During a recent investor report, Sega Sammy revealed that Yu Suzuki has stepped down as of April 1, 2009. The veteran game designer leaving his role as R&D Creative Officer of the AM Plus R&D Department and Amusement R&D Division. Suzuki will be retained in a more nominal role as a manager of Amusement R&D Division.

Suzuki's career has resulted in some of Sega's biggest hits over the years, including OutRun, Space Harrier and Virtua Fighter. Shenmue and its sequel were perhaps his magnum opus, but their reportedly high development cost and relative lack of success at retail have led to a decreased public profile for their creator. As a result of this, Sega of America CEO Simon Jeffery mistakenly thought that Suzuki was no longer with the company in Summer 2008, though he corrected that statement later.