Yu Suzuki
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese game designer and producer
who has spent his entire career with Sega Enterprises
. Often referred to as Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto
, he has been responsible for the creation of many of Sega's most important arcade games such as Hang-On
, Out Run
, After Burner II
, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA and Virtua Cop
as well as the Shenmue
series for the Dreamcast. In 2003, Suzuki became the sixth person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. IGN
listed him at #9 in their Top 100 Game Creators of All Time list.
, Japan
, the older of two children to parents who were elementary school teachers. Suzuki's father was Yuzuru, and his mother, Taka, taught piano. Suzuki has one younger sister named Yuka, who became a dance teacher. Yu Suzuki's interests were wide-ranging as a child. At a young age, he was encouraged by his father to have a passionate interest in music and the arts. That interest would stay with him for the rest of his life. He also enjoyed building numerous model cars, houses, and robots with plastic blocks, as well as establishing a passion for drawing.
Before entering college, Suzuki flirted with the idea of going into education, having been influenced by his parents. After a while, he thought of becoming an illustrator and then a dentist
; however, the latter dream was short-lived, as he didn't pass the required exam for dental school. Ever resourceful, Suzuki began to play the guitar, but he stated in an interview with G4TV that, "No matter how much I practised, I never got that much better."
Seeing the similarities between the plastic blocks he played with as a child and the architecture of electronic design, Yu Suzuki decided to pursue computer programming at the Okayama University of Science. He graduated from there in the early 1980s. He was also interested in music. He played guitar at Music club called "Muscat" at Okayama Ridai.
in 1983 as a programmer
. In his first year, he created a 2D boxing arcade game called Champion Boxing
, which became his debut work and was later ported to Sega's first home game console, the SG-1000. Under the mantle of Sega's development studio AM2, Suzuki began working on another arcade game which would prove to be the big stepping-off point of his career. "To develop this game," Suzuki told G4TV, "I rode on motorcycles a lot. When we came up with the prototype (for the arcades), I would ride on that prototype bike for hours and hours every day." His and AM2's efforts finally culminated into the game Hang-On, released in 1985. Hang-On was a success as it broke new ground in arcade technology. It did not feature any traditional controls, as the movement of the onscreen avatar was dictated by the movements the player made on the stationary motorcycle cabinet. AM2 soon followed with the immersive, 3D-esque shooting game Space Harrier later that year. Showing his interest in Ferraris, Suzuki created the driving simulator Out Run, which was released in 1986. Although it didn't officially feature a Ferrari, the player controlled a car that looked almost exactly like one. But Out Run's innovations didn't necessarily lie in the design of the car; it offered players a wide variety of driving paths and routes to complete the game, increasing replay value. It also featured a radio with three songs to choose from as players drove through the wide variety of landscapes. The soundtrack has proven to be quite popular in the gaming world. Despite what its name may have suggested, Out Run wasn't merely a racing game; it was a virtual road trip.
After these hits, Suzuki's creativity continued to yield great results for Sega, from the jet fighting After Burner series in the late 1980s to the roller coaster racer Power Drift in 1988. The dawn of the 1990s saw Suzuki bringing immersive gaming to the next level with a spiritual sequel to After Burner called G-LOC in 1990, which featured a gyroscope-like cabinet that rotated 360 degrees to give players the realistic illusion of flying a fighter jet. Suzuki had been interested in 3D technology since his days in college and he wanted to fully exploit its capabilities. Although Space Harrier and Out Run had graphics similar to 3D, they did not fully utilize the capabilities. When Sega released the Model 1 development board, a piece of hardware capable of generating polygonal graphics, Suzuki and AM2 went right to work. In 1992, they released the 3D Formula 1 racer Virtua Racing, which was considered one of, if not the most, realistic-looking arcade games on the market at that time. Virtua Racing proved to be a foreshadowing of the next 3D project from AM2, one that proved to be their biggest success to date.
In 1993, Suzuki created Virtua Fighter, the first 3D
fighting game
, which became enormously popular and spawned a series of sequels and spinoffs. The Virtua Fighter series was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution
as an application which made great contributions to society in the field of art and entertainment. For the first time ever, a Japanese game became a part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology
Innovation, and is now being kept perpetually at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
in Washington, D.C.
Suzuki's Shenmue
for the Dreamcast gave rise to a new style of adventure game
s, bending it away from the typical mold most games of its nature seem to fit into, with Suzuki's own concept denoted as "FREE
" (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment). The story, graphics and the innovative system exceeded those of many previous games. Shenmue was the most expensive game to be developed (until Grand Theft Auto IV
in 2008), with the whole project costing 70 million USD, equivalent to 93 million USD in 2011. Shenmue was a major step forward for 3D open world
, nonlinear gameplay, touted as offering an unparalleled level of player freedom, giving them full reign to explore an expansive sandbox city with its own day-night cycles, changing weather, and fully voiced non-player character
s going about their daily routines. The game's large interactive environments, wealth of options, level of detail and the scope of its urban sandbox exploration has been compared to later sandbox games like Grand Theft Auto III
and its sequels, Sega's own Yakuza
series, Fallout 3
, and Deadly Premonition. The game also introduced the quick time event
mechanic in its modern form and coined a name for it, "QTE". The mechanic has since appeared in many later titles, including popular action game
s such as Resident Evil 4
, God of War
, Tomb Raider: Legend, Heavenly Sword
, and Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy
.
One of Suzuki's most notable arcade games was Ferrari F355 Challenge
, a racing
simulator
created upon a strong partnership with Ferrari
. The game itself drew attention not only from the gaming industry overall, but also from the automobile industry. Rubens Barrichello
of the F1 Team Ferrari was quoted by Suzuki to "have considered to purchase one for practicing."
According to a gamasutra interview, Yu Suzuki plans to officially leave Sega in September 2011 to concentrate on his own development studio YS NET. However, he will not completely cut ties with Sega as he will take an advisory role within the company.
, unfortunately Yu Suzuki wasn't at the Sega Booth at E3 nor were there any games revealed developed by AM+ or Am2, the news reported never materialized.
However, it was revealed that fall that a new game in the Shenmue Series titled Shenmue City
was being developed by Sunsoft & YS Net (Yu Suzuki's new studio) for Yahoo Games.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese game designer and producer
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
who has spent his entire career with Sega Enterprises
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. Often referred to as Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
, he has been responsible for the creation of many of Sega's most important arcade games such as Hang-On
Hang-On
Hang-On is an arcade game released by Sega in 1985. It is the world's first full-body-experience video game. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and Sega's "Super Scaler"...
, Out Run
Out Run
is an arcade game released by Sega in 1986. It was designed by Yu Suzuki and Sega-AM2. The game was a critical and commercial success. It is notable for its innovative hardware , pioneering graphics and music, a choice in both soundtrack and route, and its strong theme of luxury and relaxation...
, After Burner II
After Burner II
After Burner II is an arcade-style flight game released by Sega in 1987. It is the second game in the After Burner series. In the game, you fly a F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, gunning down enemies while avoiding incoming fire...
, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA and Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop is a lightgun shooter arcade game created by Sega-AM2, and headed by Yu Suzuki. Its original incarnation was an arcade game in 1994 and it was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995, and Microsoft Windows in 1997...
as well as the Shenmue
Shenmue (series)
Shenmue is an interactive cinema open-world adventure video game series created, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki, and developed and published by Sega. Shenmue was listed in the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive video game produced for its time, with a production budget of...
series for the Dreamcast. In 2003, Suzuki became the sixth person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
listed him at #9 in their Top 100 Game Creators of All Time list.
Career
Suzuki was born and raised in Iwate PrefectureIwate Prefecture
is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the older of two children to parents who were elementary school teachers. Suzuki's father was Yuzuru, and his mother, Taka, taught piano. Suzuki has one younger sister named Yuka, who became a dance teacher. Yu Suzuki's interests were wide-ranging as a child. At a young age, he was encouraged by his father to have a passionate interest in music and the arts. That interest would stay with him for the rest of his life. He also enjoyed building numerous model cars, houses, and robots with plastic blocks, as well as establishing a passion for drawing.
Before entering college, Suzuki flirted with the idea of going into education, having been influenced by his parents. After a while, he thought of becoming an illustrator and then a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
; however, the latter dream was short-lived, as he didn't pass the required exam for dental school. Ever resourceful, Suzuki began to play the guitar, but he stated in an interview with G4TV that, "No matter how much I practised, I never got that much better."
Seeing the similarities between the plastic blocks he played with as a child and the architecture of electronic design, Yu Suzuki decided to pursue computer programming at the Okayama University of Science. He graduated from there in the early 1980s. He was also interested in music. He played guitar at Music club called "Muscat" at Okayama Ridai.
Career at Sega
Suzuki joined Sega EnterprisesSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
in 1983 as a programmer
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
. In his first year, he created a 2D boxing arcade game called Champion Boxing
Champion Boxing
is a 1983 boxing sports arcade game developed and published by Sega for the arcades, and later ported to the Sega SG-1000 the following year, only in Japan and Europe. It was Sega-AM2 founder and leader Yu Suzuki's debut creation...
, which became his debut work and was later ported to Sega's first home game console, the SG-1000. Under the mantle of Sega's development studio AM2, Suzuki began working on another arcade game which would prove to be the big stepping-off point of his career. "To develop this game," Suzuki told G4TV, "I rode on motorcycles a lot. When we came up with the prototype (for the arcades), I would ride on that prototype bike for hours and hours every day." His and AM2's efforts finally culminated into the game Hang-On, released in 1985. Hang-On was a success as it broke new ground in arcade technology. It did not feature any traditional controls, as the movement of the onscreen avatar was dictated by the movements the player made on the stationary motorcycle cabinet. AM2 soon followed with the immersive, 3D-esque shooting game Space Harrier later that year. Showing his interest in Ferraris, Suzuki created the driving simulator Out Run, which was released in 1986. Although it didn't officially feature a Ferrari, the player controlled a car that looked almost exactly like one. But Out Run's innovations didn't necessarily lie in the design of the car; it offered players a wide variety of driving paths and routes to complete the game, increasing replay value. It also featured a radio with three songs to choose from as players drove through the wide variety of landscapes. The soundtrack has proven to be quite popular in the gaming world. Despite what its name may have suggested, Out Run wasn't merely a racing game; it was a virtual road trip.
After these hits, Suzuki's creativity continued to yield great results for Sega, from the jet fighting After Burner series in the late 1980s to the roller coaster racer Power Drift in 1988. The dawn of the 1990s saw Suzuki bringing immersive gaming to the next level with a spiritual sequel to After Burner called G-LOC in 1990, which featured a gyroscope-like cabinet that rotated 360 degrees to give players the realistic illusion of flying a fighter jet. Suzuki had been interested in 3D technology since his days in college and he wanted to fully exploit its capabilities. Although Space Harrier and Out Run had graphics similar to 3D, they did not fully utilize the capabilities. When Sega released the Model 1 development board, a piece of hardware capable of generating polygonal graphics, Suzuki and AM2 went right to work. In 1992, they released the 3D Formula 1 racer Virtua Racing, which was considered one of, if not the most, realistic-looking arcade games on the market at that time. Virtua Racing proved to be a foreshadowing of the next 3D project from AM2, one that proved to be their biggest success to date.
In 1993, Suzuki created Virtua Fighter, the first 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
, which became enormously popular and spawned a series of sequels and spinoffs. The Virtua Fighter series was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
as an application which made great contributions to society in the field of art and entertainment. For the first time ever, a Japanese game became a part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
Innovation, and is now being kept perpetually at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Suzuki's Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
for the Dreamcast gave rise to a new style of adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s, bending it away from the typical mold most games of its nature seem to fit into, with Suzuki's own concept denoted as "FREE
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
" (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment). The story, graphics and the innovative system exceeded those of many previous games. Shenmue was the most expensive game to be developed (until Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
in 2008), with the whole project costing 70 million USD, equivalent to 93 million USD in 2011. Shenmue was a major step forward for 3D open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
, nonlinear gameplay, touted as offering an unparalleled level of player freedom, giving them full reign to explore an expansive sandbox city with its own day-night cycles, changing weather, and fully voiced non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s going about their daily routines. The game's large interactive environments, wealth of options, level of detail and the scope of its urban sandbox exploration has been compared to later sandbox games like Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
and its sequels, Sega's own Yakuza
Yakuza (series)
Yakuza is a Fighting game video game franchise created by Amusement Vision and owned and published by Sega.The series has sold at least 3.2 million copies as of March 2009...
series, Fallout 3
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
, and Deadly Premonition. The game also introduced the quick time event
Quick Time Event
In video games, a Quick Time Event is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen prompt. It allows for limited control of the game character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences in the game...
mechanic in its modern form and coined a name for it, "QTE". The mechanic has since appeared in many later titles, including popular action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s such as Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
, God of War
God of War (series)
God of War is a series of action-adventure video games based on Greek mythology.The main trilogy—God of War I, II, & III—in the series were developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division , with Ready at Dawn Studios developing the PSP and Javaground the mobile phone installment...
, Tomb Raider: Legend, Heavenly Sword
Heavenly Sword
Heavenly Sword is a video game developed by Ninja Theory exclusively for the PlayStation 3 console and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe...
, and Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy is a third-person espionage video game developed by High Moon Studios and published by Sierra Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game expands upon Robert Ludlum's character Jason Bourne, and immerses the player in a cat and mouse style...
.
One of Suzuki's most notable arcade games was Ferrari F355 Challenge
Ferrari F355 Challenge
Ferrari F355 Challenge is a racing game based on the actual race car and Ferrari event. It was developed by the AM2 division of Sega for arcades under supervision of producer Yu Suzuki, and was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2...
, a racing
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
simulator
Vehicle simulation game
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles...
created upon a strong partnership with Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
. The game itself drew attention not only from the gaming industry overall, but also from the automobile industry. Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
of the F1 Team Ferrari was quoted by Suzuki to "have considered to purchase one for practicing."
Rumored retirement
In the spring of 2009, rumors surfaced that Yu Suzuki would step down from Sega after 26 years of employment. However, an article written by Brendan Sinclair, a reporter for the American video game journalism website GameSpot, stated the rumors to be false and that an anonymous representative for Sega of America revealed that Suzuki was in fact not retiring but staying "in a much more diminished capacity" than in the past. He has become the manager of the R&D department for Sega's new development studio, AM Plus. AM Plus has solely focused its attention on the Japanese video arcade market with such titles as Psy-Phi (which was cancelled), a unique dodgeball-esque one-on-one fighting game whose development was headed by Suzuki, and the character-based racing game Sega Race TV (limited release).According to a gamasutra interview, Yu Suzuki plans to officially leave Sega in September 2011 to concentrate on his own development studio YS NET. However, he will not completely cut ties with Sega as he will take an advisory role within the company.
Mainstream return
In April 2010, Gofanboy reported that Yu Suzuki would be appearing at E3 2010 revealing a once-cancelled game remodeled for the Playstation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, unfortunately Yu Suzuki wasn't at the Sega Booth at E3 nor were there any games revealed developed by AM+ or Am2, the news reported never materialized.
However, it was revealed that fall that a new game in the Shenmue Series titled Shenmue City
Shenmue City
Shenmue City is a new entry in the Shenmue series that will be released for the PC in Japan. Unlike the first two installments in the series, Shenmue City is not a sequel, but rather a social games service for Yahoo! Mobage service...
was being developed by Sunsoft & YS Net (Yu Suzuki's new studio) for Yahoo Games.
List of major works
| Title | Year released | Platform | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champion Boxing Champion Boxing is a 1983 boxing sports arcade game developed and published by Sega for the arcades, and later ported to the Sega SG-1000 the following year, only in Japan and Europe. It was Sega-AM2 founder and leader Yu Suzuki's debut creation... |
1984 | --- | Producer / Director |
| Champion Pro Wrestling | 1985 | --- | Producer / Director |
| Space Harrier Space Harrier is a third-person rail shooter game, released by Sega in 1985. It was produced by Yu Suzuki, responsible for many popular Sega games. It spawned several sequels: Space Harrier 3-D , Space Harrier II , and the spin-off Planet Harriers .... |
1985 | Sega Space Harrier hardware | Producer / Director |
| Hang-On Hang-On Hang-On is an arcade game released by Sega in 1985. It is the world's first full-body-experience video game. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and Sega's "Super Scaler"... |
1985 | Sega Space Harrier hardware | Producer / Director |
| Out Run Out Run is an arcade game released by Sega in 1986. It was designed by Yu Suzuki and Sega-AM2. The game was a critical and commercial success. It is notable for its innovative hardware , pioneering graphics and music, a choice in both soundtrack and route, and its strong theme of luxury and relaxation... |
1986 | Sega Out Run hardware | Producer / Director |
| Super Hang-On Super Hang-On is a 1987 motorcycle racing arcade game from Sega, and the sequel to the acclaimed Hang-On. A version of this game, in the full simulated-motorcycle cabinet used by the original Hang-On was released in 1991 as Limited Edition Hang-On.... |
1986 | Sega Space Harrier hardware | Producer |
| Enduro Racer Enduro Racer Enduro Racer is an arcade game from Sega. It was released in 1986 with either a stand up cabinet with handlebars or a full-sized dirt bike on the cabinet itself. Some said it is essentially the dirt version of Hang-On, hence using the similar engine and PCB.-Gameplay:The player rides the dirt bike... |
1986 | Sega Space Harrier hardware | Producer / Director |
| After Burner After Burner is a 1987 Japanese flight simulator arcade game by Sega. It is one of the first games designed by Yu Suzuki. The player flew an F-14 using a specialized joystick , and the game spawned several sequels.-Gameplay:... |
1987 | Sega X Board | Producer / Director |
| After Burner II After Burner II After Burner II is an arcade-style flight game released by Sega in 1987. It is the second game in the After Burner series. In the game, you fly a F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, gunning down enemies while avoiding incoming fire... |
1987 | Sega X Board | Producer / Director |
| Power Drift Power Drift is an arcade game released by Sega in 1988. A racing game, it made high use of sprite-scaling to create a 3D effect, similar to contemporaries Out Run and Hang-On.-Gameplay:... |
1988 | Sega Y Board | Producer / Director |
| Turbo Outrun Turbo Outrun Turbo OutRun is a arcade racing game released by Sega. It was released as a dedicated game, as well as an upgradable kit that could be installed on the original Out Run board.-Overview:... |
1989 | Sega Out Run hardware | Producer |
| G-LOC: Air Battle G-LOC: Air Battle G-LOC: Air Battle is a 1990 air combat arcade game by Sega. The title refers to "G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness".-Overview:The game puts the player in a fighter plane, dog fighting other planes. Once the player takes too many hits or the game-timer runs out the game is over. The player earns... |
1990 | Sega Y Board | Producer / Director |
| Virtua Racing Virtua Racing Virtua Racing or V.R. for short, is a Formula One racing arcade game, developed by Sega-AM2 and released in October 1992. Virtua Racing was initially a proof-of-concept application for exercising a new 3D-graphics platform under development, the "Model 1". The results were so encouraging, that... |
1992 | Sega Model 1 | Producer / Director |
| Virtua Fighter | 1993 | Sega Model 1 | Director |
| Virtua Cop Virtua Cop Virtua Cop is a lightgun shooter arcade game created by Sega-AM2, and headed by Yu Suzuki. Its original incarnation was an arcade game in 1994 and it was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995, and Microsoft Windows in 1997... |
1994 | Sega Model 2 | Producer |
| Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Fighter 2 is a fighting game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to Virtua Fighter and the second game in the Virtua Fighter series. It was created by the Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 and was released in the arcade in 1994. It was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Microsoft Windows in 1997... |
1994 | Sega Model 2 | Producer / Director |
| Virtua Cop 2 Virtua Cop 2 Virtua Cop 2 is a light gun arcade game, released in 1995 and developed internally at Sega by their AM2 studio. It was ported to home systems on the Sega Saturn in 1996. It was released in PC in 1997 and Dreamcast in 2000... |
1995 | Sega Model 2 | Producer |
| Virtua Fighter 3 Virtua Fighter 3 is the third game in the Virtua Fighter series. Two new Japanese characters were added to the roster of fighters: Aoi Umenokoji, a beautiful Japanese woman and a childhood friend of Akira Yuki who used a nimble form of Aiki-jujutsu as her fighting style of choice, and Taka-Arashi, a Sumo wrestler... |
1996 | Sega Model 3 | Producer |
| Virtua Fighter 3 Team Battle Virtua Fighter 3 is the third game in the Virtua Fighter series. Two new Japanese characters were added to the roster of fighters: Aoi Umenokoji, a beautiful Japanese woman and a childhood friend of Akira Yuki who used a nimble form of Aiki-jujutsu as her fighting style of choice, and Taka-Arashi, a Sumo wrestler... |
1997 | Sega Model 3 | Producer |
| Ferrari F355 Challenge Ferrari F355 Challenge Ferrari F355 Challenge is a racing game based on the actual race car and Ferrari event. It was developed by the AM2 division of Sega for arcades under supervision of producer Yu Suzuki, and was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2... |
1999 | Sega NAOMI | Producer / Director |
| Shenmue Shenmue is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player... |
1999 | Dreamcast | Producer / Director |
| Shenmue II Shenmue II is a adventure game for the Dreamcast and Xbox. It is the sequel to Shenmue, and was produced and directed by Yu Suzuki of Sega AM2.Due to exclusivity rights obtained by Microsoft, the North American Dreamcast version was cancelled. Because of this, no English dub was recorded for the Dreamcast... |
2001 | Dreamcast, Xbox Xbox The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... |
Producer / Director |
| Propeller Arena Propeller Arena Propeller Arena: Aviation Battle Championship is a video game for the Dreamcast console. It was developed and completed by the development team Sega AM2, but the game was never officially released... |
2001 Cancelled | Dreamcast | Producer |
| Virtua Fighter 4 Virtua Fighter 4 is a fighting game by Sega. It is the fourth game in the Virtua Fighter series.The game was first released in arcades on the NAOMI 2 board in 2001... |
2001 | Sega NAOMI 2, PS2 | Executive director |
| Suzuki Yu - Game Works Vol. 1 | 2002 | Dreamcast | |
| Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution | 2002 | Sega NAOMI 2 / PS2 | Executive director |
| Virtua Fighter 4 Final Tuned | 2003 | Sega NAOMI 2 | Producer |
| Propeller Arena Propeller Arena Propeller Arena: Aviation Battle Championship is a video game for the Dreamcast console. It was developed and completed by the development team Sega AM2, but the game was never officially released... |
2003 Leaked Online | Dreamcast | Executive director |
| Virtua Cop 3 Virtua Cop 3 Virtua Cop 3 is the third game from Sega's Virtua Cop franchise.-Background:Virtua Cop 3 is only available in arcades. The game is available in standard and deluxe cabinet formats... |
2003 | Sega Chihiro | Executive director |
| OutRun 2 OutRun 2 OutRun 2 is a racing game released by Sega in 2003. Although this is the first official sequel to Out Run, it is the fifth title in the Out Run series.-Gameplay:... |
2003 | Sega Chihiro | Producer |
| Shenmue Online Shenmue Online Shenmue Online was an announced MMORPG where players participate in scenarios from Shenmue II, joining one of three clans, led by Shen Hua, Xiu Ying, and Wu Ying Ren, all significant characters from the story.... |
Cancelled | PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... |
Director |
| Psy-Phi Psy-Phi Psy-Phi is a 2006 fighting game developed for the Lindbergh arcade platform by new development studio Digital Rex, a development group within Sega, headed by Yu Suzuki formerly head of Sega-AM2... |
2005 Cancelled | Sega Lindbergh | Producer |
| Sega Race TV Sega Race TV Sega Race TV is a racing game for the Sega Lindbergh arcades. It was released in 2008.-Development:This was the only game Yu Suzuki was successfully able to complete after his departure from SEGA-AM2, the other 2 projects that he worked on Psy-Phi & Shenmue Online were never released.SEGA RACE TV... |
2008 | Sega Lindbergh | Producer |
| Shenmue City Shenmue City Shenmue City is a new entry in the Shenmue series that will be released for the PC in Japan. Unlike the first two installments in the series, Shenmue City is not a sequel, but rather a social games service for Yahoo! Mobage service... |
2010 | Yahoo Mobage Service | Director |