is a Japanese video game developer,

game producer A video game producer is the top person in charge of overseeing development of a video game. History The earliest documented use of the term ''producer'' in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Ar ...

game director A video game producer is the top person in charge of overseeing development of a video game. History The earliest documented use of the term ''producer'' in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Art ...

and

game designer Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

. He was Senior Vice President of Software Development at Square Enix (formerly

Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

) and the head of the company's Product Development Division-3.

Biography

In 1983, Tanaka dropped out of

Yokohama National University , abbreviated to or YNU, is a national university located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Founded in 1876, it became a national university in 1949, and currently comprises five graduate schools and four undergraduate faculties. The univ ...

along with

Hironobu Sakaguchi is a Japanese game designer, director, producer, and writer. Originally working for Square (later Square Enix) from 1983 to 2003, he departed the company and founded independent studio Mistwalker in 2004. He is known as the creator of the ''Fin ...

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 also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Squaresoft and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the ''Final Fantas ...

'', Square's first

massively multiplayer online role playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a character (o ...

(MMORPG). He oversaw development of ''Final Fantasy XI'' and ''

Final Fantasy XIV ''Final Fantasy XIV'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix. Directed and produced by Naoki Yoshida, it was released worldwide for Windows and PlayStation 3 in August 2013, as a rep ...

'' until late 2010. He also worked in a prominent role for earlier single-player games including ''

Secret of Mana ''Secret of Mana'', originally released in Japan as is a 1993 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sequel to the 1991 game ''Seiken Densetsu'', rele ...

'', ''

Seiken Densetsu 3 ''Trials of Mana'', also known by its Japanese title is a 1995 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Famicom. It is the seq ...

'', ''

Xenogears ''Xenogears'' is a 1998 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. It is the debut entry in the larger ''Xeno (series), Xeno'' franchise. ...

'', '' Threads of Fate'', ''

Chrono Cross is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is set in the same world as ''Chrono Trigger'', which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. ''Chrono C ...

'', and the Nintendo DS version of ''

Final Fantasy III is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer. The third installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it is the first numbered ''Final Fantasy'' game to feature the job-change system. The story revolve ...

''. 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 , also known by the nickname Yoshi-P'','' is a Japanese video game producer, director and designer working for Square Enix. He is best known for his work on massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), mainly as director and produc ...

. At the Vana'diel Fan Festival 2012, an event celebrating ''Final Fantasy XIs 10th anniversary, Tanaka announced his departure from Square Enix due to health reasons. In 2012, Tanaka joined

GungHo Online Entertainment is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. They are primarily known for hosting the Japanese server of ''Ragnarok Online'' (developed by its listed Korean subsidiary Gravity), as well as their development of '' Ragnarok DS'' for the Ninte ...

as a freelance advisor to the company.

Game Credits

References

External links

Hiromichi Tanaka
profile at MobyGames {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Hiromichi 1962 births Final Fantasy designers Japanese video game designers Living people Square Enix people