We recently had the fantastic opportunity to sit down and talk with Sega Chief Creative Officer and Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi at this year’s E3.

In the interview, Nagoshi-san talked up their pedigree, and what they focus on when developing games. His answer for what audience they focus on was clear, and resolute.

“First and foremost, we think about the Japanese audience and then we start thinking about Asian audiences,” Nagoshi said. “We make sure we create a game that’s good and fun for them. Hopefully, this game will reach as many audiences in the West as possible.”

He added that “there’s that order to things when we’re developing and that mindset is something that I don’t think will change even as we go on,” mostly because if they “start thinking about different audiences, catering to all these different people, it will really lessen the appeal of what we’re making here.”

When we asked Nagoshi on the rising popularity of their games, and how well they’ve been received, he noted they’re still humbled and surprised with the success received by his team, Ryu ga Gotoku Studio.

“With regards to the Yakuza series as a whole, it’s really been just a pleasant surprise how much fans have really taken to it,” Nagoshi said. “We definitely didn’t expect it. Also, it’s just always a lingering question of like, ‘Why? How? How did this happen?’ It’s just really grateful the fans really love it.”

Make sure you read our full interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi here, straight from this year’s E3!

Judgment is launching for PlayStation 4 on June 25th in the Americas and Europe. Expect our thorough review on the game in the coming days!