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Yakuza creator Nagoshi shares early info on his new studio’s first game

Bullet Club

Banned

Yakuza creator Nagoshi shares early info on his new studio’s first game​


The Yakuza veterans feel story is more important than setting

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Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi has been sharing his thoughts on the first game being developed by his new team, Nagoshi Studio.

In an interview with IGN Japan, the designer made a number of references to the studio’s first project following the departure of Nagoshi and other Yakuza veterans from Sega.

Nagoshi suggested that his new NetEase-backed studio won’t be straying too far from what made the Yazuka and Judgment games so successful.

“You may have seen our studio logo, which is similar to a film design,” Nagoshi explained. “It’s not meant to represent a film, but rather a ‘drama’ that we want to deliver as a game experience.

“We think it’s fun to make puzzle games for smartphones, but what we are good at, and what the world wants from us, is an emotional game with drama.”

Nagoshi also stressed that the studio’s first game is still in its earliest stages and hasn’t officially entered the planning stage yet.

“We’ve just built the studio,” he said. “As for the idea, it’s one that I originally had myself. We’re still in the process of expanding it and solidifying it, while listening to the opinions of the rest of the staff.”

Nagoshi’s games are highly regarded for their detailed Japanese settings, but the designer stressed that the quality of the game and its story was more important to the team than its setting.

“I can’t tell you about the setting yet,” he said. “When Yakuza sold well in the west, people thought it was a unique game with an Asian setting. But it wasn’t just the uniqueness of the game that made it sell more than a million copies worldwide.

“There has to be a more solid reason for its success, and it has to be about the overall completeness of the content – whether it’s that the story is moving, the battles are fun, or the game is well-balanced. It’s not about the setting, it’s the overall quality of the game as a whole that makes it work worldwide.

“For example, when it comes to dramas about human relationships, a movie by Takeshi Kitano can bring tears to the eyes of French people.

“It’s not a question of who made the film, of what nationality. The beauty of entertainment is that it can be enjoyed by people of any nationality, as long as the work is well made.”

Nagoshi officially announced the creation of Nagoshi Studio in January. The studio is a “wholly owned subsidiary” of Chinese company NetEase Games, and will focus on developing “high-end titles for worldwide release”, primarily on consoles.

In an interview with Famitsu last month, Nagoshi confirmed that the studio has already started work on its first game, and that it will still have a Japanese focus much like the Yakuza and Judgment games.

“We’re Japanese, and we’re a Japanese studio, so naturally the market that we understand the most is Japan,” he explained.

“We’ve been desperately trying to find a methodology that would allow us to create something that would be accepted around the world while keeping our focus on Japan. However, I don’t think I have been able to give a complete answer to this question until now.

“In order to find the answer, to pursue the ideal, I created Nagoshi Studio. However, the focus will remain on Japan in the future.”

Nagoshi also noted in the Famitsu interview that his studio will focus on only releasing games when they are ready, instead of rushing them.

“I used to work with Nintendo, and I envied and admired their stance of ‘we won’t release a game until we can say it’s done’,” he said.

“I was envious of and admired that stance, and I want to keep that same policy of not abandoning ideals, but persevering until those ideals come true.

“If you’ve never made a game before, you might think that this is an obvious thing to say. But if someone who makes games hears it, they might think, ‘Are you sure you can say something like that in this day and age?’” he laughed.

Source: VGC
 
He's too much if a coward to do it because it's not "culture appropriate" to criticise people from other cultures.
You never know with these people. IIRC Kotaku once ran an article slamming the (Japanese!) studio behind the Pokemon anime for lightening a (Japanese!) character's skin tone by a fraction of a shade compared to the game.
 

Fbh

Member
Looking forward to what he does with his new studio, though it sounds that it's still like 3 years away at the earliest.

Slightly disagree with him about the setting though, I do think the setting and story are a large part of what makes Yakuza successful. If you only boil the franchise down to the actual gameplay they can often be quite repetitive and basic. But the fun and unique world (at least for someone in the west), the plot and weirdness help elevate the other elements and make it really stand out from what we get from most western devs.
 

Metnut

Member
So we’re still gonna get Yakuza games from the holdover team at Sega but this new studio from the original creator is going to make additional similar games also? Sounds like more content for all of us!
 

Kuranghi

Member
Do you know where I can find sailors

When my auntie was younger, she would be on holiday with my uncle in a little european coastal towns she would pretend to be a prostitute by saying "'allo sailor want some fun?" really loudly around the locals to try to embarrass him.
 

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

Speaking to German publication 4Players, the former Sega veteran suggested that he didn’t want to stray too far from the formula that made the Yakuza games such a success: drama, violence and humour.

“Of course, I can’t reveal too much about our game yet, but I can give a rough idea: It will definitely contain violence as a game element, but I don’t want to go too much in the direction of thriller or even horror,” he said.

“I want my game to be more like a Quentin Tarantino film – so there can be humour. Something that’s just intimidating or just bloody and brutal doesn’t suit my taste – I want a human touch, a bit of silliness and a bit of seriousness, that’s what I’m in the mood for at the moment.”

Asked when fans will get to see the new project, Nagoshi suggested they won’t have to wait long.

“Again, I have to be vague. But it’s like this: If I have an idea and want to realise it – then it soon bubbles out of me,” he said.

“I’m not the type who can hold something like that back for long. So, you probably won’t have to wait too much longer…. Or rather: I think I will go public with it much sooner than other developers would!”

Asked by 4Players why he decided to leave the company after more than 30 years, Nagoshi said he wanted to return to focusing on game development rather than the management role his former employer was grooming him for.

“Especially in the last few years, I had reached the top management level of Sega,” he explained. “And I told the current owner, ‘Guys, I don’t want to be the CEO of Sega here.’ I’m a gamer and a game maker, I want to push my career towards that as well.

“Eventually I came to the point that I saw better prospects for that if I started my own company and just didn’t stay with Sega. And at the same time, Sega can now develop someone into a future CEO.

“So I think that the interests of both sides, Sega’s and mine, are best served. At the same time, this leads to a continued very friendly relationship with Sega, even after I have left there.”
 

Comandr

Member
Can’t wait for his Bully-Yu Yu Hakusho inspired game, Yankii: Ryu ga Koko

Edit: im sad now because I was joking but now I actually want this.
 
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Of course Nagoshi couldn't come up with new ideas while in Sega, despite being the one calling the shots.

I'll follow with interest but I'm still angry at the man.
Well said, That man killed the creativity SEGA. Its like Tom Kalinske making out he wanted more sports game on the Saturn, despite being the the one calling the shots
 
This guy is like Maverick (from Top Gun) of the Japanese gaming industry. With 30 years of experience he could easily sit in that cushy upper management job, but he just wanted to be in the trenches making games. Awesome dude, awesome games. Can't wait to play whatever he's making.
 

Amiga

Member
Slightly disagree with him about the setting though, I do think the setting and story are a large part of what makes Yakuza successful.

Had enough of the Yakuza setting. I probably know Kabukichō more than most Japanese. Time to change it into a Macau or South Korea.
 

Fbh

Member
Had enough of the Yakuza setting. I probably know Kabukichō more than most Japanese. Time to change it into a Macau or South Korea.

Yeah at this point after like 8 mainline entries and a couple of spinoffs it's definitely starting to get old.
Main reason I skipped Judgement when it originally launches was because it was also set in Kamurocho, which made it feel like a big missed opportunity to apply the Yakuza formula to something different.

But at least originally I do think the Japanese setting was a part of selling point. The japanese atmosphere, sounds, food, side activities (Karaoke, Hostess club, etc) really gave the franchise a completely different vibe compared to most other stuff on the market.
 

A.Romero

Member
This guy is like Maverick (from Top Gun) of the Japanese gaming industry. With 30 years of experience he could easily sit in that cushy upper management job, but he just wanted to be in the trenches making games. Awesome dude, awesome games. Can't wait to play whatever he's making.

I'm not sure. It seems a lot of them tend to be not so good at the management part of the job. Don't know about Nagoshi in particular but I'm thinking of a few guys that made good games with big studios and later couldn't make it on their own. Management also needs it's own set of skills that not everyone has.


On topic: I disagree about the setting, specially from a guy that has been working on the same setting for so long. I'm looking forward to whatever he brings in the future but I wouldn't dismiss the setting. At least for me part of the charm of the Yakuza series is precisely that I feel I'm playing a Takeshi Kitano gangster movie. I'm not so sure he would be able to replicate the formula in other setting and still keep the charm. Even the Judgement series didn't stray far from the original setting...
 
I'm not sure. It seems a lot of them tend to be not so good at the management part of the job. Don't know about Nagoshi in particular but I'm thinking of a few guys that made good games with big studios and later couldn't make it on their own. Management also needs it's own set of skills that not everyone has.


On topic: I disagree about the setting, specially from a guy that has been working on the same setting for so long. I'm looking forward to whatever he brings in the future but I wouldn't dismiss the setting. At least for me part of the charm of the Yakuza series is precisely that I feel I'm playing a Takeshi Kitano gangster movie. I'm not so sure he would be able to replicate the formula in other setting and still keep the charm. Even the Judgement series didn't stray far from the original setting...
Hmm good point. Artists are often poor businessmen. What matters more is they partner with someone they trust to run the business side of things so they can focus on the creative stuff. Itagaki, Inafune, and Suzuki have done poorly, but it's not a total loss. Kojima obviously has done well so far. Kamiya and Mikami of RE fame seemed to have done ok for the most part after leaving Capcom. I look forward to ex-Team Silent's new game under Toyama.

As for Nagoshi and the setting he picks, it really depends on what he's passionate about besides Yakuza movies. He spearheaded Binary Domain, which I thought was a brilliant take on 80s cyberpunk anime OVAs. The Fist of North Star spin off was not too bad. His Tarantino comment has me thinking it might be a western, possibly American, setting, which could go either way.
 
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