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Yuji Naka (中 裕司 Naka Yūji, born September 17, 1965), is a video game designer, programmer , the former head of Sonic Team, a group of Sega programmers/designers, and the head of Prope.
He programmed the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, while Naoto Oshima designed the character and Hirokazu Yasuhara planned the stages. Naka has also produced several other titles like NiGHTS Into Dreams and Phantasy Star Online. In early games he was often credited as "YU2" (in reference to Yu Suzuki) and "Muuu Yuji". He is one of the few famous Japanese game creators to speak fluent English without the need of a translator.
Naka also helped create a popular EyeToy game for the PlayStation 2 called Sega SuperStars.
Although Naka's previous achievements are recognized as monumental in gaming history, some of his decisions have prompted controversy with fans of Sonic Team. He had opted against producing a sequel to the popular Sega Saturn title NiGHTS into Dreams because of feelings a sequel would not match fans expectations. A story told by developers of the cancelled Sonic game Sonic X-treme also details how Naka told the American developers that they were not permitted to use an engine he had developed for use in NiGHTS into Dreams.
Yuji Naka on the move
In news released on March 16 2006, Naka announced that he intended to create his own game studio, independent of Sega and Sega Studio USA (a.k.a. Sonic Team) *.
In April, 2006 the Japanese game magazine Famitsu published a rumor saying that a game creator who recently went independent is creating a game featuring a flying clown, for the upcoming Wii system. Many people were led to believe that the developer was Naka and the game would be a NiGHTS sequel. However, according to IGN, the rumor story hinted that this had something to do with someone who created a famous bearded character, a description which didn't fit Naka. *
Still, on May 8 2006, Naka announced his departure from Sonic Team to form a new development team, PROPE (pronounce Pro-pe).
When Yuji Naka left behind his workers at Sonic Team and Sega, he did not announce that he is going to carry on his work on Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and other games currently being produced; workers are worried about carrying on without his supervision. *
External links
- Official Prope website (Japanese)
- The GHZ, a Sonic Team fansite
- Sonic Team Speaks (archived by the WaybackMachine)
- Sega Stars: Yuji Naka History of Yuji Naka
1965 births | Living people | Computer and video game designers
"Yuji Naka"