Yakuza Studio Would Like to Release Games on the Nintendo Switch, But Switch’s Family Friendly Image in Japan Makes it Hesitate

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has expressed interest in bringing its critically-acclaimed franchise Yakuza to the Nintendo Switch, but according to studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama, the studio is hesitant owing to the mature themes of its games.

Speaking with GameSpot, Yokoyama stated that the family friendly image of the Switch in Japan is what makes the studio hesitate in bringing Yakuza to Nintendo’s platform.

“Do we want to put a title like this where we’re going around and picking a fight with the world and doing all this Yakuza stuff, on a Switch,” said Yokoyama.

“We still kind of think of ourselves as people of the night world, right? We don’t want to be like walking around the day with everybody else,” Yokoyama said. “Like for us, it’s kind of showing this kind of underground feeling. I think the underground kind of feeling is what we want to do.”

Ryu Ga Gotoku recently unveiled 3 new games set in its Yakuza franchise: Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon 8. As might have become obvious, Ryu Ga Gotoku seems to be using the Like a Dragon name for the Yakuza franchise going forward, bringing the names for the Western releases in line with the franchise’s Japanese name.

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is set for release on February 21, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is set for release in 2023, and Like a Dragon 8 is set to come out in 2024. Judgement and Lost Judgement were also just released on PC.