Yu Suzuki
From Sega Retro
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Yu Suzuki |
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Place of birth: Kamaishi, Iwate, Japan |
Date of birth: 1958-06-10[1] (age 63) |
Company(ies): Sega of Japan |
Role(s): Programmer, Producer, Director, Executive |
Yu Suzuki (鈴木 裕), is a former programmer and producer at Sega. Notable for his works while at Sega AM2, he is widely considered to be a visionary in the video game industry, creating many of Sega's biggest hits throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Contents
Career
Yu Suzuki joined Sega in April 1983[1] as a programmer, and was set to work designing and programming the SG-1000 game, Champion Boxing. Released for the console and later in arcade form, the game performed better than expected, and Suzuki was promoted to team leader, achieving something that usually took around seven years at Sega, in just one.
Under the management of Hisashi Suzuki, Yu Suzuki would work alongside a small team of developers in what would become a key innovator for Sega, Studio 128. It is here where Suzuki programmed Hang-On, the Sega's first "taikan game". The game's enormous success both in Japan and overseas led to a string of equally important milestones; OutRun (1986), After Burner (1987), Power Drift (1988) and G-LOC: Air Battle (1990).
In the early 1990s, now a producer at the newly formed Sega AM2, Suzuki and his team would go one better by creating Virtua Racing, Sega's first "3D CG" game in 1992. He would then act primarily as a producer and the public face of AM2 for the following decade, helping to create Virtua Fighter (1993), Daytona USA (1994), Virtua Cop (1994) and Fighting Vipers (1995). Suzuki has also been instrumental in designing several of Sega's arcade boards; the Model 1, Model 2 and Model 3, as well as the NAOMI 2[2].
After work wrapped up on Virtua Fighter 3 in 1996, Suzuki's attention was taken up by a pootentially ground-breaking concept for Sega's home video game consoles - what would emerge as the Sega Dreamcast game Shenmue in 1999. The most expensive video game produced up until that point, Shenmue was a hit with critics but not with consumers, and while follow-up Shenmue II launched in 2001, the multiple-part epic was put on hold as Sega went through a period of financial turbulence.
Following the release of Virtua Fighter 4 in 2002, Suzuki left AM2 to form a new Sega division, DigitalRex in 2003. However, DigitalRex and its successor, AM Plus struggled to get products out of the door, and Suzuki fell back to a more advisory role in the company, retiring from Sega in April 2009[3] though maintaining good relations with his former employers.
Suzuki formed his own development company, Ys Net in 2008, but aside from the occasional interview, was relatively silent over the coming decade. He returned to the limelight again at Sony's E3 2015 press conference, announcing Shenmue III, which would be carried through from Kickstarter to release in 2019.
Interests
Yu Suzuki enjoys fast cars and motorcycles, of which many, particularly Ferraris (see; OutRun and F355 Challenge), appear in his works. He is a believer of experiencing the world to better understand how to produce video games. Development of OutRun saw Suzuki lead his team across Europe for inspiration, while employees working on the likes of Virtua Racing, Daytona USA and Scud Race have been advised by Suzuki to go out and drive real vehicles in order to appreciate how they feel. Meanwhile the likes of Virtua Fighter and Shenmue were inspired by real fighting styles and trips across Asia.
He prefers to work with different genres and concepts for every project, rather than be stuck refining the same ideas[4]. He also does not believe in extensive planning during video game production, allowing them to evolve naturally to suit the skills of his staff. Space Harrier is an example of this, evolving from real jets (Harriers) to a fantasy setting, as his artists were more suited to fantasy themes.
Suzuki famously does not play many video games, often leading to unique style of game that is rarely influenced by competitors. While he enjoys programming video games, he has claimed that he loses interest after the project is done[5], and prefers movies[5], theme parks[5] and French food[6].
Production history
- Tower of Babel (Dreamcast; 9999) — Director
- Yu Suzuki Produce Hang On (CD; 9999) — Producer
- Propeller Arena: Aviation Battle Championship (Dreamcast; 9999) — Producer
- Champion Boxing (SG-1000; 1984)
- Hang-On (Hang-On hardware; 1985)
- Space Harrier (Hang-On hardware; 1985) — Design (as YU.)
- Space Harrier (Master System; 1986) — Special Thanks (as Yu)
- OutRun (OutRun hardware; 1986) — Design (as YU.)
- After Burner (X Board; 1987) — Lead Developer / Lead Programmer
- After Burner (X Board; 1987) (as Yu)
- After Burner II (X Board; 1987) — Lead Developer / Lead Programmer
- After Burner II (X Board; 1987) (as Yu)
- Power Drift (Y Board; 1988) — Director & Designer
- Power Drift (Y Board; 1988) — Producer
- Dynamite Dux (System 16; 1988) — Producer
- Turbo OutRun (OutRun hardware; 1989) — Sp. Thanks (as Yu.)
- G-LOC: Air Battle (Y Board; 1990) — Director & Designer
- G-LOC: Air Battle (Y Board; 1990) — Producer
- Rent A Hero (Mega Drive; 1991) — Special Thanks (as Yu)
- Virtua Racing (Model 1; 1992) — Director / Chief Programmer
- Virtua Fighter (Model 1; 1993) — Producer and Director
- Virtua Fighter (Saturn; 1994) — Producer[7]
- Virtua Fighter (32X; 1995) — Special Thanks
- Daytona USA (Model 2; 1994) — Producer
- Daytona USA (Model 2; 1994) — Special Thanks
- Daytona USA (Saturn; 1995) — Special Thanks[8]
- Virtua Cop (Model 2; 1994) — Producer
- Virtua Cop (Model 2; 1994) — Supervisor
- Virtua Cop (Saturn; 1995) — Supervisor[9]
- Virtua Cop (Windows PC; 1996) — Supervisor
- Virtua Fighter 2 (Model 2; 1994) — Producer & Director
- Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn; 1995) — Producer[10] (as 鈴木 裕)
- Virtua Fighter 2 (Windows PC; 1997) — Supervisor
- Virtua Fighter Remix (Saturn; 1995) — Producer[11]
- Virtua Fighter Remix (Saturn; 1995) — Special Thanks[12]
- Virtua Cop 2 (Model 2; 1995) — Producer
- Virtua Cop 2 (Saturn; 1996) — Producer[13]
- Virtua Cop 2 (Dreamcast; 2000) — Superviser
- Virtua Cop 2 (Windows PC; 1997) — Supervisor
- Fighting Vipers (Model 2; 1995) — Producer
- Fighting Vipers (Saturn; 1996) — Producer[14]
- Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 5 Wolf Hawkfield (Saturn; 1995) — Producer[15]
- Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 6 Lau Chan (Saturn; 1995) — Producer[16]
- Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series The Final Dural (Saturn; 1996) — Producer
- Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 7 Shun Di (Saturn; 1996) — Producer[17]
- Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 8 Lion Rafale (Saturn; 1996) — Producer[18]
- Virtua Fighter Kids (Sega Titan Video; 1996) — Producer
- Virtua Fighter Kids (Saturn; 1996) — Special Thanks[19] (as 鈴木 裕)
- Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 9 Kage Maru (Saturn; 1996) — Producer[20]
- Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 10 Jeffry McWild (Saturn; 1996) — Producer[21]
- Ai ga Tarinaize (CD; 1996) — Supervisor
- Sonic the Fighters () — Producer
- Virtua Fighter PC (Windows PC; 1996) — Producer
- Virtua Fighter 3 (Model 3; 1996) — Producer
- Virtua Fighter Kids Sound Tracks (CD; 1996) — Special Thanks
- Scud Race (Model 3; 1996) — Producer
- Scud Race (Model 3; 1996) — Special Thanks
- Fighters Megamix (Saturn; 1996) — Producer[22] (as 鈴木 裕)
- Virtua Fighter 3tb (Model 3; 1997) — Producer
- Virtua Fighter 3tb (Dreamcast; 1998) — Producer
- Behind Enemy Lines (Model 2; 1997) — Special Thanks to
- Yu Suzuki Produce Power Drift (CD; 1998) — Producer
- F355 Challenge (NAOMI; 9999) — Produced and Directed by
- F355 Challenge (Dreamcast; 2000) — Producer and Director
- F355 Challenge (PlayStation 2; 2002) — Producer[23]
- Outtrigger (Dreamcast; 2001) — Producer
- 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (NAOMI; 1999) — Special Thanks
- 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (NAOMI; 1999) — Producer
- 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (Dreamcast; 2000) — Special Thanks
- D-2 (Dreamcast; 1999) — Special Thanks
- Shenmue (Dreamcast; 1999) — Producer/Director/Game Story
- Rent A Hero No.1 (Dreamcast; 2000) — ベリースペシャルサンクス (as 鈴木 裕)
- Beach Spikers: Virtua Beach Volleyball (NAOMI 2; 9999) — Producer
- US Shenmue (Dreamcast; 2001) — Story by
- US Shenmue (Dreamcast; 2001) — Produced & Directed By
- Virtua Fighter 4 (NAOMI 2; 2001) — Producer & Director
- Virtua Fighter 4 (PlayStation 2; 2002) — Executive Director[24] (as 鈴木 裕)
- Shenmue II (Dreamcast; 2001) — Producer/Director/Game Story
- Shenmue II (Xbox; 2002) — Producer
- Shenmue II (Xbox; 2002) — Director
- Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution (PlayStation 2; 2003) — Executive Director[25]
- The King of Route 66 (NAOMI 2; 2002) — Executive Supervisor
- Virtua Cop: Elite Edition (PlayStation 2; 2002) — Producer
- Virtua Cop 3 (Chihiro; 2003) — Executive Director
- Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 4: Space Harrier (PlayStation 2; 2003) — Executive Supervisor
- OutRun 2 (Chihiro; 2003) — Producer
- Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 10: After Burner II (PlayStation 2; 2004) — Executive Supervisor
- Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 13: OutRun (PlayStation 2; 2004) — Executive Supervisor
- Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 16: Virtua Fighter 2 (PlayStation 2; 2004) — Producer & Director
- Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 19: Fighting Vipers (PlayStation 2; 2005) — Producer
- Space Harrier (Vinyl; 2018) — A3 & B3 composed by[26]
- Champion Pro Wrestling (1985) — Director, Producer
- Hang-On (Master System Version) (1985) — Special Thanks
- Super Hang-On (Arcade Version) (1986) — Producer
- GP Rider (Arcade Version) (1990) — Producer
- Strike Fighter (After Burner III) (Arcade Version) (1991) — Designer, Producer
- F1 Exhaust Note (1991) — Producer
- Soreike Kokology (1991) — Producer
- Virtua Formula (1993) — Producer
- Soreike Kokology 2 (1993) — Producer
- Desert Tank (1994) — Producer
- Sonic the Fighters (1996) — Producer
- Digital Dance Mix Vol.1 Namie Amuro (1997) — Producer
- Virtua Cop 1-2 Pack (1998) — Supervisor
- Virtua Striker 2 Version '98 (1998) — Producer
- Ferrari F355 Challenge (Arcade Version) (1999) — Director
- What's Shenmue (1999) — Director
- Yu Suzuki Game Works Vol. 1 (2001) — Special Thanks
- F355 Challenge 2 (2001) — Director
- Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 8: Virtua Racing -FlatOut- (2004) — Special Thanks
- Pure Breed (cancelled) — Concept
- Psy-Phi (2005) — Director
- Shenmue Online (2007) — Director
- Sega Race TV (2008) — Manager of AM Plus
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) — Creative Officer (Sega Japan)
- Shenmue City (2010) — Director
- Virtua Fighter Cool Champ (2011) — Director
- Shooting Wars (2012) — Director
- Bullet Pirates (iPhone & Android Versions) (2013) — Director
- Virtua Fighter Fever Combo (iPhone & Android Versions) (2014) — Director
- Shenmue III (PlayStation 4 & PC Versions) (2017) — Director & Producer
Song credits
Space Harrier (Arcade version)
- Ida — Music & Arrangement
- Valda — Music & Arrangement
Gallery
Magazine articles
- Main article: Yu Suzuki/Magazine articles.
Interviews
- Interview: Yu Suzuki (2014-09-18) by Shenmue Dojo
- Interview: Yu Suzuki (2018-12-16) by GameCores
- Interview: Yu Suzuki and Katsuhiro Harada (2016-12-26) by Denfaminico Gamer
Photographs
- Main article: Photos of Yu Suzuki
External links
- Sega Stars: Yu Suzuki article by Ken Horowitz at Sega-16
- A Weekend with Yu Suzuki article by Amir Moosavi at Medium
- Two hours in Yu Suzuki's kitchen article by Matt Leone at Polygon
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Edge, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-04-28), page 49
- ↑ Next Generation, "May 2001" (US; 2001-04-17), page 61
- ↑ File:IR EN 2009-03-31.pdf, page 2
- ↑ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/279529/yu-suzuki-the-difference-between-miyamoto-and-i-is/
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Next Generation, "November 1995" (US; 1995-10-24), page 10
- ↑ Edge, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-04-28), page 50
- ↑ File:VirtuaF1_Saturn_JP_SSOpening.pdf
- ↑ File:Daytonausa sat us manual.pdf, page 18
- ↑ File:VirtuaC1 Saturn JP SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VirtuaF2_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VirtuaFR_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:Vfremix sat us manual.pdf, page 26
- ↑ File:VirtuaC2 Saturn JP SSOpening.pdf
- ↑ File:FightingV Saturn JP SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VFCGP05_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VFCGP06_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VFCGP07_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VFCGP08_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VirtuaFK_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VFCGP09_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:VFCGP10_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:FightersM_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:F355Challenge_PS2_JP_SSCredits.pdf
- ↑ File:VirtuaFighter4_PS2_JP_SSCredits.pdf
- ↑ File:VirtuaFighter4Evolution_PS2_JP_SSCredits.pdf
- ↑ File:SpaceHarrier VinylUK le back.jpg