Hey there! I'm Yoshinori Ono, CEO at Lasengle. Welcome to my blog!
I've recently started playing Cyberpunk 2077 again, this time on the Nintendo Switch 2. It feels good to be back breathing in that Night City air.
I first played this game on PS4, but, well, there were some "issues" (you can look it up online if you're curious), and I ended up dropping it partway through.
Later, when I played and completed the PC version, I was blown away by how great this game is. And so now, with the Switch 2 version out this year, I've found myself back in Night City.
The thing with a well-executed title is that it's always going to be a great experience no matter where you play it.
I'm also a huge fan of CD Project Red's Witcher series. It's one of my all-time favorites, with The Witcher 3 being one of my best games to this day.
I've nothing but gratitude for the dev team who took a title I used to play sitting down at my PS or PC, and brought it to a level of quality where I can jump right back in at the office or while traveling.
Sure, there are differences in presentation and performance compared to PS5 or PC, but the value of being able to dive into this world anytime, anywhere far outweighs that.
So there I was, playing Cyberpunk in between everything else, when the Hanshin Tigers clinched the Central League championship for the first time in two years!
The Tigers have been absolutely on fire this year. As a longtime fan, they've been so rock-solid and dominant that it almost feels "un-Tigers-like."
And above all, I've been truly impressed by first-year manager Kyuji Fujikawa's leadership and decision-making.
As the captain of the ship called Lasengle, there's so much I can learn from Manager Fujikawa's words and approach.
The morning after the championship, I came into the office to find every sports daily lined up on my desk--all of them with the Tigers as the top story. The team had done it completely on their own, and I was genuinely touched.
It made me realize once again how great it is that we have this kind of atmosphere at Lasengle where people can naturally share little moments like this together. I think the relationship between management and the team really shows itself in moments like these.
This sense of closeness also comes through in our in-house Game Jam and Hub Lab initiatives.
Hub Lab has been updated with a new name and structure, becoming an even more open and collaborative space than before.
Here, experienced staff provide immediate feedback on ideas from early-career team members, and together they hash things out with a 'let's give it a shot!' energy.
They work across career stages, ages, and departments, quickly pinning down game concepts through constant dialogue. That process really shows the close-knit culture that makes Lasengle what it is.
I'm proud that it's become a space where everyone shares ideas as equals and connects as fellow creators rather than job titles, all focused on making something great.
To give people a feel for this Lasengle atmosphere, we recently held an Open House at Park, our in-office communication area.
It was a chance to answer the questions prospective 2027 hires might have: "What kind of company is Lasengle?" "Is what's written in the CEO's blog actually true?" "What would working here really be like?" They got to sit down and talk directly with our creators to find out.
We were grateful for all the applications we received, but with limited space we couldn't welcome everyone to the office, and so through a selection process we hosted about 50 students.
Lasengle isn't a massive studio, so our resources are naturally limited. But that also means every interaction we have with each individual goes that much deeper.
Students who participated shared feedback like: "Everyone felt so approachable and down-to-earth", "I got a much clearer picture of what the work is actually like." It was really encouraging to hear.
We often connect with people at events like the Sony Career Forum, but hosting people directly at our office was a special chance to experience the Lasengle culture firsthand.
If this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, come knock on our door.
Of course, we're also always looking for experienced mid-career creators.
If you're ready to create something new, we'd love to work with you.
Walking through Cyberpunk's Night City, celebrating the Tigers' championship, feeling the energy of human connection at Hub Lab and our Open House. Days like these remind me once again how making games is about people coming together and combining their strengths.
I'll keep learning new things and building on what I already know, so we can keep making cool stuff together.
Until the next blog, see ya!
Yoshinori X（Twitter）