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Hiromichi Tanaka Leaving Square Enix for Health ReasonsFollow

#1 Jun 24 2012 at 7:07 AM Rating: Excellent
Although it's probably not new to anyone that was following VanaFest 2012 last night, at the end Hiromichi Tanaka announced that he will be leaving Square Enix for unspecified health reasons. Akihiko Matsui, who served as XI's director in late 2010 during the height of the Abyssea add-ons before being brought over to Final Fantasy XIV as lead battle designer, will be replacing him as XI's producer.

I know that everyone's opinions on Tanaka are mixed, some consider the very name blasphemous in regards to Square Enix's MMO's, whereas others see what he's done all in all as a testament of his abilities, with only a few low points in an otherwise amazing track record. I felt it was appropriate to have this here so that people can discuss their opinions and view points on his past work. I ask for no flaming or trolling, and try to keep things somewhat clean. I know a lot of you could probably sum up your opinions of him in a series of expletives, but I'd like for something more PG-13-ish.
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#2 Jun 24 2012 at 7:11 AM Rating: Excellent
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I know a lot of you could probably sum up your opinions of him in a series of expletives, but I'd like for something more PG-13-ish.


Well, gosh dang it to heck
#3 Jun 24 2012 at 7:26 AM Rating: Excellent
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With the way that corporations in Japan work, I can't help but feel that 'unspecified health reasons' may very well be a ruse of some sort, and that this is effectively their way of showing him the way out while trying to save face both for Tanaka, as well as the company.

Still, taken at face value, I do hope him the best in terms of his health, and that whatever he's going through is something that he is able to get through. In the end, this is all just a video game, and I'd never wish ill will or condition on someone solely because of my opinion of them as a developer of an MMO.
#4 Jun 24 2012 at 7:31 AM Rating: Excellent
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While its pretty clear FFXI didn't do so well under his guidance later on, I do wish him the best. Assuming its for health reasons, I hope its something he can clear up, and that it puts minimal strain on him and his family.
#5 Jun 24 2012 at 7:48 AM Rating: Good
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A new expansion and now this... This must be a dream! Or am I dead? o.O
#6 Jun 24 2012 at 7:52 AM Rating: Good
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Akihiko Matsui was who we had during Abyssea right?

The time when they actually listened to what we wanted.

Posting on the official forums offering suggestions might mean something again with such a guy in charge.
#7 Jun 24 2012 at 8:13 AM Rating: Good
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To sum it up, incredible weekend.
#8 Jun 24 2012 at 8:20 AM Rating: Excellent
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In the end, you can lose everything but your health, but once you lose that, nothing else matters. I wish Tanaka a good and stable recovery.
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#9 Jun 24 2012 at 8:34 AM Rating: Excellent
Brilliant man in terms of single-player games. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten Secret of Mana, Chrono Cross, or an outside-of-Japan release of Final Fantasy III.

I know a lot of us here (especially in the XIV forum) do not care for his actions done in the MMO universe, I hope he joins future single-player game development projects in the future and maybe see some spiritual sequels to games we've wanted. (Mistwalker with Sakaguchi, perhaps?)
#10 Jun 24 2012 at 9:15 AM Rating: Good
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We should all send big wooden logs to his house with the word "BALANCE" carved into it to make him feel better.

The real question in my mind, is 'if this is a ruse' (and I know that's a big if), is the new set of expansions intended to be, or at least contain, Abyssea V2? If so I'll rejoin, make my wife join and force her to learn to play, and S/E can have our money for years to come.



While he did great things in the gaming world, his final days in FFXI were more like ... punishing the playerbase for liking something different, and then reverting everything back to the way it was to make sure we could never enjoy that again. If he hadn't had a hand in this rediculous approach, not to mention the downfall of XIV, I'd feel for him. But honestly, I'm with the guy who says this is "a ruse". While I don't truely wish bad health upon him, I also don't wish him to continue developing for XI and XIV, because ***** anyone who thinks what was done to the game after he took it back over was "decent", he was a prick about the whole thing, and for the first time since he came back the game now stands a chance in hell to thrive.



And on a final note... I also wonder if the 'reason' he reverted the game to it's former style was to perserve his legacy, because he knew he had health problems ahead of time. It would at least rationalize the complete a-hole attitude he had towards everything, hell, if that was the case I could even forgive it to some extent.
#11 Jun 24 2012 at 9:39 AM Rating: Excellent
There is more to life than playing games.

Best wishes, Tanaka. Thanks for the memories!
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#12 Jun 24 2012 at 10:47 AM Rating: Decent
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Whilst I got frustrated with Voidwatch (appalling event) and am glad to see him gone in terms of XI, I do hope that his health issues are resolvable. In game terms though I think XI may move into a more contemporary phase.
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#13 Jun 24 2012 at 11:08 AM Rating: Decent
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My response? ...

Time to resub! I think that says it best.
#14 Jun 24 2012 at 11:12 AM Rating: Decent
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I wasn't aware being a sadistic, hard-headed, lying master troll is a health condition.
Good luck with that.

Quote:
With the way that corporations in Japan work, I can't help but feel that 'unspecified health reasons' may very well be a ruse of some sort, and that this is effectively their way of showing him the way out while trying to save face both for Tanaka, as well as the company.

This.

Edited, Jun 24th 2012 1:14pm by RattyBatty
#15 Jun 24 2012 at 11:15 AM Rating: Good
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UltKnightGrover wrote:
Brilliant man in terms of single-player games. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten Secret of Mana, Chrono Cross, or an outside-of-Japan release of Final Fantasy III.

I know a lot of us here (especially in the XIV forum) do not care for his actions done in the MMO universe, I hope he joins future single-player game development projects in the future and maybe see some spiritual sequels to games we've wanted. (Mistwalker with Sakaguchi, perhaps?)



I think he's a scapegoat in XIV, a game that clearly showed it wasn't ready to be released yet it was forced to be released to compete with a WoW expansion and Rift. Had they worked on it like they are doing with 2.0 then they would not have had that issue. Sadly when all is said and done "Tanaka" is seen as the villain in everything yet it's his "Villainy" that allowed SE to grow and evolve from the issues they were having back in 2010. It's like he sacrificed himself so that the company could revive it's way of making games and produce content that people could enjoy.

Without him you don't have XI, he prolly had to convince Wada so much to convince him to go through with the mmorpg since during the history segment people didn't have much faith that the game would succeed, but look it's 10yrs now and the servers are still live.

It's really sad how a personal passionate for his creation can be depictated as being an evil mean person cause of the mechanics he created which forced community to work together to overcome challenges. FF is all about working as a team to overcome challenges and Tanaka succeeded in producing an MMO in the same vein. If he was really such an evil person then why did people continue to play a game that was extremely unforgiving and challenging? Because they liked to be challenge, it's only the small population that may go into an uproar about how challenging everything is but at the end of the day when you finally overcome those challenges you feel a sense of accomplishment because you overcame something difficult as a group.

I do hope Tanaka the best in everything, hopefully if his health recovers maybe he'll be able to produce new single player games. Be nice to see another Chrono game XD.
#16 Jun 24 2012 at 11:29 AM Rating: Excellent
The job of a Producer is to communicate with the CEOs and business partners that the game wasn't ready. Not to go along and release it anyway.
#17 Jun 24 2012 at 11:42 AM Rating: Good
Man I certainly hope I don't **** up royally before I retire and all my work before that point becomes irrelevant to massive wave a rage.

I do hope this will be better for both games and will happily see the man to the door but I don't think tripping him and kicking him once he gets outside is necessary. haha
#18 Jun 24 2012 at 11:42 AM Rating: Good
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UltKnightGrover wrote:
Brilliant man in terms of single-player games. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten Secret of Mana, Chrono Cross, or an outside-of-Japan release of Final Fantasy III.

I know a lot of us here (especially in the XIV forum) do not care for his actions done in the MMO universe, I hope he joins future single-player game development projects in the future and maybe see some spiritual sequels to games we've wanted. (Mistwalker with Sakaguchi, perhaps?)
I would much rather remember him for this than to remember him for FFXI and XIV's flop of a launch. He contributed to gaming, and he will go down as one of the greatest contributors to Final Fantasy next to Sakaguchi. I never agreed with how he thought an MMORPG should be developed, but that doesn't really affect what he did in the past.

That being said, I'll be amused if he "recovers", ends up joining Mistwalker and then does some producing for Last Story 2. XD
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#19 Jun 24 2012 at 12:20 PM Rating: Decent
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It seems MMOs have really taken their toll on him, so it's not surprising he's getting away from them. Whether they forced him out or not is irrelevant. If they did I'm sure he was happy to leave. But I've said it before and I'll say it again: Tanaka was absolutely around when he said yes to Abyssea, and now he's said yes to a new expansion. Point is despite his crappy love for making us grind things, he has brought many great things to FFXI whether you want to admit it or not. And he may very well have kept certain things in check to keep the game going that will no longer be there now. For all we know, without his influence SE may very well feel inclined to turn the game into a full on cash cow in the future. I'm talking free to play, Square Store future, even less dev crew than they have now.

I'm just saying, for all of those people who love this news here, be careful of what you ask for. FFXI will suffer to some extent without Tanaka. What that extent is will be realized in the future. I can't think of one MMO that went on to great things after it's lead man departed or the game exchanged hands for control through sale. Usually it's never the same again as those that come after are only concerned with a cash cow product, and lack the care that the original producer had for the game...

But let's say for sake of argument that Tanaka wasn't involved in Abyssea beyond giving the green light. Let's say the good that came from it was the work of Ito alone. Well then if that be the case, the outlook for FFXI may very well be excellent. But I'm cautious as hell when it comes to the heads at SE. If they rushed FFXIV out to it's doom, they are capable of anything.

Anyways, farewell Tanaka. You will be missed and not be missed by me. But for what it's worth, not that you'll ever see this post anyways, I fully understand the good you have done. But the one thing that everyone agrees on, is very true: You made us grind like slaves in the end. You surely did troll the stew out of us. And that hate has been well earned. I don't know if it's because we didn't jump on board FFXIV and you were getting revenge or if you were just trying to keep us occupied because you knew the expansion was a ways away or what, but yeah... I think I am willing to take the chance of a Tanaka-less FFXI for the future. But I thank you for your parting gift that is the new expansion. Thank you for believing in a future for FFXI still, and not delivering add on after add on for the rest of time. Thank you for giving us Final Fantasy XI and the many games before it. I hope SE will continue those feelings and your legacy lives on through their efforts, to continue proving certain players wrong in their presumptions of the state of FFXI, to continue exploring new worlds, to go where no man has gone befor- oh wait, too much Star Trek lately.

Anywho, Qa'pla, Master Tanaka!


The rest of my weekend shall be spent honoring the man that changed my life nearly a decade ago. I suggest everyone do the same. If not for his vision, we would have no FFXI. Or at the least, not the FFXI we know. He has earned that much, has he not? To look past the misdeeds for just a day, and honor the man that has brought us together in this time and place, for his many good deeds do indeed outweigh the bad. Honor him, and look forward to the future.
#20 Jun 24 2012 at 1:05 PM Rating: Excellent
UltKnightGrover wrote:
The job of a Producer is to communicate with the CEOs and business partners that the game wasn't ready. Not to go along and release it anyway.


In the end though, the corporate higher ups would still likely have the final say in when they want it released, so he'd have his hands tied.
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#21 Jun 24 2012 at 2:07 PM Rating: Excellent
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The cynic in me wants to say the 'health problem' is the health of FFXI and FFXIV, not his personal health.

The realist in me wishes him well in his future. Whatever the man may have done, I can't say that I haven't had years of entertainment under his eye, even if I didn't agree with the methods. I pray all goes well for his future as well as the futures of FFXI and FFXIV.
#22 Jun 24 2012 at 2:18 PM Rating: Good
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He's leaving because "he asked to resign because he wants to return to the game development scene as a single creator."

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FFXI Producer Hiromichi Tanaka Discusses Square Enix Departure

This year's Vana Fest 2012 event started on a high note with the announcement of the Final Fantasy XI Seekers of Adoulin expansion. It ended on a low note with the announcement that Hiromichi Tanaka would not only be stepping down as FFXI's producer, but leaving Square Enix as well.

Tanaka was one of the earliest members of then Square, and did design work on the first few Final Fantasy games before moving on to a producer role on some of the company's most beloved franchises, including Xenogears and Chrono Cross.

So what caused him to leave the company with which he's been employed since 1983? Famitsu.com found out during a mini interview with Tanaka that it conducted during day two of the Vana Fest event today.

It appears that a major contributor to Tanaka's decision was his health. While not going into specifics, he says that he has a major illness, and consideration of his health lead to the decision.

This wasn't the only reason, though. He also said that he asked to resign because he wants to return to the game development scene as a single creator.

Famitsu unfortunately did not ask Tanaka if this latter comment means that he will continue with the game's development.

Tanaka also had some kind words for Akihiko Matsui, his replacement as FFXI's producer. Matsui was selected because Tanaka beleives he's the only one he could do the job. Although Matsui is busy with his work on Final Fantasy XIV, Tanaka wanted to see him return to FFXI at some point.

Matsui will be working on both FFXIV and FFXI. According to Tanaka, Matsui will be working hard on Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming Version 2.0 update, and will then put his efforts into building up FFXI.

http://andriasang.com/con1n4/tanaka_departure_interview/
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#23 Jun 24 2012 at 4:17 PM Rating: Default
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A new expansion and now this... This must be a dream! Or am I dead? o.O

+1 my friend.

Oh wait, no not dreaming england just got booted out of the Euro..... bleh.. not been a good day for the brits.
#24 Jun 24 2012 at 4:42 PM Rating: Good
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Lonix wrote:
Oh wait, no not dreaming england just got booted out of the Euro..... bleh.. not been a good day for the brits.


*reads this*
*thinks that England got booted out of Euorpe's joint currency for some insane reason*
*imagines massive financial chaos*
*Googles this to read the news*
*it's just some stupid soccer tournament*

... oh, Europe. You so Europe.
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#25 Jun 24 2012 at 4:49 PM Rating: Excellent
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Erecia wrote:
Lonix wrote:
Oh wait, no not dreaming england just got booted out of the Euro..... bleh.. not been a good day for the brits.


*reads this*
*thinks that England got booted out of Euorpe's joint currency for some insane reason*
*imagines massive financial chaos*
*Googles this to read the news*
*it's just some stupid soccer tournament*

... oh, Europe. You so Europe.

thank you for saving the rest of us (read: me) the time it would have taken to google that ourselves. Smiley: inlove
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#26 Jun 24 2012 at 5:14 PM Rating: Good
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Health reasons: "They'll break my f*cking legs if I **** their games up any more."
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