# Hiromichi Tanaka

Hiromichi Tanaka (田中 弘道, Tanaka Hiromichi, born January 7, 1962) is a Japanese video game developer, game producer, game director and game designer. He was Senior Vice President of Software Development at Square Enix (formerly Square) and the head of the company's Product Development Division-3.

## Biography

In 1983, Tanaka dropped out of Yokohama National University along with Hironobu Sakaguchi 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, Square's first massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). He oversaw development of Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV until late 2010. He also worked in a prominent role for earlier single-player games including Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Xenogears, Threads of Fate, Chrono Cross, and the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy III. 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. At the Vana'diel Fan Festival 2012, an event celebrating Final Fantasy XI's 10th anniversary, Tanaka announced his departure from Square Enix for health reasons. In 2012, Tanaka joined GungHo Online Entertainment as a freelance advisor to the company.

## Game Credits

| Year | Title | Platform | Credit(s) |
| 1984 | The Death Trap | Home computer | |
| 1986 | Alpha | Home computer | |
| 1986 | Suishō no Dragon | Family Computer Disk System | |
| 1987 | Genesis | Home computer | |
| 1987 | Aliens: Alien 2 | Home computer | Producer |
| 1987 | Cleopatra no Mahō | Family Computer Disk System | Director |
| 1987 | Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School | Family Computer Disk System | Staff |
| 1987 | Final Fantasy | Nintendo Entertainment System | Game design |
| 1988 | Final Fantasy II | Nintendo Entertainment System | Game design |
| 1989 | Square's Tom Sawyer | Nintendo Entertainment System | Cooperation |
| 1990 | Final Fantasy III | Nintendo Entertainment System | Game design |
| 1990 | Final Fantasy Legend II | Game Boy | Main data |
| 1993 | Secret of Mana | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Producer, concept / System design, scenario message data |
| 1995 | Seiken Densetsu 3 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Director |
| 1998 | Xenogears | PlayStation | Producer, battle planner |
| 1999 | Threads of Fate | PlayStation | Producer |
| 1999 | Chrono Cross | PlayStation | Producer, battle system design |
| 2002 | Final Fantasy XI | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 | Producer (until 2012) |
| 2003 | Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 | Producer |
| 2003 | Sword of Mana | Game Boy Advance | Executive producer |
| 2004 | Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 | Producer |
| 2006 | Final Fantasy III | Nintendo DS | Director, executive producer |
| 2006 | Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 | Producer |
| 2007 | Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 | Producer |
| 2009 | SaGa 2: Goddess of Destiny | Nintendo DS | Co-executive producer |
| 2010 | Final Fantasy XIV | Microsoft Windows | Producer (until December 2010) |
| 2011 | Final Fantasy III | iOS | Supervisor |
| 2015 | MOJI-POP'N | iOS, Android | Producer |
| 2016 | Seventh Rebirth | iOS, Android | Producer |
| 2023 | JET DRAGON | iOS | Special Thanks |