to tell the truth, RGG real talent is their work organization, they are one of the few team that can release games on yearly basis while mantaining high quality and polishing.
But when it comes to actual gameplay and mechanics they adopt, they are mostly archaic, they still develop games with the Playstation 2 in mind, and you see this in all yakuza, with npc that still acts like scripted robots, limited interaction, no real time day-night cycle, no weather, still rely on text dialogue boxes and simple linear quests etc.
It's the opposite of Shenmue, but what we need is their manpower and in-house resources (mocap studio etc.), not their direction.
In any case Shenmue is a Sega game (way more than Yakuza that born with huge Sony influences), and it should be made in-house, and RGG has various staff from old AM2, so it would be the natural choice.
But when it comes to actual gameplay and mechanics they adopt, they are mostly archaic, they still develop games with the Playstation 2 in mind, and you see this in all yakuza, with npc that still acts like scripted robots, limited interaction, no real time day-night cycle, no weather, still rely on text dialogue boxes and simple linear quests etc.
It's the opposite of Shenmue, but what we need is their manpower and in-house resources (mocap studio etc.), not their direction.
In any case Shenmue is a Sega game (way more than Yakuza that born with huge Sony influences), and it should be made in-house, and RGG has various staff from old AM2, so it would be the natural choice.