Hiromichi Tanaka

Hiromichi Tanaka
Hiromichi Tanaka
	Tanaka in London, England, January 2007
Born	January 7, 1962 (age 64); Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan
Occupations	Video game producer and director
Years active	1983–present
Employers	Square (1983–2003); Square Enix (2003–2012); GungHo Online Entertainment (2012–present);
Known for	Final Fantasy series; Mana series;

Hiromichi Tanaka (田中弘道, Tanaka Hiromichi; born January 7, 1962) is a Japanese video game developer, game producer, game director and game designer. He was Senior Vice President of Software Development at Square Enix (formerly Square) and the head of the company's Product Development Division-3.^[1]

Biography

In 1983, Tanaka dropped out of Yokohama National University along with Hironobu Sakaguchi to join Square, a newly formed software branch of the Denyuusha Electric Company. Along with Sakaguchi and Kazuhiko Aoki, Tanaka was part of Square's original Planning and Development department.

He is best known as the former lead developer of Final Fantasy XI, Square's first massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). He oversaw development of Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV until late 2010. He also worked in a prominent role for earlier single-player games including Secret of Mana, Trials of Mana, Xenogears, Threads of Fate, Chrono Cross, and the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy III. Tanaka also worked on the original Famicom version of Final Fantasy III in 1990.

Final Fantasy XIV received negative reception from critics and players, and was considered a financial loss for Square Enix. Three months after its release in 2010, Tanaka was removed from the Final Fantasy XIV team and replaced by Naoki Yoshida.^[2] At the Vana'diel Fan Festival 2012, an event celebrating Final Fantasy XI's 10th anniversary, Tanaka announced his departure from Square Enix for health reasons.^[3] In 2012, Tanaka joined GungHo Online Entertainment as a freelance advisor to the company.^[4]

Works

Year	Title	Credit(s)	Ref.
1984	The Death Trap	Game design	^[5]
1985	Genesis	Director, game design, scenario	^[6]
1986	Alpha	Game design, scenario
1986	Suishō no Dragon	Game design
1987	Aliens: Alien 2	Director, game design	^[7]
	Cleopatra no Mahō	Director, game design
	Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School	Staff
	Final Fantasy	Game design	^[8]
1988	Final Fantasy II	Game design	^[8]
1989	Square's Tom Sawyer	Cooperation	^[6]
1990	Final Fantasy III	Game design	^[8]
1990	Final Fantasy Legend II	Main data	^[8]
1993	Secret of Mana	Producer, system design, scenario message data	^[8]
1995	Trials of Mana	Director	^[8]
1998	Xenogears	Producer, battle planner	^[5]
1999	Threads of Fate	Producer	^[9]
1999	Chrono Cross	Producer, battle system design	^[5]
2002	Final Fantasy XI	Producer (until 2012)	^[10]
2003	Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart	Producer	^[9]
2003	Sword of Mana	Executive producer
2004	Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia	Producer
2006	Final Fantasy III (Nintendo DS)	Director, executive producer	^[11]
2006	Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan	Producer
2007	Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess	Producer
2009	SaGa 2: Goddess of Destiny	Co-executive producer
2010	Final Fantasy XIV	Producer (until December 2010)	^[2]
2011	Final Fantasy III	Supervisor
2015	MOJI-POP'N	Producer
2016	Seventh Rebirth	Producer	^[12]
2023	JET DRAGON	Special Thanks

References

^ Winkler, Chris (September 20, 2003). "Square Enix Talks Current Status". RPGFan. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "'FINAL FANTASY XIV' GETS STAFF CHANGES AND PS3 DELAY". MTV. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
^ "FFXI Producer Hiromichi Tanaka Discusses Square Enix Departure". Andriasang. Andriasang.com. June 24, 2012. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
^ "Former 'Final Fantasy XIV' boss Hiromichi Tanaka joins GungHo". Polygon.com. September 19, 2012. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mallory, Jordan (June 24, 2012). "Hiromichi Tanaka leaves Square Enix". Engadget. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "FINAL FANTASY III 30th Anniversary Special Interview Vol.1". Square Enix. April 27, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
^ Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers Volume 3. p. 476.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f IGN Staff (April 4, 1997). "Interview With Square's Hiromichi Tanaka". IGN. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Reynolds, Shawn (November 19, 2016). "Why the Industry Needs a Threads of Fate Sequel". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ Fahey, Rob (September 17, 2004). "Focus On: Square Enix' Hiromichi Tanaka". gameindustry.biz. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
^ Jordan, Jon (February 2, 2007). "Talking Final Fantasy III with Hiromichi Tanaka". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ Sato (October 18, 2016). "Seventh Rebirth Is A Mobile RPG By Final Fantasy XI Producer And Other Big Names". Siliconera. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

External links

Hiromichi Tanaka profile at MobyGames

[1] Winkler, Chris (September 20, 2003). "Square Enix Talks Current Status". RPGFan. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2013.

[mtv-2] "'FINAL FANTASY XIV' GETS STAFF CHANGES AND PS3 DELAY". MTV. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.

[3] "FFXI Producer Hiromichi Tanaka Discusses Square Enix Departure". Andriasang. Andriasang.com. June 24, 2012. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.

[4] "Former 'Final Fantasy XIV' boss Hiromichi Tanaka joins GungHo". Polygon.com. September 19, 2012. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2012.

[beginning-5] Mallory, Jordan (June 24, 2012). "Hiromichi Tanaka leaves Square Enix". Engadget. Retrieved May 15, 2020.

[anniversary-6] "FINAL FANTASY III 30th Anniversary Special Interview Vol.1". Square Enix. April 27, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.

[:0-7] Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers Volume 3. p. 476.

[final-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f IGN Staff (April 4, 1997). "Interview With Square's Hiromichi Tanaka". IGN. Retrieved May 13, 2020.

[fated-9] Reynolds, Shawn (November 19, 2016). "Why the Industry Needs a Threads of Fate Sequel". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[credits-10] Fahey, Rob (September 17, 2004). "Focus On: Square Enix' Hiromichi Tanaka". gameindustry.biz. Retrieved May 13, 2020.

[DS3-11] Jordan, Jon (February 2, 2007). "Talking Final Fantasy III with Hiromichi Tanaka". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[rebirth-12] Sato (October 18, 2016). "Seventh Rebirth Is A Mobile RPG By Final Fantasy XI Producer And Other Big Names". Siliconera. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

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