Sega will officially drop the Yakuza name and call the series Like a Dragon. It becomes a game.
This follows the announcement of Like a Dragon Gaiden – The Man Who Removed His Name. (opens in new tab) Watch the trailer for Like a Dragon 8 (opens in new tab) Tokyo Game Show this week. The series has been called Yakuza in English releases since 2006.
of explanation (opens in new tab) Created by Sega for Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett.
It makes sense: In Japan, the series has always been called Yakuza.The studio making the series is also called Yakuza. So the branding will only change in future Western releases. Still, expect to see a series called Yakuza intermittently while we’re all used to swapping.
However, I’m not sure what all of us at Game Press are going to do about that change. It was a good thing.
Formerly known as Yakuza, the series has enjoyed unprecedented success over the past few years, selling 2.8 million copies. (opens in new tab) Only on PC. It’s something Sega hasn’t promoted much in the West over the past few years, but it’s starting to treat it as a big release. (opens in new tab)
That Japanese vision is probably also why we’re getting a remake of Like a Dragon: Ishin! (opens in new tab), a spin-off of the Samurai Era Yakuza.Also why do you only get subtitles and not dubbed (opens in new tab): You have to stick to that vision.
