Yakuza Originally Proposed To Microsoft And Nintendo Was Turned Down

Sega’s Yakuza series is well known for its success in storytelling and entertaining action. It is also notorious for being primarily exclusive to PlayStation. Now in a recent interview with EDGE Magazine, the series was proposed to a list of platforms that denied it from launching. Microsoft and Nintendo both turned down the now highly praised series.

EDGE spoke with Sega Chief Executive Toshihiro Nagoshi on the origin of the game. Nagoshi told the outlet that when he originally proposed the game, Sega said no to the his pitch following the release of the Dreamcast. During the time as well, Sega was merging with arcade company Sammy. Nagoshi went to Sammy boss who gave him the go for Yakuza.

Following the decline from Sega also led towards Microsoft and Nintendo, who also turned down the offer to have Yakuza on their current platforms. However, Sony was eager to take Yakuza, resulting with the game being exclusive on the PlayStation 2, which became a major seller in Japan and recently in the West with Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 6. This makes sense as Nagoshi states in the interview that the intended audience for the title was for Japanese males:

“I decided I wouldn’t mind if female players didn’t like the game; then that no children were allowed. When I decided all that, the only target left was the Japanese male.”

Yakuza, though primarily played on Sony’s platform, also had a game released on Nintendo’s earlier platform, the Wii U. Both Yakuza 1 and 2 HD were ported to Nintendo’s Wii U, but were poorly received following their release.

Though Microsoft made the decision to turn down Yakuza originally, it doesn’t mean that we will never see Sega’s franchise on Xbox. Stated back in June, if fans on the platform show they’re interested in the game, the studio will make a version for Microsoft’s console.

Source: EDGE Magazine via ResetEra