It’s Like a Dragon 8 in Japan & Yakuza: Infinite Wealth in the West

If you were like and your first reaction to the reveal of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was, “how are they making so many of these at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio?” Well, it turned out that the game was Like a Dragon 8, which was revealed last year. So why does the game have a different title in the West compared to Japan? 

In Japan, the game will be sold as Ryu Ga Gotoku 8 (which translates literally to Like a Dragon 8), while in the West, the game will be sold as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. 

To clarify the confusion, developer RGG Studio has tweeted their explanation for the name change.

 It’s a long-winded explanation, but it boils down to one simple fact: the new game drew in a new fanbase, and to build upon that in the West, they need to make the titles as least confusing as possible.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon was something of a soft reboot for the franchise, introducing a new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. 

Although the explanation is weird, it’s odd to me that RGG Studio feels that they need to split the titles across Japan and the West. Following the news last year that they felt comfortable enough to bring Like a Dragon: Ishin to the West, we were lining up to get more of a singular Like a Dragon experience across the world. 

The trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase could have been clearer and left most people thinking it was a new game, not the previously revealed and what we assumed would be called, Like a Dragon 8. 

What do you make of the name change between territories? Let me know in the comment section below.