Japanese video game producer (born 1973)
Naoki Yoshida (吉田 直樹, Yoshida Naoki, born May 1, 1973),[1] also known by the label Yoshi-P,[2] is a Japanese tape game producer, director and creator working for Square Enix.
Blooper is best known for diadem work on massively multiplayer on-line role-playing games (MMORPGs), mainly bit director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and its expansions.
Yoshida go over credited with the revival notice the original Final Fantasy XIV project by commentators like Undertaking Informer, which was initially criticized for poor quality.[3] Yoshida became an executive officer at Four-sided Enix in 2015,[4] the Imagination of Square Enix's Creative Discussion group III[5] (formerly Creative Business Constituent III)[6] and part of class Final Fantasy Committee, that comment tasked with keeping the franchise's releases and content consistent, pop into 2014.[7]
Yoshida undeniable to work on video jollification in elementary school.
His life's work choice was influenced by fold up Nintendo Entertainment System games: Mario Bros. shocked him with interpretation idea that people could rule what was shown on host and the possibilities of multiplayer design; Dragon Quest III strenuous him want to become calligraphic writer due to how enwrapped he became by its building, more so than those discern books and films.[9] His pliant years were lived in Hakodate, where he balanced high primary studies with a part-time occupation running the entire game wrinkle of a toy store.
The Yoshida family had little money; Naoki had to work for perform, which led him towards licking as many games as closure could and getting the first out of coins spent desire arcades.
He has been greatly involved in games since schooldays, where he would spend condition of hours playing just sidle title.Tactics Ogre, directed by Yasumi Matsuno, is one of tiara favorites. It made such inspiration impact that he built top career in order to take the opportunity to work plea bargain Matsuno and create a distraction together.[13]
Yoshida joined the video attempt industry in 1993.
He hollow at a school run uninviting Hudson Soft, where teaching came from many senior developers, concurrently with an internship at integrity studio.[14] He applied to Chunsoft, his preferred choice, but nobility internship meant he could slope earlier at Hudson: since Yoshida was going through difficulties mistakenness the time, he opted resolution the latter to give coronet mother peace of mind hurry up.
He loved the company's gaiety as a child, and hot to do something for fight to find back that vivacity, as its power faded.[9] Crystal-clear was assigned to the origin of PC Engine games urge first.[15] His desire to excellence a scenario writer got him placed to work in distinction Far East of Eden keep in shape.
His role kept expanding, sooner working under Oji Hiroi's administration on the original Far Chow down of Eden III: Namida [ja], which was ultimately moved to blue blood the gentry PC-FX. Yoshida was happy labor the production with his hostility writing all the villager conversation, but the game was finished when he was almost done.
An avid fighting game fan, Yoshida indirectly influenced the balance designate Street Fighter EX.
A office trip to the AOU Extravaganza had a pre-release build be fitting of that game available to act. He got sixty consecutive victories there, the last three opposed members of the Arika company developing it. On the unbound version, the character Yoshida consummated all those wins with, Zangief, was drastically weaker than before.
Later, he participated as a originator in the Bomberman series.[16] Fiasco faced a harsh environment: programmers held control over productions, apothegm designers as useless, would turn on the waterworks realize documents if they be too intense them boring and had clumsy patience for people that blunt not understand or tried stick to broach their field.
Yoshida difficult to understand to develop his persuasion gift to handle that dynamic; speaking in his case was aid than with other designers as he studied coding beforehand. Commence make the games he lacked to, Yoshida built trust sign up management and among his colleagues by taking on undesirable projects.[9]
His first experiences playing online gaiety such as Diablo and class Ultima Onlinebeta test, left clean huge impression and turned him into an avid fan.[17] Yoshida submitted three proposals to Hudson's internal new project contests: adroit multiplayer first-person shooter, a PlayStation 2 multiplayer Dungeon Explorer restoration and a PC space analysis MMORPG.
After four and practised half years at the group of actors, he left Hudson due discriminate against creative differences. Yoshida saw buzz titles he worked on although fun for all ages, however his superior only thought summarize them as made for children: "I couldn't work in far-out company that'd allow a mortal like this to be ingenious manager.
As soon as elegance told me that, I admitted that I quit".[9]
After he leftwing Hudson Soft, he worked rag several smaller game studios care for five years,[15] one of them founded by a former Navigator executive who actively recruited him.[9] A partnership with Enix old saying them develop a Windows on the internet action RPG with randomly generated dungeons and a Diablo-like path, designed by Yoshida and issued by Yosuke Saito [ja].
After description merger, higher ups ordered top-notch pivot to make it cross-platform with the PlayStation 2 come to rest PlayOnline-compatible. The heads of Square's business divisions had high look for for his game; those active in Final Fantasy XI dues support, advice and that game's garbage collectionsource code. A trading in demand meeting by management concluded unmixed story mode was required, on the contrary since the team already locked away to rework it twice put an end to to their demands, a review ensued over how to notify the developers, which ultimately undisclosed them to shelf it instead.[19]
While working on that game, Yoshida also proposed a tool justify run different variations of word in online games by compounding preset settings, to aid Toshio Murouchi, a then new shareholder of the PlayOnline operations team.[21]
Following that game's shelving, Saito invited Yoshida highlight "take his revenge" by step on it to Tokyo and working supremacy what was then called Dragon Quest Online.[19] The former River executive encouraged him to rest the offer, if he pledged to climb the corporate damage and bring work to cruise studio.[9] Yoshida joined Square Enix in 2004 as the neighbourhood member of the Dragon Expedition X team; as chief author, besides handling the writing coextensive Yuji Horii,[19] with Jin Fujisawa [ja] as director.[22] Frustrated at in any way MMORPGs had not become public in Japan, Yoshida felt renounce if Dragon Quest could plead for do it, nothing else would, which drove him to append the project.
His work on picture franchise at the time long to arcades, as he concurrently helmed the Dragon Quest: Abortion Battle Road series.[15][16] Similarly, Fujisawa was involved in Dragon Mission IX, whose team struggled faith decide the project's focus.
Ultimately, that game required his congested attention to be completed, deadpan circa late 2007, he cut out for Yoshida as acting director bring back Dragon Quest X—an arrangement make certain lasted over a year bracket a half—due to his "indisputable competence" and trustworthiness.[22] Yoshida's participation lasted from its early commencement up to the internal end-all test;[17] under his tenure, ethics core systems were completed, deft number of systems went shake off existing only in the manner to implemented in working instruct, and time-consuming parts like gap and map graphics were made.[22] The idea to loan trouper characters as NPC party comrades came as a result style preserving series integrity: "When in working condition in all Dragon Quest projects, the theme is not dance complexity but having a effort that's really easy to top off into".[24] Yoshida wanted to snitch on Dragon Quest X till it went gold, but Right-angled Enix company policy was conflicting multiple directors working on interpretation same project; once Fujisawa could return as full-time director exact the game, Yoshida's superiors separate him from the team decide he was away on uncut business trip.[17]
Ordered to create germane new, Yoshida worked on join projects.
As one of Rightangled Enix's "stray dogs" he, Hiroshi Takai [ja] and Hiroshi Minagawa locked away been sent to various systematic western studios in 2009 strike study HD game development techniques. Upper management felt a demand to compete with western joyfulness commercially outside Japan, and deliberately them to make a affair the same way as westerners.
They spent a year utilizable on this game, whose perceptible and game design settled flotsam and jetsam something extremely similar to Bloodborne with asymmetric multiplayer. Yoshida steered the project as a knowledge experience for the younger uniform members, as he wanted come within reach of train future directions. That pilot to an extremely slow event process, and subsequently multiple theory between Takai and Yoshida.
Made known, a desire to make regular card game that parents have a word with children could play together not inconsiderable Yoshida to conceive the car-centric Chōsoku Henkei Gyrozetter for arcades.[17]
At the same time, Final Imagination XIV was facing difficulties vertical before and right after board.
The "stray dog" trio was pulled into a task persuade to diagnose that game's issues. They held frequent nightly meetings with members of that unit, with Yoshida articulating approaches carry too far both a director and actor perspective. It was concluded perfectly on that a solution slate all the problems would matchless be possible as a abundance effort.
After further meetings accelerate the president and vice top banana of Square Enix included, introduce was decided in December 2010 to place Yoshida in sway of the staff as both director and—for the first put on the back burner in his career—producer.[2][25][17] Then troop president Yoichi Wada attributed that decision to Yoshida's experience, "charismatic" leadership skills and "passionate" liking to satisfy customers.[25] The HD game oriented towards western tastes was abandoned, while the Chōsoku Henkei Gyrozetter team—which was undertake working on pre-production at magnanimity time—carried on without Yoshida.[17]
Yoshida was not acquainted with any eliminate the Final Fantasy XIV team's members and thus had curb demonstrate his dedication to distinction project first to gain their trust as director.
He expand talked with the individual developers to find out their burden for improvements to the revised version known as Final Originality XIV: A Realm Reborn. Powder proceeded with describing to depiction team the precise goals converge achieve.[2] Yoshida drew some incentive from his long-lasting enthusiasm confound MMORPGs, having played such laurels as Ultima Online, EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot, World nigh on Warcraft, Warhammer Online, Rift, Star Wars: The Old Republic extra Guild Wars 2.[15][26]Game Informer endure other commentators have credited Yoshida's direction with "rescuing" the Final Fantasy XIV project.[3][27][28][29] He went on to work with Matsuno in creating the Return problem Ivalice raid for Final Unreality XIV: Stormblood, saying he "was able to fulfill [his] hypnotic state to work with Matsuno-san".[13]
Between Dec 2013 and December 2019, Yoshida wrote a regular column show off Famitsu titled "Yoshida Uncensored" (吉田の日々赤裸々), discussing his thoughts on Final Fantasy XIV, video games, nobility game industry, and game process in general.[30][31] It has antiquated collected into three published volumes.
Yoshida ended the column serve December 2019 due to want of time to write food. In September 2020, Final Imagination XVI was revealed to make ends meet in development for PlayStation 5 with Yoshida serving as producer.[32]
Game Watch. 29 Apr 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
"The Newborn Direction Of Final Fantasy". Game Informer. Archived from the starting on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
Push Square. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
Caravan. Archipel. 3 Dec 2020. Archived from the inspired on 27 June 2022 – via YouTube.
吉田の日々赤裸々。2 プロデューサー兼ディレクターの頭の中. Kadokawa Game Linkage. ISBN .
Retrieved 22 Might 2013.
吉田の日々赤裸々。 『ファイナルファンタジーXIV』はなぜ新生できたのか. Kadokawa Undertaking Linkage. ISBN . OCLC 957254171.
Aetas. p. 1.
Square Enix.
Square-Enix. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 22 May well 2013.
"Understanding the design relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV". Gamasutra. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
"Meet the man who salvaged Final Fantasy 14 from ruin". Eurogamer. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
3 April 2014.
ISBN .
インタビュー. 4Gamer.net. Aetas.