In my opinion, a series can only be considered a real series when it has decent "wars" games: "GTA: Chinatown Wars," "Dune: Spice Wars," "Star Wars: Empire at... Wars" Spice Wars," and "Star Wars: Empire at ... Wars". Before these series were called "Wars," who had ever heard of them?

And now another battle has begun: Sega has filed a trademark for "Yakuza Wars" (via Gematsu). Sega filed the "Yakuza Wars" trademark last month, on July 26, and we know absolutely nothing about it, except that it is related to a video game and, curiously, does not bear the current naming of the "Yakuza" series, "Like A Dragon."

However, the name does suggest a spin-off of some sort, perhaps along the lines of Sega's "Sakura Wars" RPG series, or perhaps an expansion of the clan battle system of the previous game. Or, at worst, it could be a forgotten mobile title, but I'm holding out hope. Last month, the developers of "Like A Dragon's" teased fans that their next project would be something that would surprise them, and a cherry-flavored sequel to "Infinite Wealth" is certainly something no one would have expected.

Plus, of course, Like A Dragon has taken the form of experimental spin-offs: there's a samurai game, a zombie game, and a game in which Kiryu is a spy. All of these new spin-offs, which are all different, are a surprise to fans and at the same time perfectly in tune with the way the "Like A Dragon" studio has been working on the game for years.

It's also good timing: PCG's "Like A Dragon" review of the latest game scored 80%: a live-action show based on the series will air on Amazon later this year, and RGG Studios has a dating-sim-like spin-off in the yakuza pile. If they want to add to it, I won't complain. For years, people have wanted Kiryu-chan and Majima to hook up.