It looks like SEGA might be benefitting one next-gen console but not the other when it comes to the new Yakuza game.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon, which is Yakuza 7 in Japan (it did come out as Ryu Ga Gotoku 7, so it is a main instalment of the series), has been available over there for a while on PlayStation 4. We have yet to wait for the localized version, but we have to remember what Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, said last year at X019 in London: Microsoft has „been working on improving the release of Japanese series such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy and Yakuza on Xbox.”
A result of this could be Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s ESRB and PEGI rating. The North American and the European age rating board have rated the game by Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and… Xbox:
Aside from the fact that this essentially confirms the Xbox Series S (Lockhart), due to Xbox (2020) pretty much meaning multiple consoles (Scarlett product family…), it means Microsoft’s next-gen console did receive the rating while Sony’s did not! The PlayStation 5 is not in the list, and it was expected: the Redmond-based company has announced Yakuza: Like A Dragon to be „optimized for Xbox Series X.” „Games built using the Xbox Series X development kit are designed to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the Xbox Series X. They will showcase unparalleled load-times, visuals, responsiveness, and framerates up to 120FPS,” the game’s Xbox website reads.
We suspect what happened: Microsoft paid off SEGA to make its mainly PlayStation IP be a timed exclusive on its next-gen console, meaning the PlayStation 5 version of Yakuza: Like A Dragon won’t come until the autumn of 2021, and until then, the PS5 would only run the backwards compatible PlayStation 4 version.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is out this fall on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Series X (as a launch title).
Source: PSL
Please support our page theGeek.games on Patreon, so we can continue to write you the latest gaming, movie and tech news and reviews as an independent magazine.
Become a Patron!
Leave a Reply