In the 15 years since its debut on the PlayStation 2, it has defied the packageable soundbite to help sell the idea in the west, widening the gap with the series' runaway success in Japan. The pitch, a semi-open world mob drama that flip-flops between serious and silly and steeps itself in Japanese culture over multiple games and crisscrossing narratives, had a difficult time translating to American sensibilities.
Publisher Sega seemed ready to give up on localizing the titles for good as each new release trended downward in sales by the end of the PlayStation 3's lifecycle.
On the precipice of a new generation, the Yakuza series' fortunes have been reversed. The series is more critically and commercially successful than ever in the west, thanks in no small part to the skillful localization efforts that have bought the games a new lease on life.
The critical and commercial reaction to Yakuza 0 changed a lot of mindsets at Sega and overwhelmed the calendars at Sega of America. Suddenly, Yakuza was not just something they do every so often — now, Yakuza was a priority. According to Stebel, the publisher was looking toward its localization branch in hopes of doing more with Yakuza and doing it quickly.
"Sega of Japan and the RGG studio [Ryu Ga Gotoku is the Japanese name of the Yakuza series, and translates roughly to "Like a Dragon"] team really started trusting our team more and more with the localization process. We just wanted to get western fans caught up," Stebel explains.
While the series has certainly been more successful than ever, there are still hurdles left to overcome in the west.
"We've essentially added two audio languages, five text languages to subtitle tracks, and we're launching on five platforms at the same time," Strichart begins, "so the next thing that has to happen in order to grow the franchise is simultaneous shipping. We can't sit around and wait to launch a title like six to nine months after the Japanese release and expect it to have the same kind of impact."
Strichart notes that this is going to require significant cooperation with the Japanese studio and completely readjusting timelines, but believes that's the inevitable next step for the series.
'Yakuza: Like a Dragon' might never have happened without 'Yakuza 0'
'Yakuza: Like a Dragon' takes the franchise in a bold new direction, but that never could have happened without 'Yakuza 0.' Here's why.
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