-
Important news
-
News
-
Shenzhen
-
China
-
World
-
Opinion
-
Sports
-
Kaleidoscope
-
Photos
-
Business
-
Markets
-
Business/Markets
-
World Economy
-
Speak Shenzhen
-
Health
-
Leisure
-
Culture
-
Travel
-
Entertainment
-
Digital Paper
-
In-Depth
-
Weekend
-
Newsmaker
-
Lifestyle
-
Diversions
-
Movies
-
Hotels and Food
-
Special Report
-
Yes Teens!
-
News Picks
-
Tech and Science
-
Glamour
-
Campus
-
Budding Writers
-
Fun
-
Qianhai
-
Advertorial
-
CHTF Special
-
Futian Today
在线翻译:
szdaily -> Business -> 
NetEase in talks to hire creator of Sega Yakuza series
    2021-08-31  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

NETEASE Inc. is in final negotiations to poach Yakuza franchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi from Sega.

The hire from Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. would mark the biggest coup in a contest between NetEase and close rival Tencent Holdings Ltd. to scoop up video game talent and assets in Japan.

Nagoshi, who developed and helms one of Sega’s most successful action series, is expected to set up his own team and create new games, Bloomberg News quoted sources as saying yesterday. He hasn’t signed a final contract and his duties have yet to be finalized, the report said.

Tencent and NetEase are on a multiyear quest to fill out their content libraries with more of Japan’s highly prized animation, comics and games (ACG) titles, betting on their potential to become global blockbuster hits.

Tencent, the world’s largest games publisher, regards Japanese content as a potential anchor for its increasingly critical effort to build a Disney-style global media juggernaut that also spans video, music and books. It’s on the brink of adding another studio to its string of acquisitions in recent years, according to the report.

“Tencent and NetEase have been speaking to just about all publicly traded studios here and are actively courting some privately held developers, too,” said Tokyo-based industry analyst Serkan Toto of Kantan Games.

“The fact that we are for the first time successfully penetrating the Nintendo Switch opportunity, for the first time moving into the Japanese market, gives us a degree of confidence we’re moving in the right direction for games,” Tencent strategy chief James Mitchell said previously.

Between them, Tencent and NetEase have struck more than 20 deals in Japan so far, zeroing in on smaller teams and individual creators rather than big names. Several others are in active negotiation on potential tie-ups, with NetEase proposing a more hands-on and collaborative approach, the report said.

Japan isn’t their only bet on international growth. Both have opened games studios in North America, with Tencent plowing money into developers in places from South Korea to Europe.

(SD-Agencies)

深圳报业集团版权所有, 未经授权禁止复制; Copyright 2010-2020, All Rights Reserved.
Shenzhen Daily E-mail:szdaily@126.com