Shinji Hashimoto (橋本 真司, Hashimoto Shinji, born May 24, 1958) is a Japanese former game producer at Square Enix and currently senior advisor at Sony Music Entertainment Japan and a board member at Forwardworks. He served as the Final Fantasy series brand manager for over a decade, was an executive officer at Square Enix board of directors[1] and he was the Head of Square Enix's Business Division 3 for 6 years.[2] He is also the co-creator of the Kingdom Hearts series. He served as corporate executive of the company's 1st Production Department during its entire existence.[3]
Shinji Hashimoto | |
|---|---|
橋本 真司 | |
 Hashimoto in 2015 | |
| Born | May 24, 1958 Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Alma mater | Komazawa University |
| Occupation | Video game producer |
| Years active | 1995–2022 |
| Employer(s) | Square (1995–2003) Square Enix (2003–2022) Sony Music Entertainment Japan (2022–present) |
| Title | Senior Advisor |
In May 2021, Hashimoto announced he would be working in Square Enix Holdings as Corporate Advisor training future leaders of the company, after he stepped down from his position of executive director and Final Fantasy brand manager at Square Enix Co.[4]
Hashimoto retired from his duties at Square Enix on May 31, 2022.[5] On June 16, 2022, Hashimoto announced he would be a senior advisor at Sony Music Entertainment Japan, as well as board member for ForwardWorks. [6]
Biography
editEarly work
editHashimoto previously worked for the toy company Bandai.[7] He joined Squaresoft (later known as Square Enix) in 1995, which is where he spent the rest of his career.[8]
Final Fantasy
editHe was the promotions producer for Final Fantasy VII.[8] When asked at E3 2008 about the possibility of a remake of Final Fantasy VII, he said that Square Enix is aware fans would like that, and that they are very busy making other titles first.[9] As Final Fantasy X-2 and Kingdom Hearts were being completed, the learning experience the team had during the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII project spawned the Fabula Nova Crystallis series which was supposed to build on it.[10]
Kingdom Hearts
editWhen Square was sharing a building in Tokyo with the Disney corporation, Hashimoto found himself conversing in an elevator with a Disney executive, and there they conceived the crossover between Square Enix and Disney called Kingdom Hearts.[11] Hashimoto has stated that the new features in Kingdom Hearts II were the result of the success of the first game and Disney's increased trust in Square Enix to pull off an excellent product.[12]
Other games
editWhile working on Front Mission Evolved, one of the challenges was balancing the speed of the real time battles the wanzers, or mechs, were having so that the game was realistic to the mechs size, but also still fast enough to be engaging.[13]
Priorities
editWhile discussing Final Fantasy XIII, Hashimoto mentioned that Square Enix has been attempting to make localization of their game releases close the release gap between Japan and the rest of the world.[14]
Works
editVideo games
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children | Producer |
| Last Order: Final Fantasy VII | Executive producer | |
| 2009 | Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete | Producer |
| 2016 | Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV |
References
edit- ^ "Board of Directors". Square Enix. 2016.
- ^ "第3ビジネス・ディビジョン". Square Enix. 2016. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "「Final Fantasy XIII-2」が2011年発売予定，「Agito」は「Final Fantasy 零式」と名称変更して2011年夏発売。「Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere」をTwitterで実況". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas, Inc. January 18, 2011. Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
- ^ @shinjihashimot3 (May 21, 2021). "Hi everyone.I will be stepping down..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto retires". Gematsu (in Japanese). May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ @shinjihashimot3 (June 16, 2022). "Hello, everyone! I have some news to share, if you can please take a look" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Winkler, Chris (September 29, 2003). "Radical Subjects". RPGFan. Archived from the original on December 15, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ a b Gantayat, Anoop (April 23, 2007). "Ten Years of FFXIII". IGN. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
- ^ Ihtsham, Usman (July 18, 2008). "Whatifgaming E3-'08: Final Fantasy XIII Sit Down With Shinji Hashimoto". Whatifgaming. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Luke Smith (June 7, 2006). "FFXIII Interview: Nomura, Kitase, Hashimoto and Toriyama: Compilation of games puts new spin on FF series". 1UP.com. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ McKinley Noble (January 20, 2008). "10 strange facts about the Kingdom Hearts franchise". PC World Australia. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Jeremy Dunham (March 21, 2005). "Hashimoto Talks Kingdom Hearts II". IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Charles Husemann (October 19, 2008). "Front Mission Evolved Interview". Gaming Nexus. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Shane Bettenhausen (July 16, 2008). "E3 2008: One More Final Fantasy XIII Interview". 1UP.com. Retrieved March 1, 2013.