RGG Studio discusses Yazuka sales on Switch 2: “Many Switch 2 users are young, so to be honest, it’s unclear whether this will immediately translate into sales for Yakuza. […] Even if they don’t play it now, they might play it five years from now.”
Posted by Joseki100
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>**Q – One notable point is the expansion of supported platforms: in addition to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam, it will also be compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. This reflects the studio’s strategy of “transcending the boundaries of hardware to sincerely deliver our work to as many users as possible.”**
>A – Strategically speaking, many Switch 2 users are young, so to be honest, it’s unclear whether this will immediately translate into sales for Yakuza. However, the current game industry is shifting its emphasis to a stock-based business model where “if we release it, people will eventually play it.” Even if they don’t play it now, they might play it five years from now. We believe that broadening our reach now is a very honest decision for the studio, even in the sense of sowing the seeds for future fans.
They said this years ago, which was insane then and it’s insane now.
That’s very out of touch sale analysis lol
Sales will translate for a bunch of these older games from various developers that get ported to Switch when they are not full priced.
Do we have solid demographic data to back this up? I’m sure the average age of users is lower than PS5 but I’m not sure I’d say it’s to the point where it would be impacting sales of Yakuza titles.
Yakuza after trying their hardest to not be on Nintendo platforms wondering why Nintendo fans aren’t rushing to buy the games at full price
I’d love to know the age demographics of those who own a Switch 2.
My kids only have access to it because I got it. If it were just them there’s very little chance they’d have it right now given the price increase over the Switch 2, and relative lack of games exclusive to the new system.
My guess would be more adult buyers, but that’s based on nothing but a guess.
I will say though, I wish more publishers and devs thought more about the lifetime sales of their games. Stardew Valley is celebrating its 10 year anniversary and it still prints money.
I played Conquer’s bad Fur day & South Park on my N64 as a young kid. I’m not against my kids playing off the rails kind of games.
They always say this, which is mind blowing because the yakuza game content is so tame for an m rated game, even by Japanese standards. One of my favorite franchises ever, but i never think dark or extremely edgy when I think of the franchise, I think “goofy soap opera rpg”.
I don’t even think the claim that Swtch 2 users are young is even true. It’s a fairly high cost device and early adopters of new tech are usually adults not children. This statement wasn’t even true for the Switch, which had a fairly old user base. I don’t know why they keep saying this shit
Reminder that these guys said that the Yakuza Kiwami sales exceeded expectations on Switch at 20$ and they rewarded Switch 2 users by releasing Yakuza 0 with barely any new content at 50$. That plus releasing 4 Yakuza games in 9 months is a recipe for disaster. I hope these are still selling well though, they are great games and I hope the whole series comes to the platform eventually.
Didn’t Kiwami on Switch beat its expectations on the first week or something?
I’m literally in the middle of Kiwami 3 on it and having a blast. I really hope the rest come out for it. I want to replay the Judgments and 7&8 on it while playing the ones I haven’t played yet.
Kinda sounds like they games aren’t selling well but no one wanted a 50 dollar version of Yakuza 0, and Kiwami 3 has a ton of controversy and Resident Evil 9 released not long after.
I’ll get them at some point
The kiddie console stigma strikes again
Lol Yazuka
Honestly, it is the BEST overall ports on Switch 2 right now. I know RE just came out and I haven’t seen footage of 7, and 8. But so far, the Yakuza games have been very impressive
I’ll echo that this reads to me that sales aren’t very high. And speaking for myself as a fan of the series, with the prices for everything they’ve put out being ass on Switch 2, plus the physical versions being key-cards thus making them pointless, and Kiwami 3 just being a mess from so many angles, the Yakuza franchise has debuted on Nintendo consoles in a very discouraging state, which is why I haven’t touched any of it
Maybe sales are not that good because they don’t give us full version on cart, neither switch 2 editions and we pay more 10$ at the least for the older games when on steam I can get the same games for 9.99 or less
Thats some wild cope.
If we are learning anything, “young gamers” (if such a thing even exists), will have zero interest in playing old tradition games.
I mean, Yakuza 0 runs on the same engine as Kiwami 1 I belive, not sure why there wasn’t a Switch 1 port along side with the Switch 2 version.
RGG was surprised to see the sales numbers for Kiwami 1 on Switch 1, and they chose to basically ignore that install base for a much more expensive console (and climbing) with an install base that might be 10% of the Switch 1.
Now they’re back to this old stupid excuse when their games don’t sell like they think they should, despite it had and exceeded previously before… There’s so much fighting against Yakuza 0, it was an uphill battle from the start… Switch 2 release only, GKC “physically”, and full price to boot. meanwhile Kiwami 1, was $20 on release with over 150 MILLION user install base. I don’t think many people were going to pick up the Switch 2 SPECIFICALLY only for ONE Yakuza game that has already been out with added online components that require a subscription to play, on top of a $500 console and an EXPENSIVE newer SD Card Express…
>Many Switch 2 users are young
I’m pretty sure most Switch 2 owners are adults, especially this early on in the consoles lifespan
Clearly enough people bought Kiwami on Switch 1 to justify porting over 2 and 3.(0 Director’s Cut was probably already planned).
Nagoshi hasn’t been part of Sega for years, but his ghost still fuels the “I really don’t want to put Yakuza on Nintendo system” energy.
They say that when Cyberpunk is also on switch and probably has more sales than Yakuza.
Looks like Yakuza flopped on Switch 2 since they came out with this statement.