Hironobu Sakaguchi

Hironobu Sakaguchi started his career at Square Co., Ltd. in 1986 as director of planning and development. He was promoted to executive vice president in 1991 and eventually ascended to president of Square LA Inc. (now Square-Enix) in 1995. Sakaguchi is the creator of the original Final Fantasy. Contrary to popular belief, the name "Final Fantasy" does not refer to the situation with Square, but was in fact given because the game was intended to be his final work. Neither proved to be the case, since Final Fantasy was a huge success. He was the director and producer of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy IX. He also produced Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy VIII. In 2000, Sakaguchi was inducted into the coveted Academy of Interactive Arts & Science (AIAS) Hall of Fame for his groundbreaking work on the Final Fantasy series.

A long time proponent of bringing together the story-telling vehicle of film and the interactive elements of games, Sakaguchi took the leap from games to film when he made his debut as film director in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, an animated motion picture based on his world-famous Final Fantasy series. However, the movie was the second-biggest animated box office bomb in cinema history, losing over $120 million dollars and leading to the closure of Square Pictures.

Sakaguchi voluntarily stepped down from his post as an executive vice president at Square. This event also reduced Square's financial capital. Square then merged with their rival, Enix Co., Ltd., which led straight into the present day Square Enix in 2003. Sakaguchi then resigned his position at Square, and founded Mistwalker with the financial backing of Microsoft Game Studios.

In 2001, he founded Mistwalker, which began operation three years later in 2004. In February 2005, it was announced that Mistwalker would be working with Microsoft Game Studios to produce two computer role-playing games for the Xbox 360. Still, his company remains independent to console exclusitivity. Apart from Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, Sakaguchi is also producing ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat for Nintendo DS, and has at least 3 more games planned for DS and Nintendo's Wii.

Hironobu Sakaguchi