Yuji Naka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yuji Naka
中 裕司
Naka in 2015
Born	(1965-09-17) September 17, 1965 (age 59) Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
Other names	YU2
Occupation	Game designer producer programmer
Years active	1984–2022
Employer	Sega (1984–2006) Prope (2006–2022) Square Enix (2018–2021)
Notable work	Sonic the Hedgehog series Phantasy Star series Nights into Dreams

Yuji Naka (born September 17, 1965) is a famous Japanese video game designer and programmer. He is best known as one of the main creators of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He was also the head of Sonic Team at Sega for many years.

Naka joined Sega in 1984. He worked on many games, including Girl's Garden (1985) and Phantasy Star II (1989). He was the lead programmer for the first Sonic games on the Mega Drive (also known as Sega Genesis) in the early 1990s. These games helped Sega become very popular.

After creating Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) in Japan, Naka moved to California. There, he helped make Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), and Sonic & Knuckles (1994) with Sega Technical Institute.

Naka later returned to Japan to lead Sonic Team. He worked on games like Nights into Dreams (1996), Sonic Adventure (1998), and Phantasy Star Online (2000). When Sega stopped making game consoles in 2001, Naka stayed on as a senior manager. He oversaw Sega's games for the next five years.

In 2006, Naka left Sega and started his own game company called Prope. He later joined Square Enix to direct the game Balan Wonderworld (2021). This game brought him back together with Naoto Ohshima, another co-creator of Sonic. Naka left Square Enix in April 2021.

Early Life and Learning

Naka was born on September 17, 1965, in Hirakata, Osaka, Japan. He learned how to program video games by studying code he found in magazines. This experience made him want to learn more about computer programming. He practiced writing code during his school classes. After finishing school, he decided to start working instead of going to university.

His Journey in Game Development

Starting at Sega (1983–1989)

Around 1983, Yuji Naka saw that the video game company Sega was looking for programming helpers. He applied and started working for Sega in April 1984. His first job was helping with a game called Lode Runner.

His first big project was Girl's Garden (1985). He created this game with composer Hiroshi Kawaguchi as part of their training. Their boss was so impressed that he decided to release the game. This made Naka and Kawaguchi well-known among other game developers and players in Japan. Naka worked very hard and quickly, sometimes making a new game every one or two months.

During the Master System era, Naka wanted to make games that were more advanced than those on Nintendo's Famicom. He worked on games with 3D areas, like Phantasy Star. He also helped bring popular arcade games like Space Harrier and OutRun to the Master System.

The Mega Drive console was released, and Naka loved working on it. He programmed Super Thunder Blade for the Mega Drive. He also asked for a larger game cartridge for Phantasy Star II, which was approved.

In 1988, Naka saw a game called Ghouls 'n Ghosts that had characters moving smoothly on slopes. He wanted to learn how to do this, so he asked Sega to let him bring the game to the Mega Drive. He experimented with the game's code, changing things like character speed and slopes. This helped him learn how to create cool effects, like a 360-degree loop.

Creating Sonic the Hedgehog (1989–1991)

Sega's president, Hayao Nakayama, wanted a new main character and game series to compete with Nintendo's Mario. Yuji Naka had an idea for a fast character that could roll into a ball. This idea came from his old high school notebook.

This concept grew into Sonic the Hedgehog. Naoto Ohshima designed the character, and Hirokazu Yasuhara created the levels. Naka wanted the game to show off the Mega Drive's speed with exciting, fast gameplay. He worked on this game for about a year and a half, which was longer than any game he had made before.

Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991 and was a huge success. It made the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) very popular in North America. Naka felt he didn't get enough credit for the game's success at Sega, so he decided to leave.

Making Sonic Sequels in California (1991–1994)

Yuji Naka rejoined Sega after being offered a job at Sega Technical Institute (STI) in California. He received a better salary and more freedom to create games. At STI, Naka led the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which came out in 1992. This game was also a big hit. However, working with both Japanese and American developers was sometimes difficult due to language and cultural differences.

Naka preferred to work with an all-Japanese team for the next Sonic games. This team, led by Naka, developed Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, both released in 1994. Naka had wanted to make Sonic 3 a 3D game, but it would have taken too long. So, they made it a 2D game again to meet the release deadline. He also had a special idea for Sonic & Knuckles: a cartridge that could connect to other Sonic games to create a bigger experience.

Back to Japan and Sega Saturn (1994–1998)

After Sonic & Knuckles, Naka moved back to Japan. He was offered a role as a producer. With Naka's return, Sonic Team was officially formed. They started working on a new game called Nights into Dreams (1996) for Sega's Saturn console. Naka didn't want to make a Sonic game right away for the Saturn. He wanted to create something new first.

He hoped to make a 3D Sonic game later, but Nights took longer to develop than expected. Naka later said he regretted not being able to release a Sonic game for the Saturn. Many people believed this was one reason the console didn't do as well.

Meanwhile, in America, another team at STI was working on a 3D Sonic game called Sonic X-treme. This game faced many problems and was eventually canceled in 1996. There were rumors that Naka played a part in its cancellation by not allowing them to use the Nights game technology. However, Naka later said this wasn't true. He explained that the Nights technology wouldn't have worked for X-treme anyway because they were built using different computer languages.

The Dreamcast Era (1998–2001)

While Sonic Adventure was being made for the Saturn, Naka was already helping plan Sega's next console, the Dreamcast, as early as 1996. Sonic Team even suggested the name "G-Cube" for it. Naka also had ideas for the Dreamcast to include a microphone for talking to the TV, which was later used in the game Seaman.

In 1998, before the Dreamcast launched, Naka and his team visited Sega of America. They saw a game called Geist Force being developed. It was said that Naka suggested taking parts of their work for Sonic games. This led to some of the Geist Force developers leaving, and the project was canceled.

After the Dreamcast launched in Japan, Sega's chairman asked Naka to create a big online game for the console. Naka's team had no experience with online games, but they took on the challenge. They knew that online games at the time often looked boring and that internet access was expensive in Japan.

Naka divided his team into three groups. They worked on different parts of the project, exploring the Dreamcast's graphics and online abilities. This led to the release of Chu Chu Rocket! (1999), an action-puzzle game. It was the first game on the Dreamcast to support online console gaming. After Chu Chu Rocket!, all three teams worked together to create Phantasy Star Online (2001).

In 2000, Sega changed how its game studios worked, making them more independent. Naka became the CEO of the new company, SONICTEAM, Ltd., to keep the Sonic Team name alive.

Last Years at Sega (2001–2006)

In March 2001, Sega stopped making the Dreamcast and left the console business. Sonic Team and other studios became part of Sega again. Naka remained a senior manager, overseeing all of Sega's game releases until he left in 2006.

After Sega stopped making consoles, Sonic Team started making games for other companies' consoles, like the Nintendo GameCube. Naka enjoyed working with the GameCube. He later wished he had brought Phantasy Star Online to the PlayStation 2, as another online game, Monster Hunter, became very popular there.

Starting Prope (2006–2016)

Naka at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show

On March 16, 2006, Yuji Naka announced he was leaving Sega to start his own game studio, Prope. He said he wanted to make games other than Sonic the Hedgehog. He also felt that his senior role at Sega meant he was less involved in the actual game development. The last Sonic game Naka was involved with was Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). He later regretted leaving Sega during its development, as the game was not well-received.

Naka and Prope created smaller games for the Wii and mobile phones, such as Wii Play: Motion and Ivy The Kiwi?. They even worked with Sega again, who published their Wii games Let's Tap and Let's Catch. Naka said he always kept a good relationship with Sega.

These smaller games helped Prope fund their first big game, Rodea the Sky Soldier. This game was finished in 2011 but wasn't released until 2015. The publisher wanted a version for the Nintendo 3DS first, which caused delays. When the Nintendo Wii U came out, they decided to make a Wii U version based on the 3DS game. Naka asked people to play the original Wii version, which was included as a bonus with the Wii U game. In 2016, Naka received an award at the Fun & Serious Game Festival.

Working at Square Enix (2016–2022)

In 2018, Naka joined Square Enix to create a new team called Balan Company. This team aimed to work on different types of games. Prope continued to exist, but Naka was its only employee.

Balan Company's first game was Balan Wonderworld. It was made with Arzest, a company that had worked with Nintendo before. Naoto Ohshima, who designed Sonic the Hedgehog, was also part of Arzest. Naka wanted to make action games for the new market. He asked Ohshima to work with him, which was their first time collaborating since Sonic Adventure in 1998.

Naka later said he was removed from the Balan Wonderworld project about six months before it was released. The game received many negative reviews and did not sell well. Naka left Square Enix in April 2021. In December 2021, he released a free mobile game called Shot2048.

In April 2022, Naka announced that he had sued Square Enix. He said he tried to fix problems with Balan Wonderworld but was ignored. He felt that Square Enix and Arzest did not care enough about games or game fans.

Legal Issues

In November 2022, Yuji Naka was arrested in Japan. He was accused of buying shares in a company called Aiming before it was publicly announced that they were making a game called Dragon Quest Tact. This is against the law because he might have used secret information to make money. Two other former Square Enix employees were also arrested for similar reasons.

In December, Naka was arrested again. This time, he was accused of buying shares in another company, ATeam, before their game Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier was announced. He later admitted that he was guilty of these actions in March 2023. In July 2023, a judge gave Naka a sentence that included prison time, but it was suspended for four years. This means he would not go to prison unless he committed another crime during that time. He also had to pay a large fine.

After these events, Naka did not make any public statements for 16 months. In April 2024, he spoke out again on social media.

Personal Life

Yuji Naka enjoys cars and racing. He has mentioned his Ferrari 360 Spider in interviews. In November 2004, he took part in a car race in Tasmania. In April 2022, Naka also competed in a racing event at the Mobility Resort Motegi circuit, finishing in seventh place.

Works

See also

In Spanish: Yūji Naka para niños