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Even during the height of his fame at Sega in the 90s, Yu Suzuki was an outsider. Unable and unwilling to keep to the 8.30am starts demanded by the company, Suzuki moved his team out to a rented office near the main headquarters so he could keep his own hours. Sega colleagues would joke that the name of Suzuki's group - AM2 - came from the fact that the only time of day you could guarantee all the team would be working was two o'clock in the morning.I got to meet Suzuki early last year, at a time when he's even more of an outsider to an industry he's been so instrumental in shaping. Our time together was short (I don't think any amount of time in his company is adequate to cover the significance of his achievements) and occasionally stilted - the interview was translated by his eldest daughter and personal assistant Nanami, who's learning English with his encouragement.
Yu Suzuki has spoken at length about his most beloved creation, Shenmue, and has said all he possibly can about what's going on with the much requested third instalment, so it made sense to filter our brief discussion through his work with driving games and his philosophy of design - one that, I've always thought, carries a beautiful simplicity - from the three-button input of Virtua Fighter through to the uncomplicated pleasure of cruising through Out Run's branching courses.
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