posted by 7Force on Jun 28, 2011:
Good question, but an even better question would be "how?" Sega owns Shenmue, how the hell could Yu Suzuki make a Shenmue game without Sega?
Yu Suzuki officially leaves SEGA
Yu Suzuki officially leaves SEGA
posted by Anthaemia. on Jun 28, 2011:
This has been expected for quite some time now, and to be fair it's not actually as bad as it may first seem. He's not produced anything worthy of comparison with his best as director at AM2 in years (though come to think of it, when has anyone involved with any of the other major departments within Sega?), but Yu Suzuki clearly still has plans for the future. Having already passed over control of his most lucrative series - Virtua Fighter - to hands he trusts in Hiroshi Kataoka, the time is right to move on and develop new ideas outside of a company that neither respects him anymore or is prepard to fund his latest ambitious ventures.
I'm not really sure his masterplan was for a relatively low-budget addition to the Shenmue franchise, although it's obvious from his failed attempts in recent years that Suzuki would love nothing more than to create either a social networking type game or a full-blown MMORPG. Of course, we all know the Shenmue Online project collapsed, and I doubt Shenmue City is going to threaten the likes of Angry Birds as the western gamer's app of choice. However, it's refreshing to see an elder statesmen such as Suzuki acknowledge that people now favour mostly this kind of software over something that costs business-threatening amounts to prduce, which may explain his efforts to redirect any future output in this way.
On the other hand, maybe his downscaling is purely to do with the fact his reputation is now tarnished by the relative failure of Shenmue. Then again, former Sonic Team leader Yuji Naka left Sega with a near-perfect track record, and yet he's also been reduced to putting out the occasional low-budget title. I think it's safe to say that something must be wrong when investors are avoiding such talented individuals, even if it's highly unlikely they're the kinds of people who you'd expect to churn out annual updates to the latest genre trends.
In the last few years virtually every major name at Sega has disappeared, with just a small number seemingly happy to remain in more managerial roles now. Actually, is there really anyone left now except Toshihiro Nagoshi who still has any level of input? Hisao Oguchi's still around, but again from an outsider's view he's obviously content with shuffling bits of paper these days rather than bits in lines of code. I guess Takashi Iizuka remains a key figure, albeit a very controversial one - let's face it, the majority of Sonic Team's work has been quite hit and miss ever since he assumed control of the division.
Despite having plenty of critically-acclaimed games under their collective belts, have the likes of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Naoto Ohshima or even the aforementioned Yuji Naka done anything that's found its way into the homes of millions since walking out on Sega's increasingly corporate-minded structure? Unlike previous casualties following the Sammy takeover, which subsequently led to a reduction in both funding and creativity, at least Suzuki's scored himself a little leverage of sorts by arranging a parting deal where he can negotiate the rights to IP from his AM2 back catalogue on an individual basis. My guess is that he demanded this to ensure that when the time is right, Shenmue III is right also. Unfortunately, it may simply be a way he can finally produce a proper Virtua Fighter RPG... let's not forget this is another idea that he's been kicking around for a while now as well!
This has been expected for quite some time now, and to be fair it's not actually as bad as it may first seem. He's not produced anything worthy of comparison with his best as director at AM2 in years (though come to think of it, when has anyone involved with any of the other major departments within Sega?), but Yu Suzuki clearly still has plans for the future. Having already passed over control of his most lucrative series - Virtua Fighter - to hands he trusts in Hiroshi Kataoka, the time is right to move on and develop new ideas outside of a company that neither respects him anymore or is prepard to fund his latest ambitious ventures.
I'm not really sure his masterplan was for a relatively low-budget addition to the Shenmue franchise, although it's obvious from his failed attempts in recent years that Suzuki would love nothing more than to create either a social networking type game or a full-blown MMORPG. Of course, we all know the Shenmue Online project collapsed, and I doubt Shenmue City is going to threaten the likes of Angry Birds as the western gamer's app of choice. However, it's refreshing to see an elder statesmen such as Suzuki acknowledge that people now favour mostly this kind of software over something that costs business-threatening amounts to prduce, which may explain his efforts to redirect any future output in this way.
On the other hand, maybe his downscaling is purely to do with the fact his reputation is now tarnished by the relative failure of Shenmue. Then again, former Sonic Team leader Yuji Naka left Sega with a near-perfect track record, and yet he's also been reduced to putting out the occasional low-budget title. I think it's safe to say that something must be wrong when investors are avoiding such talented individuals, even if it's highly unlikely they're the kinds of people who you'd expect to churn out annual updates to the latest genre trends.
In the last few years virtually every major name at Sega has disappeared, with just a small number seemingly happy to remain in more managerial roles now. Actually, is there really anyone left now except Toshihiro Nagoshi who still has any level of input? Hisao Oguchi's still around, but again from an outsider's view he's obviously content with shuffling bits of paper these days rather than bits in lines of code. I guess Takashi Iizuka remains a key figure, albeit a very controversial one - let's face it, the majority of Sonic Team's work has been quite hit and miss ever since he assumed control of the division.
Despite having plenty of critically-acclaimed games under their collective belts, have the likes of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Naoto Ohshima or even the aforementioned Yuji Naka done anything that's found its way into the homes of millions since walking out on Sega's increasingly corporate-minded structure? Unlike previous casualties following the Sammy takeover, which subsequently led to a reduction in both funding and creativity, at least Suzuki's scored himself a little leverage of sorts by arranging a parting deal where he can negotiate the rights to IP from his AM2 back catalogue on an individual basis. My guess is that he demanded this to ensure that when the time is right, Shenmue III is right also. Unfortunately, it may simply be a way he can finally produce a proper Virtua Fighter RPG... let's not forget this is another idea that he's been kicking around for a while now as well!
Yu Suzuki officially leaves SEGA
posted by Shadowlayer on Jun 29, 2011:
Another nail in the coffin...
Its during times like these that I wonder "what if we crowdfunded a Sega takeover?"
I've seen people trowing money at such useless shit in kickstarter that they may put money in something like this.
Of course if we do that and the moneygrubbing fucks at sammy take the offer, whats next?
Another nail in the coffin...
Its during times like these that I wonder "what if we crowdfunded a Sega takeover?"
I've seen people trowing money at such useless shit in kickstarter that they may put money in something like this.
Of course if we do that and the moneygrubbing fucks at sammy take the offer, whats next?
Yu Suzuki officially leaves SEGA
posted by Taucias on Jun 29, 2011:
I thought he was sacked/left years ago?
I thought he was sacked/left years ago?
Yu Suzuki officially leaves SEGA
posted by GaijinPunch on Jun 30, 2011:
The interview was very good, and unpretentious: something you don't get in western game media these days. Hopefully we can see something new from him now that he's his own boss.
As for Shenmue 3: There's no reason they Sega can't license it out to him or just hire his company to do it... at least in theory. Doubt it will happen though.
he was given a window seat.
Taucias said:
I thought he was sacked/left years ago?
The interview was very good, and unpretentious: something you don't get in western game media these days. Hopefully we can see something new from him now that he's his own boss.
As for Shenmue 3: There's no reason they Sega can't license it out to him or just hire his company to do it... at least in theory. Doubt it will happen though.
Yu Suzuki officially leaves SEGA
posted by GodofHardcore on Jul 2, 2011:
Shenmue 3 just became the new Duke Nukem Forever
Shenmue 3 just became the new Duke Nukem Forever
Yu Suzuki officially leaves SEGA
posted by Tatsujin on Jul 3, 2011:
Well done Su-san, now you finally can make some good Shen Mue III.
Well done Su-san, now you finally can make some good Shen Mue III.