According to Yokoyama, the Nintendo Switch is known in Japan as the “family-friendly” console. To an extent, the same can be said for many of the company’s previous releases. Franchises like “Super Mario” and “The Legend of Zelda” have long been foundational pieces of Nintendo’s success while providing relatively clean fun. Because of that reputation, he said, the presence of “Yakuza” games doesn’t make sense. He called his studio “people of the night world” that “don’t want to be walking around the day with everybody else.” He considers the “Yakuza” series to be more of an “underground” experience.
As one might expect, the news wasn’t met with much positivity on the internet. Twitter users were quick to point out the fact that there are already countless mature titles on the Switch, including “Grand Theft Auto” and “The Witcher 3” – albeit with sacrifices. Another user suggested the company won’t admit it’s unwilling to bring the series back to Nintendo due to the poor sales of “Yakuza 1 & 2 HD” on the Wii U (via NintendoLife). There’s also the theory floating around that the Switch wouldn’t be able to run the newer games in the series.
Because gamers don’t seem to believe Yokoyama’s reasoning, it’s left many to speculate. The only thing that’s certain, for now, is that Nintendo users may continue to be left in the dark when it comes to the “Yakuza” series.
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