In 1983, Tanaka dropped out of
Yokohama National University along with
Hironobu Sakaguchi to join Square, a newly formed software branch of the Denyuusha Electric Company. Along with Sakaguchi and
Kazuhiko Aoki, Tanaka was part of Square's original Planning and Development department. He is best known as the former lead developer of
Final Fantasy XI, Square's first
massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). He oversaw development of
Final Fantasy XI and
Final Fantasy XIV until late 2010. He also worked in a prominent role for earlier single-player games including
Secret of Mana,
Trials of Mana,
Xenogears,
Threads of Fate,
Chrono Cross, and the
Nintendo DS version of
Final Fantasy III. Tanaka also worked on the original Famicom version of
Final Fantasy III in 1990.
Final Fantasy XIV received negative reception from critics and players, and was considered a financial loss for Square Enix. Three months after its release in 2010, Tanaka was removed from the
Final Fantasy XIV team and replaced by
Naoki Yoshida. At the Vana'diel Fan Festival 2012, an event celebrating
Final Fantasy XI's 10th anniversary, Tanaka announced his departure from Square Enix for health reasons. In 2012, Tanaka joined
GungHo Online Entertainment as a freelance advisor to the company. ==Works==