(born March 16, 1970) is a Japanese
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
director, producer, designer and screenwriter. Since 2008, Iizuka has been the vice president of product development for the ''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'' series at
Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
, as well as the head of
Sonic Team
, doing business as , is a Japanese video game developer owned by Sega. Sonic Team is best known for its ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights into Dreams'' and '' Phantasy Star Online''.
The initial team, formed in 1990, c ...
, although he has been working on games in the Sonic series since 1992.
Career
When he joined
Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
in 1992, Iizuka assisted in debugging ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' as part of his job training. Afterwards, Iizuka's boss at the time asked him if he would like to work on ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Like previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting Rings (Sonic the Hedgehog), ri ...
''. Iizuka agreed and relocated to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
to work on the game's level design. Later, he helped supervise
Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales is a British video game developer and a subsidiary of TT Games. Traveller's Tales was founded in 1989 by Jon Burton and Andy Ingram. Initially a small company focused on its own games, it grew in profile through developing game ...
with the development of ''
Sonic R''. He was also the lead designer for ''
Nights into Dreams'', and director for ''
Sonic Adventure
is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Pr ...
''.
In 1999, he and a small part of Sonic Team moved to
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
to establish Sonic Team USA (later renamed
Sega Studio USA), in order to gain feedback from the western market. Over in the U.S. his team worked on the international release of ''
Sonic Adventure
is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Pr ...
''. Afterward, his team started to develop their own games, where he was the director and lead designer for ''
Sonic Adventure 2'', ''
Sonic Heroes'', ''
Shadow the Hedgehog
is a character created by the Japanese game developers Takashi Iizuka (game designer), Takashi Iizuka, Shiro Maekawa, and Kazuyuki Hoshino. He is a major character in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. An Anthropomorphism, anthropomorph ...
'', and ''
Nights: Journey of Dreams''. In an effort to further broaden Sonic's appeal to western markets, Iizuka gave western developer,
Backbone Entertainment
Backbone Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. The company was formed in 2003 as the result of a merger between developers Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine. In 2005, Backbone merged with The Colle ...
, a shot at developing Sonic titles (''
Sonic Rivals'' and ''
Sonic Rivals 2'') under his team's supervision for the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
console.
In 2008, Sega's American division, Sega Studio USA, was absorbed back into Sonic Team Japan, making Iizuka the producer for the ''Sonic'' series at Sonic Team and the head of the company as well. In 2016, Iizuka relocated to Los Angeles to become the VP of Product Development at Sega of America, while retaining his title as the head of Sonic Team.
In 2022, it was revealed that Iizuka designed a game named ''Devi & Pii'' for the Sega Genesis in 1992, but it was never released. It would finally be released on October 27, 2022, for the
Sega Genesis Mini 2, however.
Legacy
Game journalist from ''
Wired
Wired may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976
* ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993
* ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017
* "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street''
* "Wired ...
'' described Takashi Iizuka as a difficult man to read, as he tends to slip into corporate speak especially when discussing mixed reception of ''Sonic'' games. His long time colleague and composer, Tomoko Sasaki, however described him as someone who "offered a different and fresh, almost unpredictable, way of thinking" and got along well with him from the very start.
Works
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iizuka, Takashi
Living people
Japanese video game designers
1970 births
Sega people
Japanese video game producers
Japanese video game directors
People from Kawaguchi, Saitama