Sega AM Research & Development No. 2, which was once called SEGA-AM2 Co., Ltd., is a video game development team that works for Sega, a Japanese company that creates video games. Yu Suzuki, who had previously made arcade games for Sega such as Hang-On and Out Run, was the first manager of this team.
AM2’s first game was Virtua Racing, released in 1992. This was followed by Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA, which became very popular. Throughout the 1990s, the team created more arcade games, focusing on fighting and racing genres. In 2000, AM2 was managed by the CSK Research Institute, and the following year, it became SEGA-AM2 Co., Ltd. The team’s development of Shenmue exceeded its budget and cost millions of dollars. Although the game received good reviews and sold well, it did not become profitable.
In 2003, Yu Suzuki was promoted and left AM2. Hiroshi Kataoka then became the head of AM2. A year later, Sega was bought by Sammy Corporation, and AM2 was merged back into Sega. Since then, the team has continued making arcade games like Border Break and the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series, as well as smartphone games in Japan. Many games created by Sega AM2 have influenced and improved the video game industry in terms of technology and development.
History
Yu Suzuki joined Sega in 1983 as a programmer. When he joined Sega, the company had only one team that created games. In his first year, he made a 2D boxing game called Champion Boxing for Sega's first home game console, the SG-1000. Sega's leaders were so impressed with the game that they released it in arcades without changes by putting an SG-1000 into an arcade cabinet. He was promoted to project leader during his first year at the company. His next project was the motorcycle racing game Hang-On. To make a 3D game despite limited technology, he designed Sega's new Super Scaler arcade system board, which used 16-bit graphics and sprite-scaling. Hang-On was very popular and sold well for Sega. His success continued with other games like Space Harrier, Out Run, and Enduro Racer. He and his team moved to "Studio 128," a more private location where After Burner and Power Drift were developed. He also worked on G-LOC: Air Battle and the R360 arcade cabinet. Developer Toshihiro Nagoshi joined Sega in 1989 as a designer with Suzuki's team.
After Power Drift was released, Sega separated the amusement division into groups called AM teams. Suzuki became the general manager of Research and Development No. 2, or Sega AM2. He said Sega had about 600 people in research and development, and AM2 started with around 100 people. He also said the separation happened because of new computer graphics technology. When AM2 was formed, Suzuki's team moved back to the main office and later to an annex near the office. Despite this, Suzuki worked with a strong focus on keeping things secret. On one occasion, Sega president Hayao Nakayama was not allowed to enter the area.
The first project developed by AM2 was Virtua Racing. Development started with 10 people, and by the end, 25 workers worked on the project for a year. The Model 1 arcade system board used for the game took about three years to create. AM2 also made a version of the game for the Sega Genesis. Next Generation magazine said AM2 "single-handedly changed the perception of polygons in a gaming environment" with Virtua Racing.
After Virtua Racing was released, AM2 split into two teams. One worked on Virtua Fighter, and the other started on Daytona USA. Suzuki wanted to make a game with many joint movements, like a soccer or rugby game. However, the Model 1 system was not powerful enough, so he chose a game with only two moving characters. Because Street Fighter II was very popular, he decided to make a 3D fighting game to compete. He wanted the game to be realistic but fun to play. Virtua Fighter became very successful in Japan, and its Sega Saturn version sold almost as many copies as the console itself.
For Daytona USA, Nagoshi was the director and chief designer, while Suzuki was the producer. The idea for the game came from Tom Petit, head of Sega Enterprises USA, to introduce Sega's new Model 2 arcade system board. Sega required Daytona USA to be better than Ridge Racer, a game made by Namco. To accurately show Daytona International Speedway, the developers used satellite images and sent staff to photograph the track. Nagoshi walked a full lap to understand the track's curves. Daytona USA was released in Japan in August 1993 and worldwide in March 1994. AM2 made a version for the Saturn in April 1995, which was a launch title in the West. Daytona USA was very popular in arcades, and its twin cabinet won one of three 1995 Diamond Awards from the American Amusement Machine Association, which are based on sales. In a 2002 report, Sega said it was one of the most successful arcade games ever.
In the rest of the 1990s, Suzuki focused on the Virtua Fighter series and producing other games. AM2 later released Virtua Cop and Virtua Fighter 2 for the Model 2. Virtua Fighter 2 was even more successful in Japan than its predecessor. In a 1996 interview, Suzuki said his philosophy was to be a pioneer, not an imitator, in the arcade industry. He also described the palm tree logo of AM2 as a symbol of trust and confidence. Other games from the late 1990s included Virtua Cop 2, Fighting Vipers, Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge, and SpikeOut. Daytona USA 2 and SpikeOut used the Model 3 system board.
In April 2000, CSK Research Institute (CRI) took over management of AM2. CRI was a part of CSK Corporation, which was Sega's parent company at the time, and had previously published Aero Dancing. The new division became known as "AM2 of CRI," and Suzuki remained in charge. Also in 2000, Sega reorganized its arcade and console teams into nine independent studios led by top designers. These studios were encouraged to experiment and had a less strict approval process. During the development of Shenmue, Nagoshi asked for and received his own studio, leaving AM2.
AM2 created what Sega hoped would be the Dreamcast's most popular game, *Shenmue
Games
AM2 creates several arcade and video game series, including Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter, OutRun, Virtua Cop, Virtua Striker, Fighting Vipers, and Shenmue. Other games made by the studio include Scud Race, Sonic the Fighters, 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, F355 Challenge, Outtrigger, and Soul Reverse. AM2 also makes smartphone games in Japan. Among AM2's games, the Virtua Fighter series is "the highest grossing game in Japan arcades." The Hatsune Miku: Project Diva series has sold over 6 million units as of 2018. By March 2012, the game Border Break had earned JP¥8.1 billion from arcade machine sales, equal to more than US$100 million.
Journalists describe AM2 as having a "legendary" reputation in game development, especially under Yu Suzuki. According to Aaron Souppouris of Engadget, AM2 created games that helped define their genres and is called Sega's "most celebrated department." While noting changes in focus over recent years, Souppouris said the Hatsune Miku series is "admittedly excellent." In 1995, Edge called Suzuki "the legendary head of AM2, Sega's core coin-op operation." Also in 1995, Next Generation noted that AM2's repeated success came from its ability to regularly release high-quality games. IGN's Travis Fahs stated that "for as long as SEGA has had internal studios, AM2 has been the favorite son of the arcade division… Without AM2, SEGA would not have been able to dominate the arcades the way that they did." Video game researcher Ken Horowitz said AM2 became the most well-known of Sega's in-house development teams and that the studio produced "ground-breaking classics."