Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

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Revision as of 17:50, 8 May 2024 by Jenni (talk | contribs) (expanding history)
Ryu-ga-gotaku-studio.jpg
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Type Division of Sega
Founded September 1998 (Sega AM11)
May 1999 (Sega Software R&D 4)
April 21, 2000 (Amusement Vision)
April 1, 2005 (NE R&D Dept.)
May 1, 2008 (Sega CS1)
August 31, 2011 (Ryu ga Gotoku Studio)
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Key people Masayoshi Yokoyama, manager
Industry Video games
Products Like a Dragon series
Number of people
Website http://ryu-ga-gotoku.com/

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (龍が如くスタジオ, "Like a Dragon Studio") is a production team within Sega.

It is a continuation of Sega CS1, which itself was a continuation of Sega AM11, Sega Software R&D Dept. 4., Amusement Vision, and New Entertainment R&D Dept.

Name

It got its name due to the fact that the staff consisted of the development team behind Ryū Ga Gotoku, which is Japanese for Like a Dragon.

Early history

Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development Department #11, commonly referred to as Sega AM #11, Sega AM11, or Sega 11, was formed in September 1998. It was managed by Toshihiro Nagoshi, who came from Sega AM2, along with many of the rest of the staff of the new division.

In May 1999, it became Sega Software Research & Development Department 4, commonly referred to as Sega Software R&D Dept. 4.

During this time, Nagoshi was called into Sega AM2 to finish the Shenmue project, which was in a state of perpetual development. For the final months of development, Nagoshi had to serve as producer and director to finish the game. Shenmue was finally released on December 29, 1999, and Nagoshi returned to run Sega Software R&D4 full-time.

Like a Dragon series

After the Sega Software R&D4 development division was spun out into Amusement Vision on April 21, 2000, Nagoshi became its president. While running Amusement Vision, he wanted to develop an open world action-adventure game that would benefit from his experience course-correcting the messy development of Shenmue.

As the game dealt with the yakuza, he brought in Hase Seishū, a Japanese author who is known for writing yakuza crime novels, to supervise the game's storyline. Together, they created the game's protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. He was originally meant to be in his 20s, however, it was decided that it would be unrealistic for a man to be given his own yakuza family at that age. Thus, Kiryu was aged approximately ten years, and the storyline accounted for this by having him in prison during that time.

Amusement Vision became the New Entertainment R&D Department on April 1, 2005, and Like a Dragon (Ryū Ga Gotoku) was released on the eighth of December of that year. It was released outside of Asia as Yakuza.

New Entertainment R&D became Sega CS2 on May 1, 2008. On August 31, 2011, the studio was renamed Ryu ga Gotoku Studio.

In October 2021, after 32 years at Sega, Nagoshi left his position as the manager of Ryū ga Gotoku Studio to form Nagoya Studio. Masayoshi Yokoyama succeeded him in the position of manager.

Video games by Sega AM11 owned by WEC Museum

Title System Release Notes
Daytona USA 2: Power Edition Arcade 1998 Emulated in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth as Sega Racing Classic 2.
SpikeOut: Final Edition Arcade 1999 Emulated in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Video games by New Entertainment R&D Dept. owned by WEC Museum

Title System Release Notes
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Wii 2006 Ryū ga Gotoku Studio, developed a high-definition version in 2019.
Like a Dragon: Kenzan! PS3 2008 Only released in Japan.

Video games by Sega CS1 owned by WEC Museum

Title System Release Notes
Yakuza 3 PS3 2009 Ryū ga Gotoku Studio, developed a high-definition version in 2019.
Black Panther: Like a Dragon New Chapter PSP 2010 Released only in Asia.
Yakuza 4 PS3 2010 Ryū ga Gotoku Studio, developed a high-definition version in 2019.

Video games by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Title System Release Notes
Binary Domain Windows 2012
Black Panther 2: Like a Dragon Ashura Chapter PSP 2012 Released only in Asia.
Like a Dragon 1 & 2 HD PS3 2012 Released only in Asia.
High definition versions of the 2005 and 2006 video games.
Yakuza 5 PS3 2012
Like a Dragon: Ishin! PS4 2014 Released only in Asia.
Yakuza 0 PS4 2015
Yakuza Kiwami PS4 2016 Remake of the 2005 video game Yakuza.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life PS4 2016
Yakuza Kiwami 2 PS4 2017 Remake of the 2006 video game Yakuza 2.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise PS4 2018
Yakuza 3 Remastered PS4 2018 High definition version of the 2009 video game.
Like a Dragon Online Android 2018 Released only in Asia.
Judgment PS4 2018
Yakuza 4 Remastered PS4 2019 High definition version of the 2010 video game.
Yakuza 5 Remastered PS4 2019 High definition version of the 2012 video game.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD Windows 2019 High definition version of the 2006 video game.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS4 2020
Yakuza Remastered Collection PS4 2020 Remastered versions of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5.
Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown PS4 2021 Remake of the 2006 video game.
Lost Judgment PS4 2021
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania PS4 2021 High definition version of Super Monkey Ball 1, 2, and Deluxe.
Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files PS4 2022 Lost Judgment DLC
Like a Dragon: Ishin! Xbox One 2023 Remake of the 2014 video game.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name PS4 2023
Like a Dragon 8 PS4 2024