Yakuza without Nagoshi is always a little weird, but we’ll have to get used to it. Not that the former Sega executive intends to change his life. As previously confirmed, Nagoshi Studio aims to achieve “games carried by dramatic and moving stories. It’s what we know how to do and it’s what is expected of us“, he said. “I like booze and I like women so yeah that’s probably why I’m so good at Yakuza games“, he slips in passing.
Today, the 57-year-old veteran leans a little more on the question by quoting in passing a famous film director. “Of course, I can’t reveal too much about our game just yet, but I can give a rough idea. It will certainly contain some violence, but I don’t intend to get too close to thriller or even horror. I want my game to be more like a Quentin Tarantino movie, so humor is welcome. I just don’t want to do something shocking and bloody and brutal. I want something human with a bit of madness and a bit of seriousness, that’s what I’m looking for right now“, he confides.
As for where the development of the project really is and the release date it is setting, Nagoshi will also remain quite vague. “You probably won’t have to wait too long. Or let’s say: I think I’ll release it much sooner than other developers!“Beware of promises all the same: Nagoshi Studio has only been active since the beginning of the year and is still in the recruitment phase. But that’s enough for Toshihiro Nagoshi to confirm a detail that will not have escaped fans of financial news.”Another important point: NetEase has money. And lots of money!“
The mystery of Toshihiro Nagoshi’s departure from Sega remains intact, however, especially if his next productions are in line with what his previous team was already doing. Asked about the question, Nagoshi explains that he had ended up climbing too high in the hierarchy of Sega and that he had therefore strayed too far from the craft of creation. His biggest fear? Let him be installed one day on the highest step of management.
“Especially in the past few years, I had risen to the highest level of Sega management. And I said to the current owner: Guys, I don’t want to end up CEO of Sega. I’m a gamer and game maker, that’s the direction I want to go professionally. Eventually I realized that the prospects were better if I started my own business and didn’t stay with Sega. And at the same time, Sega can now train someone to be a future CEO“, he says, adding that he still maintains good relations with his former home. A home with which he will forever be associated, for Yakuza and Judgment but also Daytona USA, Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX, SpikeOut or Binary Domain.
- Also Read | Nagoshi Studio will always make games in the style of Yakuza