[DoctorEldritch]

Hello Legion Gamers,

A bit of sad news, especially perhaps for you @ZaidH : Nagoshi Studio, founded in 2021 by producer and co-creator of the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series Toshihiro Nagoshi, is shutting down. This decision was made by its shareholders.

At this point, it is anyone's guess as to what will happen to the action game Gang of Dragon that they were working on (and announced during last year's Game Awards):

The game was to follow Shin Ji-seong, a high-ranking member of a Korean crime syndicate based in Tokyo. He'd be drawn into various criminal conflicts and forge bonds with colourful characters, and be forced to him to rethink his own destiny. Much like another famous ex-yakuza we know. Sadly, now we may never get to experience this story. A shame.

[ZaidH]

Damn, what a shame indeed 😓 From what I've read, while NetEase did some tomfoolery here, it seems Nagoshi Studio didn't manage its budget particularly well either. Throw someone like Don Lee into the mix (who no doubt didn't come cheap), and yeah, I'm not too surprised things ended up this way.

I've interacted with Nagoshi twice online, before Gang of Dragon was revealed, and he came across as such a chill, down-to-earth dude. It's genuinely sad to think we might never see him involved in video games again.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Ah yes, I remember reading about NetEase in Bloomberg back in Spring. It concerned me back then, but I was hoping that they would get another sponsor. Sad to see it did not pan out.

But I think you're right in a sense that Nagoshi Studio didn't manage its budget particularly well, and I think that this is what may have spooked other investors the most: you are understandably afraid to go into business with someone who does not know how to handle money, that's a major red flag. goes to show you may have a big name and pedigree behind you, but what you really need is a good accountant.

Well, that and maybe smarter casting choices. With Yakuza, they went for people who were voice actors first and actors second. I mean, Takaya Kuroda is more known for his voice roles and songs than live action. Don Lee, on the other hand, is an actor first and foremost, and they charge a fortune indeed.

Oh my, how did you manage that? That's like interacting with a gaming community equivalent of a star athlete or a movie star.

Well, maybe not something as drastic as never seeing him involved in video games again: some sources say that after the news, he tried applying to other studios. With some luck (and I do hope he catches a break there), he will still work on games, but not in a studio head capacity.

[Telomina]

Oh no! So sad, I had thought that game looked super cool!

[DoctorEldritch]

@Telomina well, there is a small chance someone may buy IP and do something with it, but realistically, the chances are slim.

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch If Kojima couldn't get away with casting big-name actors in his games (I believe this was one of the contributing factors behind Sony ending the Physint deal with Kojima Productions), then I don't see how Nagoshi can 😅

With all this happening lately, it kinda feels like the folks behind Expedition 33 pulled off a miracle.

But yeah, sad all around. I still remember you sharing that "Become Human" (or whatever it was called) video where Nagoshi unveiled his studio and talked about the vision for his next game 😭

As for my interaction with him, he used to be pretty active on X, posting pics of his cat and gym progress. Being a cat owner myself and a Yakuza fan, I replied to one of his posts, and he actually replied back lols

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH I wish more actors had a more favourable attitude towards working in games. Before, there was a trend with series: back in the 80s, the 90s, and even the 2000s, work in series was seen as subpar to that of proper movies on a big screen, but times have changed: streaming became more widespread, series grew quality and what place they occupied in human lives, and cinema itself experienced a decline. So now work in series is as sought after, and even seasoned actors do not shy away from starring in them.

I wish games could experience the same, but the industry is in such turbulence that it is hard to establish this sort of attitude. Stability is not there for it, and cases like this do not help. More so, as filming in a game does not help to get similar offers later on, as was the case with Luke Dale (Hans Capon in Kingdom Come: Deliverance). We get occasional friendships between developers and actors that result in partnerships, like Tim Schafer and Jack Black, but cases like this are rare.

Expedition 33 is very good, but it is true that it was also quite lucky.

I am sad that he did not even get his shot. It is one thing to try and fail, like what happened with that Mindeye business, but to get the rug pulled out from under you like this, with nothing to show for it, is very sad indeed.

Oh my, that does make him feel rather down-to-earth. Good on you for mustering the confidence to write, I don't think I'd be able to.