Yakuza Series Still Considered 'Niche' Despite Hitting Sales Milestone
As part of Sega's annual report for 2020 covering the lifetime sales of its games, the company has publicly stated that the Yakuza series has amassed 14 million sales across all titles. This is a rather big step up from the Yakuza series' 11 million total sold copies reported in 2018.
Part of the Yakuza franchises' most recent success can be attributed to the last two years, when the series gained a huge spike in popularity. Out of the Yakuza series' 15-year lifetime, over 20 percent of the series growth has taken place since 2018 with a total of about three million copies. There is no explicit reasoning for this sudden spike in growth, other than possibly the success of the most recent installments into the Yakuza franchise with titles such as Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Despite its growing success, many gamers have speculated that the Yakuza series popularity would not be able to keep up with the changing times in the video game industry. However, Sega credits the games' success to its depiction of Japanese culture as the biggest selling point for the games.
Seemingly overnight, the humorous approach to gameplay has become one of the series' biggest talking point. Fans can not get over some of the insane side quests in the Yakuza series; they help keep the community's attention on the game. Sega said the "made in Japan" style of content in the Yakuza games are highly praised by overseas users, similar to how the Persona franchise has found a home with audiences.
Sega's report also claims that moving forward, the company will have to keep treating the games as hidden gems by targeting a niche market. Sega's business model relies on releasing the Yakuza games on several platforms and services, using digital distribution to reach that target audience across the seas. Rather than releasing the hard copy game to a handful of countries, Sega credits PC as the star player in the Yakuza series' worldwide business strategy.
For anyone who has not had the opportunity to try the franchise out and see what all the hype is about, the newest installment, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is on sale at Amazon for only $39.99 as of this writing. Many gamers have praised the series for its more lighthearted, comedic approach to gameplay compared to what most AAA game companies put out. Hopefully, Sega can keep the momentum going and bring the Yakuza games to new heights.
Source: PC Gamer
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