Key things
- Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch is selling better than expected and exceeding sales targets.
- Despite initial doubts, the game's success shows the potential of selling an older title on a new platform.
- Yakuza Kiwami's positive performance on Switch could bode well for the series' future on Nintendo hardware.
According to Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku, recently released Yakuza Kiwami The Nintendo Switch port is selling better than both companies expected. During the August 2024 Nintendo Direct, Like a Dragon fans are in for a big surprise: the series is finally coming to Nintendo Switch with a remake of the first game, Yakuza Kiwamiwhich is the debut of the series on the platform. Kiwami launched on Nintendo Switch in early October, eight years after it was first released on PS3 and PS4.
Despite the popularity of the Nintendo Switch, there didn't seem to be any plans to bring one Like a Dragon series per platform. Formerly, ex Like a Dragon Series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi has said that he sees the platform as something for “kids and teens,” reducing the series' chances on the Switch. Since Nintendo previously passed on the release of the original Yakuza Nagoshi's belief probably has some merit. While that sentiment may still hold true for the series, it seems it does Yakuza Kiwami is already doing better than expected on the Nintendo platform.
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The Nintendo Switch version of the game, based on a recent livestream with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama (translated courtesy of Install Base). Kiwami sold much better than expected. Yokoyama says that the switch port Yakuza Kiwami is “selling like hotcakes”, says he is apparently a good character. Yokoyama says that when Sega executives were forecasting sales targets Kiwamihe thought too “conservatively”.
Yokoyama says Yakuza Kiwami on Nintendo Switch is 'selling like hotcakes'
Yokoyama went on to say that he had some doubts about the game's chances, given how it had been released for nearly eight years on other platforms. Yakuza Kiwami digital only on Switch. Through it all, he shows how happy he is to see people shopping and playing Kiwami on the Switch with how hard it is to sell an older game on a new system. Yokoyama even noted that he got his own copy of the game on the Switch, saying how nice it is to have the game on the go.
Yakuza KiwamiThe Switch release is in stark contrast to when the series was last released on Nintendo hardware. In 2013, the Wii U received a port Ryu ga Gotoku 1 & 2 HD for Wii Ua set of HD remasters of the first two Yakuza games on PS2, with this HD collection originally released on PS3 a year earlier. Despite the good reception of the ports, the Wii U version sold poorly compared to its PS3 counterpart, remaining only in Japan. Yakuza Kiwami Doing well on the Nintendo Switch bodes well for the future Like a Dragon series about future Nintendo hardware.