Not long ago, Sega veteran Toshihiro Nagoshi left the Japanese titan to set up his own studio called Nagoshi Studio, backed by Chinese gaming company NetEase. Since that announcement, there hasn’t been much in the way of news about what his team is doing, what kind of game they’re making, or when we might get to feast our eyes on it – until now.
In an interview with IGN, Nagoshi revealed that his studio is currently only staffed by around ten members. His intent is for the team to put all their hard work into one game for the time being, and he wants it to be a good first showing that is received well by fans and critics. They’re not waiting around, though, and it sounds as if we could be seeing it sooner than we think.
“I like to be able to hear players’ feedback to the games we work hard to develop, to consider the reaction and adjust the end goal accordingly,” Nagoshi tells IGN. “So I hope to be able to show off the game as soon as it is in a condition that is good enough to share. And we will ensure the game is impressive when we do so. I don’t want to take too long.”
As for what kind of game it will actually be, he is adamant that it’s going to be along the same lines as what we’ve seen from him previously – with his desire being to replicate the triple-A success of Yakuza – and not something in the mobile sphere. “We are influenced by movies and are interested in creating games that offer a high level of human drama,” he says, going on to explain that his audience expects “dramatic” and “moving” stories from him, and that’s what he plans to deliver. “So you won’t find us making, like, smartphone puzzle games or whatever.”
Nagoshi has ideas floating around his head, but he’s workshopping one from what he calls his “personal locker” with the rest of his team right now. When asked what kind of setting this new game will have, he explains that story must always take precedence over setting, and that while the Japanese setting may help give the Yakuza series more character, the game’s setting alone does not make it a more quality title.
So, while we might not know precisely what Nagoshi Studio is working on or when we will see it, it’s clear that fans of human dramas like Yakuza will be in for a treat, and that we might just end up seeing something sooner than we think.