Yakuza producer will not put Kiryu into a goddamned fighting game or any future videogame: 'I believe going cross-medium to do it is the better option'

Kazuma Kiryu has shied away from appearing in any fighting game, despite spending his time smacking people with his fists or throwing motorbikes. Toshihiro Nakoshi, the creator of the original series, told Red Bull in 2020 that he did not want Kiryu to attack any women.

I secretly hoped that Masayoshi Yokoyama, who will be taking over Sega in 2021 from Nagoshi, would have a different view on Kiryu and his place in the FGC. He kinda does. But don't get too excited. It's still pretty unlikely.

Yokoyama was questioned by Polygon about the possibility that Kiryu, and other Yakuza figures like Ichiban Kazuga and Goromajima could guest star in a fighting video game. Yokoyama seems to have bigger multimedia plans for the gang. He says he would prefer that they cross over into other media. It seems that Yokoyama is already on his way to making this happen, considering there will be a live-action TV series coming out on Amazon later this year.

It seems that despite his desire for Yakuza to transcend videogames other developers are still trying to get its characters to appear as guests. "We get all kinds of invites to appear in games, but we've never gone to their door and said 'let's in'," Yokoyama said. "I think that going cross-medium would be the best way to go."

The Tekken enthusiast in me is a little disappointed by the response. Kiryu, along with Final Fantasy 7's Tifa lockhart, is probably one of the most requested characters for Tekken 8 DLC. I've been wearing a Majima Cosplay on Claudio now for several months, so my desire to see Yakuza crossovers may be a bit biased. Maybe one day. A girl can dream.