Series producer says that the Nintendo Switch isn’t the right platform for Yakuza

The Yakuza series has historically been tied to Sony consoles, despite not being an ‘official' exclusive. The series has seen releases on the PS2, PS3, PS4 and even the PSP, though things have started to change. The first two Yakuza titles got a release for the Wii U several years ago. As we already know, the Wii U didn't sell particularly well, so Yakuza didn't manage to top charts. Unfortunately, this has led to series producer, Daisuke Sato, to believing that even the Switch wouldn't be a good fit for Yakuza.

Speaking to French site, Gameblog (translated by Nintendo Life), Daisuke Sato isn’t convinced that the Yakuza would do well on Nintendo’s smash hit console, the Switch. He mentions that Yakuza 1 & 2 for Wii U was a significant failure, and despite the success of the Switch, doesn’t think there is a market for that kind of game on the console.

Sato said “That being said, when it comes to Switch, I am convinced that it would not be the ideal platform on which to develop Yakuza games. Maybe the public is not expecting that kind of game on Switch. They may be used to different games. It may not be the ideal platform.”.

Basing any franchise’s possible success on a game released on a poor selling console like the Wii U seems misguided. In the same way Yakuza managed to get two games on the PSP, there is no reason why there isn’t room for Yakuza games on the Switch.

Sato did mention that he thinks Yakuza could do well on the Xbox One, as he feels more users would be interested in that type of game. We do know that Yakuza 0 is making its way to PC later this year, so we may start seeing more platforms added to the list.

KitGuru Says: I think that Sato is missing a trick here when it comes to Yakuza on Switch. The Switch is a completely different beast when compared to the Wii U. Would you like to see Yakuza on Switch?  

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