Operation Backlog Completion 2025

RGG Summit Set for September 20

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Aug 302024
 

RGG Studio has announced the next RGG Summit.

It will be held on September 20 at 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET, and they’re expected to announce the next game in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series.

Previously they said their next game would be revealed at TGS, which is roughly a week later, so I’m not quite sure what to make of that. Either they meant they’re going to show their next game at TGS and it was misinterpreted to mean an announcement since they hadn’t mentioned the RGG Summit yet, or they have multiple games to announce.

Let’s talk briefly about the past RGG Summits.

The first one was in September 2022. Like a Dragon Ishin had been announced the previous night at a State of Play, and the Summit provided more information about that, along with the first reveal of Like a Dragon 8 (later titled Infinite Wealth) and the surprise announcement of Like a Dragon Gaiden. While not being announced at the Summit, Judgment and Lost Judgment PC ports were shadow-dropped afterwards.

In short, the first RGG Summit was huge.

In June 2023, the RGG Summit returned to show trailers for Gaiden and Infinite Wealth that had already been shown at other events, with a little more information provided.

Then in September 2023, there was another RGG Summit that provided a deeper look at Infinite Wealth.

So this is the first time since 2022 that we’re going into an RGG Summit without the next game(s) already having been announced (unless you count the Switch port of Kiwami). That opens up the potential for it to be an exciting event with multiple announcements like that first RGG Summit was.

Personally, I’d love to see a new Judgment game, and I haven’t lost hope for a Dead Souls remaster. A Kenzan remake would also be quite a pleasant surprise. It feels too early for the next mainline game to be announced, but another Gaiden side game isn’t out of the question. And let’s not forget the mysterious “Yakuza Wars” trademark we thought would be the TGS announcement.

I’m probably in the minority on this, but I don’t want a Kiwami 3. Yakuza 3 might feel a bit clunky to play, but its remaster is still fine and I’d rather them use their time and energy on other games.

Meanwhile, I’ve started Infinite Wealth but am still early in the game, and I’m partway through Lost Judgment. Here’s hoping I make enough progress before September 20 so that I don’t risk spoilers by watching the Summit…

What are your hopes and expectations for this year’s RGG Summit?

RGG Studio to Reveal New Game at TGS

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Jul 192024
 

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth just came out at the end of January, but we’ll find out soon what RGG Studio has lined up next.

Back in May, Sega and RGG Studio opened up auditions for actresses to appear in the next Like a Dragon game. The 5 winners have now been announced in the latest live stream from RGG Studio.

The winners are Misoshiru, Ai Hongo, Enako, Kaho Shibuya, and Seiko Kirishima. The audition was to appear as both in-game models and in live action scenes, so the next game will probably have some sort of live action mini-game or side content again.

Unfortunately there are no subtitles for the live stream, so I can’t confirm what they’re talking about, but it seems RGG Studio also said their next game will be announced at Tokyo Game Show 2024.

It’s not clear if this is referring to the next Like a Dragon game that the auditions were for or something else. During a panel at Anime Expo, however, they reportedly said fans would be “surprised” by their next game.

For as fast as RGG Studio releases games, it feels a bit too soon to be announcing Like a Dragon 9, and that wouldn’t be a surprise unless they’re doing another genre shift. Maybe another Judgment game? A new Gaiden game, since they said its success made them interested in making more? A Kenzan remake? Or, hear me out, a spin-off starring Ichiban in a full fantasy RPG styled after Dragon Quest. Like a Dragon Quest.

Whatever it is, I’ll probably be interested in it.

Now, I’ve more or less been avoiding all Like a Dragon discussions since Infinite Wealth came out, to avoid spoilers. I still need to finish both that and Lost Judgment. Will I be done by the time of Tokyo Game Show, so that I can dive fully into whatever news this may be? Tokyo Game Show is a little over 2 months away, so… probably not. But I’m excited anyway!

What do you think RGG Studio is going to announce?

Potential Yakuza News Coming This Friday

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Apr 252022
 

This Friday, April 29, Sega is holding an event called Yakuza Super Talk Stage at Niconico Chokaigi 2022.

(Or… the Ryu Ga Gotoku Super Talk Stage, since I assume they’re using the Japanese title.)

Now, I’m not entirely sure when this was announced. I saw someone reference it as a place to potentially see Yakuza 8 news, and then I went and saw it listed as an event on Gematsu.

The important thing is that this presentation will feature director and executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama answering questions and might include information about the future of the series.

So, what could potentially be shown at this event?

(Hey, it worked out well for me when I predicted Kingdom Hearts announcements.)

Yakuza 8

The next mainline Yakuza game feels like a safe bet. Yakuza 8 has been confirmed to be in development as another game following Ichiban, but has yet to be revealed. Since they release Yakuza titles pretty frequently and Yakuza: Like a Dragon came out in 2020, I wouldn’t be at all surprised for Yakuza 8 to have a 2022 release date.

What will they title it in the west, though? Dropping the number for Yakuza 7’s western title makes that quite a question. Yakuza: Like a Dragon 2, maybe?

Anyway, I think there’s a good chance we’ll learn more about Yakuza 8 on Friday.

Kenzan and/or Ishin Remasters

No, I will not let it go.

So many games people said would never be localized are being localized now. RGG Studio knows people want Kenzan and Ishin. The major sticking point is said to be over-saturation. I don’t think the games’ content will actually get in the way like some fans fear. The PlayStation Wrap-Up mysteriously recognized Ishin as Yakuza Ishin. I say it’s a question of when, not if. Could this finally be the time?

A remaster of Kenzan and a remaster or port of Ishin would be the first step toward localization, so I have my fingers crossed for such an announcement.

Judgment PC Ports

Unlike with Kingdom Hearts, where I thought PC ports were the most likely answer and turned out to be completely wrong, I think Judgment and Lost Judgment PC ports are unlikely. The report that the Judgment games can’t be brought to PC due to Takuya Kimura’s agency still remains a rumor, but nothing has really debunked it, either. On the other hand, a new claim is going around that a Lost Judgment PC port exists, but people say the screenshots could easily be from the Amazon Luna version.

But who knows? Maybe it’ll happen. I was completely wrong about Kingdom Hearts, after all.

Mysterious Unannounced Title

Back when they confirmed the development of Yakuza 8, they also said unannounced titles outside of both the Yakuza and Judgment series were also planned. Now, you might think it’s pointless to predict such a game for a Yakuza event, but since I’m counting Judgment as a plausible prediction, I think another spin-off also qualifies. Of course, we don’t know if those unannounced titles are linked to Yakuza or not, so this is probably the least likely prediction.

But who knows?

What do you think will be announced at the Yakuza Super Talk Stage event on Friday? Will any of these predictions actually come true? Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments!

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