{"id":55867,"date":"2026-01-19T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=55867"},"modified":"2026-01-19T15:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T06:49:41","slug":"like-a-dragon-executive-producer-says-he-treats-each-new-entry-like-it-could-be-the-last-i-still-havent-thought-about-what-happens-to-ichiban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/like-a-dragon-executive-producer-says-he-treats-each-new-entry-like-it-could-be-the-last-i-still-havent-thought-about-what-happens-to-ichiban\/","title":{"rendered":"Like\u00a0a\u00a0Dragon\u00a0executive producer says he treats\u00a0each\u00a0new entry like it could be the last. “I still haven’t thought about what happens to Ichiban”\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It may be hard to believe now, given the success of the franchise, but the original\u00a0Yakuza<\/strong>\u00a0that\u00a0released\u00a0back in 2005\/2006 for the PlayStation 2 was meant to be a standalone title. According to series executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama,\u00a0his approach to the series\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0changed much since then, as\u00a0the\u00a0habit\u00a0of\u00a0treating\u00a0each new title as if it were the last has stuck with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with Famitsu<\/a>, Yokoyama reveals that he only started thinking of Like a Dragon as a series once work on Yakuza 3 began. For context, he feels that Yakuza 2\u2019s ending (which ended on a somber but satisfying note) could have been the end of the series. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite\u00a0<\/a>sequels and spin-offs now being a given for the franchise, Yokoyama still\u00a0works on\u00a0each Like\u00a0a\u00a0Dragon installment\u00a0with a sense of finality:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven now that it’s a series, I still create each installment thinking that it could be the final chapter. As an example, I haven’t thought about what happens to Ichiban Kasuga in the future yet [after the events of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth<\/a> and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii<\/a>].\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the topic of Ichiban, Yokoyama says that he never creates characters with popularity in mind: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFundamentally, I believe character popularity\u00a0won’t\u00a0emerge\u00a0unless the game sells well.\u00a0So\u00a0I’ve\u00a0never created a character thinking that they are going to be popular.\u201d\u00a0On the other hand, he does not deny that\u00a0players\u2019 reactions affect how much screen time a character will get. He cites Goro Majima as\u00a0a\u00a0chief example of a character who started playing increasingly\u00a0prominent\u00a0roles in the series after proving to be popular among fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related:\u00a0
The Like a Dragon series still can\u2019t be called mainstream in the West, developers say. \u201cThere\u2019s an audience, but we still have a long way to go\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties include major hints about where the Like a Dragon series is headed, RGG Studio lead says<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RGG Studio director and Like a Dragon series executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama talks about his “habit” of treating each new entry like it could be the last one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":55876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-55867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nLike\u00a0a\u00a0Dragon\u00a0executive producer says he treats\u00a0each\u00a0new entry like it could be the last. "I still haven't thought about what happens to Ichiban"\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"RGG Studio director and Like a Dragon series executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama talks about his "habit" of treating each new entry like it could be the last one.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/like-a-dragon-executive-producer-says-he-treats-each-new-entry-like-it-could-be-the-last-i-still-havent-thought-about-what-happens-to-ichiban\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Like\u00a0a\u00a0Dragon\u00a0executive producer says he treats\u00a0each\u00a0new entry like it could be the last. 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