Yakuza Kiwami Might Only Be A "Download Distribution" On Switch

The fact that people have to wonder if a game is getting a physical release at all is extremely sad. It will only get worse from here folks

Perhaps more Yakuza games are on the way and this one is intended to be part said collection? Otherwise, we still might see this one get a cartridge in Hong Kong through Play-Asia.

Limited Run have a SEGA distribution deal by the looks. Recently releasing Valkyria Chronicles (YES!) and Sonic X Shadow Generations. So I wouldn't rule out them releasing a physical version themselves

I'll take it. It was like pulling teeth for Sega to get this series on Switch in the first place(although it shouldn't have been). I'm just happy they finally put a game from this series on Switch and at only $20.

Limited Run, or do it for Switch 2 when they start pumping out the rest of the series probably.

That's super depressing... ugh

I don’t care, I’m just happy that my favourite series is FINALLY available on my favourite console! Why did ya take so long Sega?

I hope Yakuza Zero is next. That game is something special.

I meeeeeean yeah, sure. I think a portable console is not a great choice for a series with incredibly long and boring cutscenes.

Perfect thumbnail for this.

@LikelySatan of course not, you are absolutely right about playing this on a portable console. This game would be terrible to play on a Switch Lite, I recommend you try playing it on a normal Switch or a Switch OLED because those you can play them on your TV.

@GrailUK
We need Crazy Taxi!

@Uncle_Franklin Yah yah yah yah yah! Agreed.

Meh, I'll take it. Considering it's just 20 bucks instead of a full 60 it's better than not getting Yakuza at all.

@JR150 I agree at US$20 I’m fine with that. Nice to not pay the Switch tax

@KryptoniteKrunch Oh it's only 20$? That's nice. I was fully expecting them to release it at 60$ but I guess Sega aint Nintendo

Typical Sega still making bad decisions like always. We can't even have a normal physical release anymore unless it's Sonic or Super Monkey Ball.

This is great news! Yakuza/LaD is a great series of games and a great addition to the Switch library!

@mariomaster96 Well of course, they don't make consoles anymore.

@GrailUK Well they had been doing that for a while, Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden were also distributed through LRG as well.

@GrailUK will never again give a penny to limited run. Over priced junk delivered one year later. They can go bankrup

Unfortunate but I think this is for the best for the game to launch at only 20$ Day 1 which is just a great deal, gonna be an impulse easy buy for a lot of people(including me).

I'm pretty sure they'll make a physical once they have at least Yakuza 0 out on Switch as well, then you can make a physical version with both games included for at least 40-50$.

@fabiop What they do is wait for patches and updates so it's as complete on the cart as possible. I think they should be applauded for this instead of re-releasing the same game everytime there is some dlc or an update. I don't see this as Limited Run's fault...more a commentary of where the industry is. Again, I'm happy waiting...it's a shame we have to.

@Serpenterror True, and I get SEGA own Atlus, but I'm never ready to jump to that conclusion until I see their logo.

Considering the release date is so soon, I'm not surprised it's digital only

@GrailUK well no. Not correct. Very often they still put inside the first version unpatched.
They wait because of poor logistic and because they do not start production till the time they collect all the money. Zero risk. And if money is not enough they reserve the right to lower quality at their discretion. A disgrace

Considering cheaper games by SEGA get physical versions when extra content is added (e.g. Sonic Mania and Sonic Origins got "Plus" expansions which resulted in physical versions), I think it's a relatively safe guess that there'll be a physical bundle for some combination of Yakuza 0/Yakuza Kiwami/Yakuza Kiwami 2 in the future.

@mariomaster96
Yeah unlike some companies that release old games at nearly full price (looking at you Rockstar with RDR) Sega seems to be the only company that cares about pricing their older games accordingly. Persona 3/4 and Valkyria Chronicles 1 are older games published by Sega and they're only listed at 20 dollars on eShop as well. They're rather good about this.

Not too worried about this one. If it doesn't get a wide retail release (let's be real here), then an LRG release is all but inevitable.

Releasing another Yakuza game as a physical launch title for the next console would be a really smart move for Sega, however.

If anybody except LRG does a physical that is fine.

Still buying. This is a put up or shut up moment for Nintendo consumers. SEGA is gonna let this die with one game if nobody buys it. Just like the wiiu. The switch successor could literally be a portable PS7 and SEGA is just gonna point to these sales and say nvm. The earlier games are digital on xbox as well.

I need them to port the rest of the series as that is the only way to get Virtua Fighter on to a Nintendo system. Yakuza/RgG/LaD/J/LJ is basically SEGA’s version of NSO.

@LikelySatan Indeed, I’m sure glad other series like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear weren’t ported to the Switch. Imagine how long those would be! Or games like Xenoblade Chronicles with their long cutscenes, oof!

TOTALLY not a good fit for the Switch!

@Ryu_Niiyama That's their fault for making boneheaded decisions. Can't always make their corporate stupidity your financial problem.

Like others here I’m not surprised Sega is going digital-only with this game. They’ve got LRG to do the dirty work of producing physical copies. I’d expect LRG will print Kiwami and any future Yakuza titles as standalone releases, rather than in collections, though.

@fabiop
I’ve shopped a lot with LRG over the years, and while there are times they print release-day 1.0 versions of games on cart, just as often they’ll communicate that they’re delaying production until devs finish an important patch.

My sole gripes with LRG are the long wait and their tendency to release games singly when a collection would be so much better (like the Blaster Master Zero trilogy). But whether doing open preorders like LRG, or preprinting low quantities like Super Rare, you can’t really blame these boutique publishers for wanting to mitigate risks. As someone who still prefers to buy games physically, I’ll plunk down my money and be patient, if that’s what it takes, and as long as the vendor delivers quality for the price.

@Teksetter that’s the problem. There is no value for money. Most of the times they sell the unpatched version, in some cases even games burnt on cdr discs… selling for 5/10 times the price faking the limited nature of the edition. We all know they have plenty of stock but they need to milk physical collectors. Not a scam company but close to.

@dskatter yup. Add anything with long unskippable cutscenes, obvs.

Well, IIRC the creator didn't want Yakuza to share the store shelves with more family-oriented Switch stuff, so that's one way to solve the issue.😜

Wow, I'm shocked lol

@GrailUK that makes sense - I was shocked and very happy when Alien Isolation got a physical many years after release.

The bigger surprise is Sega doing something smart and releasing the game at $20 to put it on par with other platforms. Yakuza may have a chance to thrive on Switch after all! Yakuza is a fantastic series and is absolutely worth trying if you never have before.

It'll sadly be LRG. Another gigantic global publisher (Sega) not bothering to do it themselves. Ridiculous.

@EVIL-C I was assuming the same thing especially considering they just announced a Valkyria Chronicles Remastered release there and that is in a similar vain of release to this

Disappointing, but honestly one I'm at least ok with. I hate it when these late ports come and don't have a physical, but charge it like a full new release. This one Sega definitely saw that they couldn't price it at a full physical price, so if anything it being digital only, but only $20 makes it much more tolerable to me

Major bummer but at least the price of the game is good

Even with the downgrades, I'd buy this day 1 for Switch to show support if a physical version is available. Digital only means I'll stick to the Steam version on my Steam Deck OLED.

Oh well, not all is lost because I'm sure Limited Run will come through!

@Samalik what is boneheaded about not selling to a market that doesn’t want to buy? A company isn’t a charity. They go where the money is, and I am glad they do as that is why they finally put the series on xbox and at least tried the wiiu prior. But I’m sure others feel the way you do. Only time will tell if Nintendo is a suitable market for this series. Also 20 dollars is hardly “my financial problem”. I buy the series where I want to play it most.

It’s only 20 dollars so it’s fine ig. I’ll be buying it anyway.

We do have Nintendo Switch gameplay of Yakuza Kiwami too btw if anyone wants to know. I’ll send it here if anyone wants it.

@fabiop
Yes that CDR debacle was inexcusable and people were understandably outraged. But I’ve only ever bought Switch games from them, and mostly standard editions at that. I’d say they’re comparably priced with other physical releases, and LRG has delivered every time for me. Granted, I’m in the States and enjoy relatively reliable and cheap shipping from them. Money paid (with the understanding there will be a long wait) and item received, so the value is there for me, absent any better alternative. I wish every game had a day-of physical retail release, and I hate to see LRG’s model of slow, outsourced distribution proliferate, but if that’s the only way I can get Alien Isolation, Assault Suit Leynos 2, Yakuza, or Valkyria Chronicles on the shelf, then I’ll take it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtorPVejrys&list=WL

If anyone wants, here is the Switch gameplay/footage of how it runs.

While I prefer physical for burrowing from the library it’s $20 and not a “cloud” version so whatever. They probably could have waited for Switch 2 at this point so it’s nice just to have on Switch at this late date.

Sega doesn’t need any more money from Kiwami. It’s already on every platform. Those who won’t buy it because of being digital only will not hurt its sales.

Better to have a digital only release rather than not at all. Day one for me. Have a feeling we might eventually get Kiwami 2 and maybe a two game physical release.

"We don't plan to bringing more games of the series to Nintendo Switch, because this one didn't sell well" (and of course, we don't know why).

Nobody? Okay…

@Ryu_Niiyama hey it's good that you don't mind it digital if that's genuinely how much you enjoy the game. But a lot of other people here do mind the Digi-only release. So if people don't buy, that's SEGA's problem for not confirming a physical release.

They might not be a charity, but neither should the consumer be one to the company, that's what I'm saying.

That quickly went from a 'day one purchase' to a 'will never purchase'.

Shame but I’ll buy it just to support the series on Nintendo. I hope we at least can get Zero too and then perhaps the rest on Switch 2.

dang, in that case I will vote with my wallet and wait for a price drop. I refuse to buy digital games at full price, lol.

$20 is a steal for this game if this does well it could be very good things for the Yakuza franchise and Nintendo

If it’s digital only I’ll pass. If they want to sell me the game they need to start by having it be both physical and digital at launch.

@Poco_Lypso Not full price. Not trying to convince you to not wait for a sale, I do all the time. But this is definitely a reduced price, I think Kiwami was $30 or $40 when it first dropped. $20 reflects that it's an older game & I personally feel it's a great price.

Considering this is a basic port of an 8 year old remake of a 19 year old game that’s being released for 1/3 of the usual game price, I can’t say I’m surprised this is digital-only. What is surprising is the amount of comments who do seem surprised, or who flat out won’t get the game now, which strikes me as a bit odd considering the aforementioned description.
Either way, this doesn’t change anything for me, so I’m not fussed about it.

@yohn777

The price is fine. But I have a massive backlog and no rush.

@FullMetalWesker maybe they have the game on other systems and would double dip for a physical switch version. Digital versions are generally considered inferior...

I’ll be so mad if this is true.