Judgment was intended to be a one-off spin-off of the Yakuza series that put players in the shoes of a detective, but the international popularity of the game might lead to it becoming its own series.

Judgment is an action-adventure game that stars Takayuki Yagami - a hard-boiled detective in the manner of an old '80s action star who has the fashion sense of a modern pop star. Yagami begins investing a serial killer known as the Mole, who has been murdering Yakuza members and stealing the eyes of his victims. Yagami soon finds himself immersed in a conspiracy involving the government, organized crime, and a case that he had won years ago during his time as an attorney.

Related: Judgment Review - Yakuza: Ace Attorney

It seems that the popularity of Judgment outside of Japan took the developers by surprise, as producer Daisuke Sato told MeriStation in an interview (translated by PlayStation Lifestyle) that the international sales of Judgment exceeded their expectations.

The surprising popularity of Judgment also means that it might become a full-fledged series of its own, as Sato also claimed that the development team is interested in producing sequels to the game.

The Yakuza series was considered a niche franchise outside of Japan for many years, but the games have slowly found an international audience. Sega has claimed that western fans took to the Yakuza series because it doesn't pander to the audience by removing elements that are considered to be "too Japanese" in the localization process. The Yakuza games are as Japanese as they come in terms of their combination of wackiness and over-the-top action sequences, which has helped the Yakuza series forge its own identity in an industry where many studios are afraid to go against trends.

Judgment was a great game, and the idea of Ace Attorney meets Batman: Arkham Asylum meets Shenmue has a lot of potential for future storylines. There are still plenty of crimes that need solving in the Kamurocho district, and Yagami might be just the guy to help clean up the streets. The fact that Judgment sold well internationally means that at least one sequel is pretty much guaranteed to arrive in the future.

Next: Judgment Has A Subplot Involving A Perverted Version Of Ash Ketchum