Sega`s Yakuza series has been around for more than a decade, garnering both critical and commercial success in Japan since the release of its first item in 2005. While the series consistently sold well in its native country thanks in part to its appeal to mature audiences and its portrayal of Japanese culture, its sales never managed to meet the same numbers in the West.For a while, it seemed unlikely that western audiences would receive any more mainline Yakuza games after the series` fourth item and zombie apocalypse spin-off, but in spite of poor sales, Yakuza accrued a devoted western fanbase. And it was their commitment that eventually inspired Sony`s Third Party Productions group in 2014 to collaborate with Sega to bring over the series` fifth item, which originally released in Japan in 2012. The strong reaction spurred Sega to bring over subsequent mainline entries to the West. With the release of the sixth core item and a remake of the original game coming up, it seems the franchise is at its most stable and popular among western gamers in its 12-year history.At the head of the Yakuza series is its creator, Toshihiro Nagoshi, a longtime Sega producer and designer notable for his work on classic games like Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, and Super Monkey Ball. His resilience during the series` early days and his leadership across the development of every subsequent item played a large part in establishing Yakuza as one of Sega`s flagship franchises, which is a major surprise given the company`s previous focus on games aimed at younger audiences.We recently caught up with Nagoshi at E3 to discuss Yakuza 6, the future of the series, and his thoughts on the recent resurgence of Japanese games in the West.What are some of the new ways Yakuza 6 evolves the mechanics and storytelling from past games?First of all, the main thing is Yakuza 6 is built from the ground up with an entirely new engine. We`ve taken the storytelling, battles, mini-games, and all the series` ...
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