AM11 (1998–1999) R&D4 (1999–2000) Amusement Vision (2000–2005)
New Entertainment R&D Dept. (2005–2009)
Founded
August 31, 2011; 12 years ago (2011-08-31)
Founder
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Headquarters
Shinagawa, Tokyo
,
Japan
Key people
Masayoshi Yokoyama (studio head) Ryosuke Horii Yutaka Ito Hiroyuki Sakamoto
Products
Like a Dragon series (2012–present) Binary Domain Judgment Super Monkey Ball series (2019–present)
Number of employees
300+[1] (2021)
Parent
Sega
Website
http://ryu-ga-gotoku.com/
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (Japanese: 龍が如くスタジオ, Hepburn: Ryū ga Gotoku Sutajio) is a video game developer housed within the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 1 (セガ 第一CS研究開発部, Sega daiichi shīēsu kenkyū kaihatsubu) division. It is known for developing the games in the Like a Dragon series, which the studio is named after, since Yakuza 5.[2][3]
The studio's origins can be traced back to Sega AM11 in 1998, which was renamed to R&D4 or AM4 in 1999.[4] It was headed by Toshihiro Nagoshi who joined Sega AM2 in 1989 and has been credited as the creator of the arcade titles Daytona USA and Virtua Striker.[5][6] Although Virtua Striker is attributed to another developer, Satoshi Mifune.[7] Nagoshi requested his own development division during the development of Shenmue.[8]
In 2000, AM4 was reestablished as Amusement Vision, where it was best known for Super Monkey Ball and F-Zero GX.[9][10] Several structural changes occurred in the years that followed. During a reorganization in 2003, the non-sports staff of Smilebit merged with Amusement Vision,[11] and a year later Sega merged with Sammy to form Sega Sammy Holdings. Amusement Vision became New Entertainment R&D Dept. and the first Like a Dragon game was released. Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! was the last Like a Dragon game to be developed under the New Entertainment R&D name.[12]
Since Yakuza 3, they were referred to as Sega's CS1 team, all the way up to Yakuza: Dead Souls.[13] The first game to use the RGG logo was Binary Domain in Japan, released in February 2012. Eventually, the RGG Studio's logo became used consistently and the way they brand themselves and give themselves an identity of their own. The current iteration of the logo was introduced during the announcement of the western release of Yakuza Kiwami 2 in 2018.[14]
According to studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama, the studio is not a company organization but refers to a production team within Sega.[15] Nevertheless, the studio's logo and name have become more recognizable internationally, and the logo has been used consistently.[16]
^"Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is Working on a New IP". 17 November 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^"Yakuza 5 in development, Yakuza studio formed". Shacknews. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
^"Toshihiro Nagoshi Interview Summer 2006". Kikizo. June 22, 2006. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
^"Sega Corporation Annual Report 2002" (PDF). Sega Corporation. July 2002. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
^"ビデオゲームの語り部たち 第5部：「バーチャストライカー」を作り上げた三船 敏氏と中込博之氏の旅路". Archived from the original on 2023-11-30. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
^December 2018, Nathan Brown 28 (28 December 2018). "From Shenmue to Yakuza, Toshihiro Nagoshi looks back on an illustrious career of Japanese game development". Edge Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Carter, Chris (2018-08-14). "Sega CCO reflects on Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX, and why they 'lost the hardware war' to Nintendo". Destructoid. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
^"Kikizo | News: Sega Studio Mergers: Full Details". archive.videogamesdaily.com.
^株式会社インプレス (2009-06-16). 1年1作リリースという驚異的な開発速度を誇る「龍が如く」シリーズの秘密 「GTMF2009」の場で明かされた、キャラクター製作における徹底的な効率化の内実とは？. GAME Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
^Yakuza 6: The Song of Life "Essence of Art" Exhibit Live Stream, retrieved 2023-11-17
^【ファミキャリ！会社探訪(27)】極上のエンターテインメント作品『龍が如く』シリーズを手がけるセガゲームス コンシューマ・オンラインカンパニーを訪問. ファミ通.com. 30 July 2015.
^"@RGGStudio" on Twitter
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