Sega as we know it today wouldn’t be the same without Yakuza. The 👍beloved series helped make Kazuma Kiryu a household name in the gaming world, becoming a global succ𒀰ess that far outstretched its origins as a niche Japanese title. Much of this success is thanks to the minds of Toshinori Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato, two individuals who helped steer the series’ trajectory and pull its publisher out of a malaise that it subsisted in for much of the seventh console generation.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio helped Sega und✨erstand the value of original Japanese ideas, and how existing series and growing properties like Yakuza can hold tremendous♌ value at home and abroad if approached with the right amount of care and expertise. Ever since the release of Yakuza 0 the series has become a juggernaut, receiving annual releases in the form of traditional sequels and spin-off games like Judgment that are almost always critically and commercially successful.
Now, Nagoshi and Sato, two men who helped steer Sega into the successful waters ♏it occupies today, are leaving the company after several decades. It was rumoured prior to the official announcement, but the gravity of this news still stings, and will have a profound impact on not only the publisher, but the entire industry. It’s like Jeff Kaplan leaving Blizzard or Hideo Kojima departing Konami, shifts of such an unexpected magnitude that all you can do is step back and marvel at what the consequences might end up being.
Fortunately, the future of Yakuza and Judgment is in safe hands with the recent return of Ryuta Ueda, alongside Nagoshi and Sato leaving behind an esteemed legacy that can be built upon with new, exciting ideas that don’t require the guiding hand of its creators to succeed anymore. That’s something to be proud of, knowing that since the series’ inception the studio has been able to foster a phenomenal amount of talent that is able to craft their own titles from scratch all while using the foundations establi🤡shed by those before them.
I will miss ꦆthe input of Nagoshi and Sato, something fierce, but it would be silly of me to label Yakuza༒ or its neighbouring titles as doomed because they’re flying the nest. If anything, I’m eager to see how much things change alongside how much they stay the same. This is a formula that has succeeded because of its willingness to stay true to specific locations and characters, and there’s no telling if that ethos will change in the months and years to come.
Fear is natural in a situation like this, especially with rumours swirling around Nagoshi and Sato departing to Chinese companies where the creativity and innovation of the Yakuza property might be exchanged for something far less ambitious, but it’s far too soon to draw any concl🦹usions, and we’d be foolish to do so. The studio celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, and thus 2021 is a time of evolutionary change as key figures leave and existing developers step into higher and more lofty positions.
Yakuza’s core vision will likely change as a result of this shift, but not in a fundamental way, bu🅠t a complimentary one with the financial stability and creative bravery to embark on journeys we never would have thought about before. It all began in Kamurocho, and we’ll likely never leave that charming little town behind, but now Yakuza and Judgment are free to broaden their horizons while maintaining the Japanese charm that makes them so iconic. None of it will be the same without Nagoshi or Sato, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and we’d be wise to show support to the new leadership the best we can.
Compared to ten years ago, which also aligns with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s inception, Sega is a very different company. It recognises the value of classic properties and doesn’t waste millions on mediocre remakes of Bionic Commando and Dark Void in tired attempts to appeal to the Western market. It realises that Sonic, Yakuza, Super🦹 Monkey Ball, and so many others have value, and this worth can be expanded upon and experimented with in endless ways that fans will welcome and accept. This has resulted in so much success, and even as key figures at the publisher leave for new horizons, I imagine these victories will continue to surface in new and unexpected ways. Even if Yakuza does end up becoming a shadow of its former self, I’ll still be coming along for the ri🎃de.
