NetEase hires Toshihiro Nagoshi and founds Nagoshi Studio

Yakuza series creator leads Nagoshi Studio for Chinese publisher NetEase.

A few months after leaving Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, along with Daisuke Sato, the charismatic Toshihiro Nagoshi joins NetEase to take control of his own studio, not Sakura Studio as rumors might suggest: “One of my goals in this studio – create an open atmosphere. This may seem like an overly simplistic goal. But even the most talented creators cannot reveal their abilities if they are isolated.

I think the first step to creating high-quality games and conveying the essence of entertainment with strong motivation starts with creating a transparent atmosphere in the studio. This means holding open discussions that ignore seniority and hierarchy. This means not being afraid of mistakes, but also not being afraid to correct them, but seeing strengths in failures.

This means not giving up in achieving the ideal, but striving to get closer to it. It may seem so simple, but the simplest things can suddenly turn out to be the most difficult and at the same time the most important. Nagoshi Studio aims to create content for the whole world to enjoy this atmosphere.”

At the opening of Nagoshi Studio, a fan of Gucci shirts spoke about the evolution of entertainment: “The wave of change that began in our industry at the end of the 20th century has led to even greater changes in the industry in the 21st century. The evolution of content, the way it is produced, and business models driven by advances in technology and infrastructure have led to a paradigm shift, and these changes continue at an ever-increasing pace.

What yesterday was considered the pinnacle of steepness, suddenly instantly becomes obsolete. For authors, this makes it incredibly difficult to work in today’s industry. But no matter how times change, I believe that what people generally expect from entertainment hasn’t changed at all. People see their dreams in entertainment. They rely on entertainment to give them hope in life, calm them down in hard times, and add excitement to happy times.

People turn to entertainment to kick-start all sorts of events. The appetite for entertainment is the same today as it was yesterday. Obviously, there are differences between the past and the present in how entertainment is consumed, in its volume and speed, but the essence remains the same. The only way to offer this essence to the world is for all creators to seriously and clearly approach the works they create, working hard to get closer to the ideal.

Nagoshi studio core team

• Daisuke Sato, producer (yakuza): “Nagoshi Studio is a brand new company. Our creative team, led by Toshihiro Nagoshi, is committed to creating high-quality console games that will become world famous. We are just starting to build our culture as a new company that will focus on delivering the highest quality products. One thing I plan to do as a company director is to make sure we reward our creators for their work when we get the results we want. I want our studio to be a place where we feel great satisfaction for both the products we make and the work we do.”
• Taichi Ushioda, director: “As someone who grew up in the age of games, I want to pay tribute to the game industry and fans. I think the best way to do this is to release games that people really enjoy. But do you, with people in the gaming industry, encounter other factors that prevent you from achieving this simple goal? At Nagoshi Studio, we not only have a passionate and experienced staff, but also a foundation that allows us to create the highest quality games that stand the test of time and global markets. We have everything you need to focus on work and put a smile on the faces of game fans. We hope game fans are excited about what’s in store for us at Nagoshi Studio.“
• Kazuki Hosokawa, artist (Yakuza, Judgment): “I want to make games that people can’t resist. My goal has always been to make beautiful, fun, and expansive games that people don’t want to give up. I’ve had good days and bad days making games, but I’ve learned one thing: you always have to challenge yourself if you want to achieve your goals and create something great. Our new studio is full of ambitious people and it’s the perfect place to challenge yourself and make games that people are obsessed with. We do not limit our creativity or possibilities because we believe there are no limits.”
• Toshihiro Ando, ​​artist (Justice): “My childhood dream was to become a manga artist or a rakugo storyteller. In high school, I wanted to be an artist or a graphic designer. But I fell in love with Virtua Racing in college, and before I knew it, I was working for a video game company.. Working in this field may have been a natural progression for me, as I have always had a passion for art and entertainment. The passion I feel is still strong today and I hope to create great games that people will love to play in this new venture. A key part of this is creating a comfortable work environment where we can all enjoy being creative. Now that I’m working as a designer at a brand new company full of potential, I’m committed to creating stunning, beautiful visuals, that maximize the excitement of the games we create. I want my designs to help everyone who plays our games have a fun and memorable gaming experience.”
• Naoki Someiya, artist (Yakuza, Judgment): “For a game designer, there is no greater pleasure than knowing that people are immersed in the game’s visuals and enjoy the world they are playing. “They create. There are a few things I would like to do with the new Nagoshi Studio Inc. These include creating the greatest art the industry has ever seen and creating titles that users love. However, our main goal is to create as many games as possible that will blow the world away.”
• Koji Tokieda, programmer (Yakuza): “I’ve been making games with Toshihiro Nagoshi for the last twenty years. And now I’m looking forward to releasing games that people will love thanks to Nagoshi Studio! I think the mission of a game developer is to make games fun. The main job of Nagoshi Studio programmers is to develop games using a programming language. However, we are also looking for people who can contribute to new projects and improve the quality of our games, regardless of their role in the organization.”
• Masao Shirosaki, Game Designer (Yakuza): “I always dreamed of becoming a game designer. I want to create the excitement that so many great games have given me so that I can share it with others and, in a way, make people feel good. I look forward to working with Toshihiro Nagoshi to create games like this at Nagoshi Studio.”
• Mitsunori Fujimoto, Engineer: “You may have high hopes for games that bear the Nagoshi Studio name. We created this company to create games that meet these expectations in terms of scale and quality. We create games that are deep, epic and full of ambition to please our fans. My role is not to develop games per se, but to ensure that game developers can focus on their work. We started from scratch, with no infrastructure, pipeline or systems needed to develop epic, deep games. There’s a lot of freedom here, but it’s also a big enterprise.”