Nagoshi Studio’s first game will have a “high level of human drama”

Last month, Yakuza and Monkey Ball creator Toshihiro Nagoshi officially announced the formation of Nagoshi Studio. The natural first question on everyone’s mind following the news is “what are they working on?” To (vaguely) answer that, Nagoshi spoke with IGN Japan on the studio’s initial direction and first game.

“There is one idea in particular from my personal locker that I’d like to try to expand on now,” said Nagoshi. “Now the idea is slowly taking shape, with the input of the team.”

The game is still a number of years away as it’s only in the initial development stages. As such, we only have sparse information on the type of game we can expect. But Nagoshi clarified that they’re aiming for something on a similar scope to the Yakuza series — indicating it’s a large, ambitious project.

What we know about Nagoshi Studio’s first game

While specific details on the game remain unknown, Nagoshi explained the inspirations behind the studio’s creative process:

“We are influenced by movies and are interested in creating games that offer a high level of human drama. That’s what we find fun. Just as before, I hope to create games in that vein that can reach a global audience. So you won’t find us making, like, smartphone puzzle games or whatever. Those games are fun, but what we’re good at and what the world expects from us is games with dramatic and moving stories, and that’s what we want to make. So that’s where our focus is.”

Toshihiro Nagoshi, CEO and Representative Director at Nagoshi Studio

Nagoshi Studio was formed by nine former SEGA developers following Nagoshi’s exit from Ryu Ga Gotoku. Backed by Chinese company NetEase, the company is aiming to have a “compact number of staff” at first. Nagoshi clarified in the IGN interview that the studio isn’t planning to expand beyond 100 staff members for the time being.

What are you hoping to see with Nagoshi Studio’s first game? Let us know!

Via IGN.