Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator joins Nintendo

Hirokazu Yasuhara, the co-creator and former game director of Sonic the Hedgehog, has joined Nintendo's ranks

Hirokazu Yasuhara, the director of Sonic the Hedgehog, has joined Nintendo's ranks, Gamasutra reports.

A Nintendo spokesperson confirmed the move to Vox Games, though they didn't reveal what Yasuhara's official role will be with the company. Speaking to Gamasutra, Yasuhara said he'd be working out of Nintendo of America's headquarters in Redmond, Washington. His LinkedIn profile has already been updated to reflect the move, showing that he's left Namco Bandai to become a "Game Designer" at Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem developer Nintendo NST.

Yasuhara worked alongside Yuji Naka as director and designer for a number of early Sonic titles, including the original Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy. He has also worked at 2K Sports, Naughty Dog and, most recently, Namco Bandai, where he worked as senior game designer on Pac-Man Party for Wii, according to his LinkedIn profile.