After 32 years of career within SEGA as head of Sega Rally, Monkey Ball and, more recently, the Yakuza saga, Tonishiro Nagoshi would be close to signing a contract with the Chinese company NetEase and leaving what has been his home for so long. .
According to Bloomberg, the Japanese creative has not yet “signed a definitive contract and his duties have not yet been finalized”, although he is expected to “create his own team and create new games” with NetEase from now on, when his departure is finalized. throughout September. This move, says Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki, can be seen as NetEse’s counterattack against Tencent over its latest acquisitions, such as Sumo Digital or Platinum Games’ investment, as both companies struggle to lead the animation, games and entertainment market. Japanese comics to advance in this market after the Chinese regime’s restrictions on video games.
At the moment there has been no official statement from either party about this alleged move that would take effect in the coming weeks. In any of the cases, the departure of Nagoshi from SEGA should not represent a great change regarding the operation of his studio, Ryu Ga Gatoku, and the development of his star saga, Yakuza, which already has other main deliveries and several spin -offs. Among them, the imminent Lost Judgment, which will arrive at the end of September.
Nagoshi’s departure will have more impact for SEGA in terms of brand image, as he was one of the most recognizable faces of the company for decades and responsible for some of its great successes. In the same way, for fans the departure of the creative can be a blow and doubt the direction and quality of his series after his departure, although we will still have to wait for his contract with NetEase to be formalized and see the new direction of the saga. Yakuz from now on. The last thing that was advanced in this regard is that Yakuza will continue to be a turn-based RPG after the success of Yakuza Like a Dragon.