In Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Sega’s self-deprecating humor hits hard
A certain scene in the newly launched Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has been gaining attention among Japanese players for its unexpected touch of self-deprecating humor. In the scene, the Yakuza series’ long-standing protagonist Kiryu Kazuma seems to be singing praises to Sega, but one user noticed an implied meaning that might suggest that the developers are taking a jab at their own history.
As Kiryu enters the in-game retro arcade, he reminisces about how, coincidentally, all the innovative and amazing games he used to play back in the day were made by Sega. He comments on how the creative company kept innovating with each new title and will probably be around for years to come. Continuing with the tongue-in-cheek self-pat on the back, Kiryu goes on to say, “I don’t really know much about the industry, but this ‘Sega,’ or whatever the company is called, must be a first-class company that makes ginormous profits.”
The above-mentioned user points out that Kiryu’s idealization of Sega (particularly referring to the “first-class company with ginormous profits” part) is due to the fact that he isn’t aware of Sega’s darker moments, i.e., the failures of the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, which coincidentally took place while he was imprisoned in 1995 for the murder of Sohei Dojima.
While both consoles are fondly remembered among older generations of gamers, Sega’s last two attempts at breaking into the home console market both ended up in commercial failure, ultimately leading to Sega withdrawing from the market and restructuring itself into a third-party developer. The Sega Saturn, while successful in Japan, was hindered by the release of the Nintendo 64 and other factors, and the Dreamcast was unable to hold its ground against the PlayStation 2. While Sega suffered substantial losses in the aftermath, it appears they don’t have qualms about joking about their ups and downs.
The Kiryu moment in Infinite Wealth isn’t even the only example, as Sega has a history of self-deprecating humor. The 2001 Dreamcast title Segagaga is a “Sega simulation” RPG, in which you need to help the mid-crisis Sega succeed in the console market (against a certain giant that holds 97% of the market) by uniting its employees and defeating enemies.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is available for the PC (Windows/Steam), Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One and PS4/PS5.
