Yu Suzuki
"Shenmue" creator Yu Suzuki joined Sega in 1983 and went on to create several successful arcade games including "Hang-On" (1985)", Out Run" (1986) and "Virtua Fighter" (1993). In comparison to arcade games, where the ideal experience is only a few minutes long, Suzuki wanted to make a longer experience and researched role-playing games (RPGs).