Masayoshi Yokoyama

Masayoshi Yokoyama
横山 昌義
Born (1976-06-30) June 30, 1976 (age 47)
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Alma materTokai University
Occupation(s)Video game director, producer, writer, graphic designer, planner
Years active1999–present
Employer(s)Sega (since 1999)
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (since 2011)
Notable workJet Set Radio
Like a Dragon

Masayoshi Yokoyama (横山 昌義 Yokoyama Masayoshi, born June 30, 1976) is a Japanese game producer, director and writer from Sega, most specifically Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, a studio within Sega Div. 1, where he's the head of the division and studio since 2021. He is mainly known for his work in the Yakuza series, where he has been working since the very beginning as a writer and later on as a producer.[1][2][3]

Career

Yokoyama studied advertising and marketing and applied to various jobs as a planner, not knowing what it really meant. He was open to entering any industry as a planner, be it a wedding planner or financial planner. He then realized that the games industry, specifically in Japan, also had planner positions. In the end, he chose Sega because it seemed the most interesting to him, due to being asked very different questions during the interview process than other companies at the time. Due to his father managing a toy store, he knew the name Sega and was surrounded by games, but was actually more of the athletic type, and never thought he would join the game industry.[4]

His first title since joining the workforce was Jet Set Radio where he did "menial tasks" and "everything he could" such as level design, voice recordings and enemy placement. His level design work was influenced by Excitebike on the NES. Later on, he became a key developer for the Yakuza franchise. He once again did multiple jobs, including script writing, sound and stage direction and since Yakuza 5 also doing producer work. For the Like a Dragon series, the greatest influence is Oishinbo, since he has read that manga over and over again since childhood. Working on the Yakuza series gave him pride as a creator, as before, he has worked on games that some people thought were interesting but did not do great business wise.[5][6]

In October 2021 after Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi left Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio to join NetEase and establish his own studio, Yokoyama took over and became the new head of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio after over a decade working in the series and studio.[7]

Works

Year Title Role
2000 Jet Set Radio Senior planner
2001 De La Jet Set Radio
2002 Jet Set Radio Future Chief planner
2004 Ollie King Director
2005 Yakuza Scenario, production
2006 Sonic Riders Development support
Yakuza 2 Script, scenario/storyline
2008 Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! Original concept, planning, script
2009 Yakuza 3 Script, sound, continuity
2010 Yakuza 4 Script
2012 Yakuza 5 Director, producer, scriptwriter
2014 Like a Dragon: Ishin! Producer, storyboard, scriptwriter
2015 Yakuza 0 Chief producer, storyboard, scriptwriter
2016 Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Chief producer, scriptwriter, series planner
2017 Yakuza Kiwami 2 Chief producer, storyboard, scriptwriter
2018 Ryu Ga Gotoku Online Scenario
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise Chief producer, storyboard, scriptwriter
2020 Yakuza: Like a Dragon
2021 Lost Judgment Production cooperation
2022 Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files General producer
2023 Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Executive director, story, overall scene direction
2024 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Executive director, original story and total direction

References

  1. ^ "サカつく6｜株式会社セガ". www.sakatsuku.com. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  2. ^ "第1事業部インタビュー". 採用サイト｜株式会社セガ -【SEGA CORPORATION】 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  3. ^ "The Future Of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio – Game Informer". web.archive.org. 2023-01-04. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  4. ^ "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【ファミキャリ！会社探訪(27)】". ゲーム業界の転職・求人情報ならファミキャリ！｜クリーク･アンド･リバー社｜ファミ通.com協力 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  5. ^ "FFT: Ryu Encyclopaedia". fftranslations.atspace.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  6. ^ "FFT: Destiny of a Dragon". fftranslations.atspace.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  7. ^ "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【ファミキャリ！会社探訪(27)】". ゲーム業界の転職・求人情報ならファミキャリ！｜クリーク･アンド･リバー社｜ファミ通.com協力 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-11-17.