Jet Set Radio Artist And Yakuza Director Ryuta Ueda Returns To Sega

There have been a lot of key figures moving about in the Japanese video game industry in recent times, and the latest individual now making headlines is the art director of Jet Set Radio, Ryuta Ueda.

After spending nearly a decade at Yahoo! Japan, Ueda announced in a Facebook post how he returned to Sega in May this year.

“I have decided to resign from Yahoo Japan and return to my old company, Sega… 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.”

This follows on from the recent news about Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi leaving Sega to go to the Chinese company NetEase. Interestingly Ueda was the director of the first two Yakuza games back in the day.

While Sega’s embraced revivals of older series such as Super Monkey Ball, it seems like there’s more of a chance of Ryuta Ueda joining the Yakuza team. With any luck though, we see some retro series make a return as well.

Have you played any of the games Ueda worked on back in the day? Would you like to see Jet Set Radio make a return? Tell us below.