Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of Yakuza, leaves SEGA for the Chinese of NetEase

After 29 years of good and loyal service at SEGA, Toshihiro Nagoshi left the Japanese company for new horizons. It is on the Chinese side of NetEase that the producer of Yakuza found refuge, he who was demoted last April within the organization chart of SEGA Sammy Holdings, after its reorganization and change of CEO. According to Bloomberg, Nagoshi-san has already signed his contract but the details of his position are still being finalized. The former strongman of SEGA will develop new games for the Chinese company, whose main rival Tencent, offers new creative ambitions.

We still do not know if it was his mocking remarks towards pro Puyo Puyo players that pushed him to exit, but the divorce between his long-standing company and the man did not take place in the best conditions. . There are indeed rumors that Toshihiro Nagoshi compared Puyo Puyo players to beef bowl eaters with cheese, using the term “Chiizu gyuudon gao (チ ー ズ 牛 丼 顔)”, which means “Face of beef and cheese bowl “. Shortened to chiigyu (チ ー 牛) or “beef with cheese”, this slang word is used to refer to country people who wear glasses and who do not have much ambition in life. A term often used in a derogatory and mocking manner.

We recall otherwise that in fact that in January 2021, an internal document from SEGA, made public, had reported a demotion and that he had been forced to leave his post on the board of directors. With the voluntary departure plan put in place by SEGA, 720 employees (instead of the 650 initially planned) had been affected by this restructuring. It remains to be seen now whether Nagoshi’s creativity will remain intact once at NetEase …

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