The President and CEO of Sega Holdings, Haruki Satomi, had an interview this week, where he talked about a new Sakura Wars title. The new title is tentatively called Shin Sakura Taisen (New Sakura Wars). Sega is planning to release the new title simultaneously in both Japan and Asia. New Sakura Wars is set to take place in the 29th year of the Sakura Wars “Taisho” period. In real life, Japan’s Taisho period spanned 15 years. Also of note is the fact that Sakura Wars uses different kanji to write “Taisho” than the ones that were used for Japan’s real Taisho period.
Haruki Satomi’s interview this week appeared in the Weekly Famitsu magazine yesterday. In it, he acknowledged that fans have long voiced a desire for a new game in the series, but he also said that members of the company wanted to create a new entry in the series as well. He also said that the new entry in the series will “not end with just a game.” They have not commented on whether the new title will come west or not.
The Sakura Wars franchise already spans more than just video games, including:
- An anime film
- A television anime series
- Six video anime projects
- And a manga
Sakura Taisen V released in Japan for PlayStation 2 in 2005, and is the only game in the series to get an official English release so far. This was in March of 2010, when NIS America launched it as Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love on the PlayStation 2 and Wii. The original Sakura Wars title was launched on the Sega Saturn back in 1996 by its creator, Oji Hiroi, and Sega. As for New Sakura Wars, Sega will reveal more details on the project at a later time.
