Sega announced this today Yakuza Executive Director and Producer Toshihiro Nagoshi will step down from the board of directors. However, he stays with Sega.
As reported Game Biz, Nagoshi will leave the board on April 1, when Japan’s new financial year begins. He is stepping down as Sega’s Chief Creative Officer but will work as a creative director.
There is speculation online in Japan that Nagoshi in the aftermath of a controversial comment he made last year, seemingly mocking Puyo puyo esports players. The producer said it looked like they were eating beef bowls with cheese. The condition chiizu gyuudon gao (チ ー ズ 牛 丼 顔) or “cheese beef bowl face” is circulating online. Abbreviated to chiigyu (チ ー 牛) or “cheese beef”, this slang term is used to refer to people who live in the countryside, look very young, wear glasses and have little ambition. It’s a negative, derisive term to make fun of people who may not be considered ‘cool’.
Nagoshi apologized for the note, saying, “Since the comment was aimed at players who all play a Sega title, Puyo puyo, and since it has polluted all esports, I really mind. It was really unforgivable. “
The famous producer continues to appear in Sega’s YouTube live streams (photo above), so maybe Nagoshi is retiring for other reasons. Hopefully he can focus his energy more on it Yakuza games and not corporate politics.