Sega Seeks Greater Worldwide Appeal

Yakuza 3

If you weren't aware, there's a large push by Japanese developers to appeal to a wider demographic; i.e., attempt to cater to the Western gaming audience that has different tastes. We know Konami and Hideo Kojima are actively working towards this goal, and now, it appears Sega is also on the same path.

According to PS3Center, Sega's corporate director Masano Maeda spoke to Japanese industry site Nikkei in regards to the company's future plans. He said they, like many other Japan-based developers, will try to add the Western audiences to their legions of avid followers. As of now, Sega is split about 50/50; half the company is working on making worldwide-appeal titles (like Sonic) while the other half are still doing Japanese-centric productions, like Yakuza. Maeda says this will change, though, as they want to be able to sell millions of copies of games...which would almost always require a strong Western influence. And to push this forward, Sega is putting a lot of faith in Yakuza director Toshihiro Nagoshi, who Maeda believes could be the next Hideo Kojima. Yeah, that's right. This year, Maeda says he will "begin to push Nagoshi on a more worldwide level," as the talented developer is quite well known in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Nagoshi is evidently all for the idea, as he has expressed interest in creating games that appeal to Western audiences. He also firmly believes in exclusives, as he says it's these titles that "show the true progression in the industry," according to a recent interview he gave to Gemaga magazine. So...will we soon see a PS3 exclusive like Yakuza 3, only one that will resonate with North American gamers? Yes, please!

Related Game(s): Yakuza 3

3/28/2009 Ben Dutka

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