Yu Suzuki retires from SEGA R&D

By Oli Welsh Published 6 April, 2009

Continues to manage one arcade division.

According to GameSpot, SEGA Sammy has announced that legendary designer and producer Yu Suzuki has retired from active, creative development work.

The creator of Virtua Fighter and Shenmue, who oversaw a string of early arcade classics at SEGA - Space Harrier, Afterburner and OutRun among them - will no longer be an R&D "creative officer". He will remain with the company as manager of the Research & Development department for one of SEGA's arcade divisions, AM Plus.

AM Plus has so far released two games in Japan, Psy Phi and SEGA Race TV. Suzuki has had such a low profile within SEGA recently that Simon Jeffrey, president of the company's American arm, wasn't sure if he was still an employee when Gamasutra asked him last year.

Although his early games will forever be associated with SEGA, Yu Suzuki's work took on a different colour from the Dreamcast era in the late 1990s. He became preoccupied with intense realism in the F355 Challenge racing simulator and the languid adventure series Shenmue, games that had hardcore followings, but never justified their huge development costs.

The Shenmue project was close to Suzuki's heart, but a third game never saw the light of day, and a planned massively multiplayer spin-off, Shenmue Online, was also shelved.

Suzuki's spirit lives on, however, in the evergreen Virtua Fighter and OutRun. OutRun Online Arcade is released on Xbox Live Arcade next week.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (17) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Ryze #1 3 years ago

    /bows

    /applauds

    Daytona USA and Afterburner Climax next on Xbox Live Arcade please.

    Cheers!
    Edited by 3 at 06/04/09 @ 09:14

  • photoboy #2 3 years ago

    I'm not sure Sega can do a re-release of Daytona without paying an extortionate amount for the Daytona license, hence why there haven't been any sequels or Sega Ages releases.

    As for this news about Suzuki, it's incredibly sad that Sega's last great designer is quitting, I really badly wanted Shenmue 3. :(
    Edited by 1 at 06/04/09 @ 09:24

  • KujiGhost #3 3 years ago

    We should buy this man a gold watch.

  • ZuluHero #4 3 years ago

    /sniff

    I guess that means all hopes for Shenmue to continue are being put to pasture too...

  • dadrester #5 3 years ago

    :'(

    /bows as low as he can

  • JohnnyWashnGo #6 3 years ago

    Whenever I think of Yu Suzuki I hear that song from Shenmue and F355 on the Dreamcast - 'Take me for a riiiiiiiide'

  • Gaol #7 3 years ago

    I guess this will end once and for all Shenmue III speculation.

    Sad day.

  • dr_shambles #8 3 years ago

    Respect to Suzuki-San, and hope he has a very happy retirement. He's created some timeless gaming memories.

  • peterfll #9 3 years ago

    Why did we never get a home version of Sega Race TV?

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #10 3 years ago

    I don't give a fuck what anyone else says*, Shenmue was one of my greatest gaming experiences in 30 years of gaming.

    The experience at the time of play may have had plenty of niggling faults, but as a lesson in good nostalgia, it can't be touched.

    Sometimes I forget that I actually wasn't in Japan!



    * Everyone's entitled to their opinion here, but there's only one right one. ;)

  • evild_edd #11 3 years ago

    Another nail in the (already fairly solidly reinforced) Shenmue 3 coffin!

    Young Hazuki shall never have his revenge, it would seem.... :0(

    I applaude the work of Suzuki over the years, and he was one of the holy trinity back in the SEGA glory days (Suzuki, Naka, and Mizuguchi).

    Edd

  • quantumsheep #12 3 years ago

    /salutes

    He's created some astounding games. All respect to the man.

  • mono_eric3 #13 3 years ago

    /cries like a big sissy girl

    : D

  • Ryze #14 3 years ago

    @Photoboy

    They can drop the 'USA' and remove the official logos before converting both Daytona games and including CCE, 2001, Scud Race and VR tracks.

    Where there's a will, there's a way.

  • cheekyjay #15 3 years ago

    I gave up on Shenmue 3 a long time ago - if IP doesn't sell well, if its sequel sells even worse, then it makes business sense to shelve it (unfortunately). I wish Shenmue had reached a wider audience but alas that was not be.

    What I, as a huge fan of the games, am desperate for though, is some closure on what the story was actually about. All we got was a very teasing first chunk, left with more questions at the end of the second game than answers.

    Why oh why can't Sega, or Suzuki issue a press release letting the fans know how that story would have panned out. Surely now that its been decided that Shenmue is an entirely unprofitable franchise, there is little reason to continue guarding its middle chapter and conclusion in such secrecy... What is it all about? What do the mirrors do?
    Edited by 2 at 06/04/09 @ 16:03

  • mega7ech #16 3 years ago

    Oh nooooooooooooooooo!!!! This really means no Shenmue 3 - Ever!!! I mean, whats the point in carrying on with life anymore.....
    Oh well, back to Halo 3 :p

  • Pasco #17 3 years ago

    "Yu Suzuki's work took on a different colour from the Dreamcast era in the late 1990s. He became preoccupied with intense realism"

    The pursue of realism was the reason he never made a 2D game even in the 80s so no different colour there. The difference is not a change in his mindset but a change in what was possible and what he was allowed to do.