In a talk show during the Sakura Festival, held to comemmorate the first anniversary of the redesigned Sakura Cafe in Tokyo, series producer Ouji Hiroi gave a few hints regarding the series' development. Mentioning that he has already dedicated 10 years to Sakura Taisen and has every intention to continue, the 50-year old joked that by the time he was 60, the Sakura Taisen Song Show should be performed in an old people's home. On the topic of Sakura Taisen V: Saraba Itoshiki Hito yo, he confirmed that the opening and ending sequences will be completed soon and he was currently working on the characters of the New York Kagekidan. During an August 25th press conference, the game's characters and their voice actors will be revealed and early next year the opening movie will debut. Furthermore, as previously reported, the teams at Red Entertainment and Sega WOW are currently working on the plot for Sakura Taisen Monogatari: Teitohen, with the actual development process beginning early next year.

• SB Games