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Where is Yu Suzuki?

Posted by John Constantine

It’s no secret that Sega has changed. Since bowing out of the console business in late 2001, the one-time behemoth has become a prolific multi-console publisher but a shadow of their former selves, emphasizing a quantity of titles over quality. Who can blame them though? Creative game design may be Sega’s enduring legacy but it certainly didn’t line their pockets. They have abandoned their once eccentric impulses, favoring ancient franchises over new IP. This is no doubt thanks to their diminished in-house development and the exodus of some of their most talented auteurs, like Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Naoto Oshima, and Yuji Naka. Yu Suzuki, Sega’s most prolific and celebrated creator, remains with the publisher/developer to this day. Suzuki was responsible for many of Sega’s defining titles, Space Harrier and Out Run, as well as a pioneer of 3D gaming with his Virtua line of racing, shooting, and fighting games. But since the release Shenmue II, the second part of Suzuki’s wildly ambitious trilogy, he has all but disappeared as game maker. He has only directed a single title in the past seven years, the recently released arcade driving game RaceTV. According to GameLife contributor Jean Snow, RaceTV has failed to make an impact. While Sega has displayed a renewed commitment to creativity, signing studios such as Platinum games to multi-title contracts, it’s tragic that one of their most powerful voices has gone silent.

Click here for previous Where Is? features.

Related links:

Clover Returns, Heavy as Platinum
Independent at a Price: Sega and Platinum Games
Trailer Review: Sonic Unleashed

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Posted Jun 19 2008, 11:00 AM

Filed under: john constantine, where is, sega, virtua fighter, yu suzuki, shenmue

Comments

Nico said:

I'd just like to point out that Shenmue wasn't originally intended as a trilogy, the series was supposed to be at least 4 games long (containing the 16 chapters of the story).

If the third one ever comes out though, it'll probably have the rest of the chapters crammed into it (even though there are more than half left) which means it would most likely be super condensed and therefore not nearly as good as the first and second.

June 22, 2008 7:12 AM

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

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