Naoki Yoshida
Naoki Yoshida | |
|---|---|
| File:YoshidaNaokiJune12.jpg | |
| Born | 吉田 直樹 1 May 1973 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Other names | Yoshi-P |
| Occupation(s) | Video game producer and director |
| Employer | Square Enix |
Naoki Yoshida (吉田 直樹, Yoshida Naoki, born May 1, 1973),[1] also known by the nickname Yoshi-P,[2] is a Japanese video game producer, director and designer working for Square Enix.
Early career
Yoshida had joined the video game industry in 1993 and started his career at Hudson Soft, where he was assigned to the creation of PC Engine games at first.[3] Later, he also participated as scenario writer in the Far East of Eden series and as game designer in the Bomberman series.[4] After he had left Hudson Soft, he worked at several smaller game studios for five years.[3]
Career at Square Enix
Yoshida eventually joined Square Enix in 2004 and became the head of the Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road series as well as a game designer of Dragon Quest X in its early stages.[3][4] In December 2010, he was taken off the Dragon Quest team and placed in charge of the staff that developed the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XIV, which had been unsuccessful since its launch several months before.[2][5] Then company president Yoichi Wada attributed this decision to Yoshida's experience, "charismatic" leadership skills and "passionate" will to satisfy customers.[5] Yoshida was not acquainted with any of the Final Fantasy XIV team's members and thus had to demonstrate his dedication to the project first to gain their trust as director. He then talked with the individual developers to find out their ideas for improvements to the revised version known as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. He proceeded with describing to the team the precise goals to achieve.[2] Yoshida drew some inspiration from his long-lasting enthusiasm for MMORPGs, having played such titles as Ultima Online, EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot, World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online, Rift, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2.[3][6]
Works
| Year | Title | Platform | Credit(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth | Nintendo 64 | Special thanks |
| 1999 | Bomberman 64: The Second Attack | Nintendo 64 | Story mode director |
| 2007 | Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road | Arcade | Director |
| 2007 | Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors | Wii | Special thanks |
| 2008 | Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road II Legend | Arcade | Director |
| 2010 | Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Victory | Wii | Director |
| 2012 | Dragon Quest X | Wii, Wii U | Planner chief |
| 2013 | Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn | Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 | Producer, director |
References
- ^ "「FFXIV: 新生エオルゼア」プロデューサーレターLIVEレポート". Game Watch. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ a b c Vreeland, Michael (2012-06-04). "FFXIV Interview: Phoenix Down For a Fallen MMO". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
- ^ a b c d Donaldson, Alex (2011-11-01). "Final Fantasy XIV Interview with Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida - Round 2". RPG Site. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ a b "『ファイナルファンタジーXIV』新プロデューサー兼ディレクターに直撃インタビュー". Famitsu. 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ a b Wada, Yoichi; Yoshida, Naoki; Tanaka, Hiromichi (2012-12-10). "An Important Announcement for Final Fantasy XIV Fans". Square-Enix. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lefebvre, Eliot (2013-02-13). "Massively Exclusive: A dinner with Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida". Joystiq. Retrieved 2013-05-22.