In an interview with IGN Japan, Toshihiro NagoshiYakuza’s dad and the boss of NetEase’s Nagoshi Studio, revealed the first details on the new game he’s working on, which he apparently will have a dramatic story and is designed exclusively for the console and PC market, leaving out the mobile one.
For the uninitiated, after leaving Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku, Nagoshi founded NetEase Games’ Nagoshi Studio. The team currently has about ten members, mostly Yakuza and Judgment veterans, but the studio plans to expandwithout however exceeding 100 employees.
“We haven’t yet decided how many projects to produce at the same time. But the studio will have a numerically compact staff, which means it will be difficult to focus on multiple games at the same time,” says Nagoshi. “So there are limits. It is possible that we will work on an extra project in tandem, but the basic idea is to work on a project and put all our energy into it, to make a good game that is well received.”
As for Nagoshi Studio’s first project, the goal is undoubtedly ambitious, namely to create a game with a dramatic story that is capable of replicate Yakuza’s global success.
“We have been influenced by the movies and are interested in creating high-level human drama games,” said Nagoshi. “That’s what we find fun. As before, I hope to make games that can reach a global audience. So we’re not going to do things like smartphone puzzle games or anything like that. Those games are fun, but what we’re good at is that. that the world expects of us is an exciting game with a dramatic story. ”
Nagoshi obviously didn’t go into too much detail about his new game, which is still in an embryonic stage. However, he says that he has clear ideas and that thanks to the development team the first project is taking shape.
“When we decided to create a new studio, we knew we would leave behind the content we worked on previously. But I have a strong mindset and a lot of ideas I want to try, so I was confident that leaving the old series would give us the ‘opportunity to create new things. As a game creator, I always have a number of things I’d like to do someday and there’s one in particular I’d like to expand on. Now this idea is slowly taking shape, thanks to the contribution of the team, “says Nagoshi, suggesting the setting of the game it may not be Asian unlike his previous works.
“Looking at the sales of the Yakuza series, I think that having an oriental setting helped make it unique, but I don’t think that alone would be enough to make it a million-seller. There has to be something stronger, like an exciting story. the balance between gameplay and storytelling, and a high overall quality. So to make our next game a global success, I don’t think the setting is important. If a drama is good, then the French will be moved too for a film. Takeshi Kitano, and we in Japan can enjoy a film made in India. If the quality is good then anyone could enjoy it. ”
And when will we see the first Nagoshi Studio game in action? Apparently there won’t be long to wait.
“I want to be able to hear player feedback on the game we are working hard on, to correct the shot accordingly. So I hope to be able to show the game as soon as possible when it is in an ideal condition to be presented. It won’t take long. . “
