yakuza Fans Bracing Themselves for 'Monster Class' Game Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

ign.com:

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be the longest Yakuza game to date, with the boss of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio saying "if you go at it continuously, you’ll get sick".

As reported by Japanese outlet Game Watch and translated by Automaton, RGG studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama said Infinite Wealth, essentially Yakuza 8, is a "monster class" video game.

"The games take a long time to clear, don’t they? [Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name] not so much, but Infinite Wealth is a monster-class game longer than anything we’ve made so far," Yokoyama said.

"If you go at it continuously, you’ll get sick, and it won’t end with just one or two all-nighters. This means that a lot of people are going to hesitate to play the game or will end up having it wait on their shelves. I found the possibility of that kind of outcome sad, so I thought, we have to get everyone hyped up enough to play it."

Yokoyama, as the boss of a studio known for its colourful statements, therefore said RGG had to create a "festival-like atmosphere" around Infinite Wealth so people are excited to play through it as quick as possible, "even at the cost of their health."

He continued: "We have to get people to play the game in about a week or a month, even at the cost of their health, which is why it’s our duty as creators to generate enough to be excited about. I’ve thought this way for the past year or two. For a game like Infinite Wealth, we have to get a festival going on. It would feel kind of rude to just drop such a long game and be done with it."

The Yakuza games, now titled Like a Dragon, are notoriously difficult for completionists looking to do everything, as ticking every box can take three or four times as long as doing just the main