Sega has released a new interview with veteran game designer and producer, Toshihiro Nagoshi, who is celebrating his 30th year with the gaming giant.
Since 1989 Toshihiro Nagoshi has worked on array of acclaimed and influential games, including Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, Shenmue, Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX, and the long-running Yakuza series.
Looking back on his career, Nagoshi recalls his early successes, saying, “I entered the company as a game designer, and honestly, I managed to reach the ranks of director, producer, and management positions during my twenties.”
Talking about the struggles of developing the Yakuza franchise, Nagoshi explains that first game was a challenge to make, and although it sold well, it didn’t recoup its production costs. He was then urged to make a sequel as quickly as possible in order to maintain momentum for the series.
“The volume (of content) was quite dense, but it had to be done in a year.” he explains. “In the end Yakuza 2 did twice as many sales as the first game.”
He also speaks about the push and pull of having a creator’s vision, but heeding the advice of others, saying, “The games where I listened to other people didn’t work too well. I’m quite confident in myself, but my perspective is not perfect.”
