UPDATE: The article was updated on September 7 to correct the date that Ueda joined Yahoo.
Yakuza director and Jet Set Radio artist Ryuta Ueda has returned to Sega after seven years away from the games industry.
Ueda, who was the art director behind Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio (“Jet Grind Radio” in the US) and itsXboxsequel Jet Set Radio Future, as well as the first twoYakuzagames forPS2, rejoinedSegain May following seven years working at Yahoo! Japan.
Ueda’s previous Sega credits span from the mid-90s, including creature design for the Panzer Dragoon games and directing Kinect horror title Rise of Nightmares.
“I have decided to resign from Yahoo Japan and return to my old company, Sega,” he announced on hispublic Facebook page. “I am very grateful for the many people I met and the many lessons I learned through various projects at Yahoo!
“From now on, I will focus on making games again. Not only do I feel the excitement of making things, but I am also smiling a little at the thought of seeing old friends and meeting new people. I would like to fully demonstrate what I have cultivated through experience.”
The former Yakuza director could arrive in the same window that the series’ current bossToshihiro Nagoshileaves the company.
According toBloomberg, Nagoshi is in “final negotiations” withNetEase, which is one of the largest video game companies in the world due to its large success in thePCand mobile game markets in China.
Nagoshi will reportedly be setting up his own team and creating new games for NetEase, although a final contract has yet to be finalised.
further reading
Jet Set Radio has seen an uptick in interest in the past few months, with Sega recently revealing that Beat from Jet Set Radio will bea playable character in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania.
Indie developer Team Reptile has alsobegun promoting Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, which is a spiritual successor to the Dreamcast classic, planned for consoles and PC.
The indie successor will have a soundtrack from Hideki Naganuma, the composer of Smilebit’s Sega Dreamcast classic and its 2002 Xbox sequel, Jet Set Radio Future.
