Difference between revisions of "Yuji Naka"

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[[Image:Yuji_Naka.jpg|thumb|right|185px|Yuji Naka]]
 
[[Image:Yuji_Naka.jpg|thumb|right|185px|Yuji Naka]]
  
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When '''Yuji Naka''' (also known as '''YU2''') was 17 years old, he decided that he wanted to program video games. He owed this fascination to Ryuichi Sakamotos "Yellow Magic Orchestra" program, which allowed the composition of music on your computer. (Yuji was also not alone with this inspiration. Many big names in the gaming industry have shared this - among many others Kenji Eno, creator of "D".)
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'''Yuji Naka''', also known as ''YU2'', is a video game designer, programmer, the former head of [[Sonic Team]], and currently the head of the video game development company, [[Prope]].
  
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Anyway, Yuji Naka made himself known at a game convention and had to move from Osaka to Tokyo. Being a large fan of Namco, he aimed to work for them after he graduated from college. However, Namco only accepted work from university graduates - assuming that anyone who had not done at least that would not be near good enough for them. Yuji Naka was devastated, but he did not want to go to university, and so made his entrace into the gaming industry through "Service Games".
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==History==
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When Yuji Naka was 17 years old, he decided that he wanted to program video games. He owed this fascination to Ryuichi Sakamotos "Yellow Magic Orchestra" program, which allowed the composition of music on your computer.
  
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At the beginning of his career he mainly worked on projects for the [[SG-1000 Mark III]], but his massive breathrough wasn't far off. By the time 1990 hit the calendars, Naka became a leading programmer for "[[Sonic Team]]" who would be the team to be in control of the projects featuring Sega's mascot.
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Being a large fan of Namco, Yuji Naka aimed to work for them after he graduated from college. However, Namco only accepted work from university graduates, and thus Yuji Naka would not be eligible as he did not want to go to university.
  
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After the completion of ''[[Sonic 2]]'', he became the producer. He now heads his own company called Prope.
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He did however score a job at Sega as a programming assistant. His first release was a game for the [[SG-1000 Mark III]] called ''Girl's Garden'', but his massive breathrough wasn't far off. In 1990 Yuji Naka, along with [[Naoto Ōshima]] and [[Hirokazu Yasuhara ]] began work on the original ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]''. Naka became a leading programmer for the newly founded "[[Sonic Team]]" which would be the team in control of most projects featuring Sega's mascot. After the completion of ''[[Sonic 2]]'', he became the producer.
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On March 16, 2006 it was announced that Naka would be creating his own game studio, independant of Sega. Naka left Sega to do set up this studio, called [[Prope]], but has since come back as a consultant for various Sega Titles, including [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] titles.
  
 
==Production History==
 
==Production History==

Revision as of 10:12, 8 February 2009

Yuji Naka

Yuji Naka, also known as YU2, is a video game designer, programmer, the former head of Sonic Team, and currently the head of the video game development company, Prope.

History

When Yuji Naka was 17 years old, he decided that he wanted to program video games. He owed this fascination to Ryuichi Sakamotos "Yellow Magic Orchestra" program, which allowed the composition of music on your computer.

Being a large fan of Namco, Yuji Naka aimed to work for them after he graduated from college. However, Namco only accepted work from university graduates, and thus Yuji Naka would not be eligible as he did not want to go to university.

He did however score a job at Sega as a programming assistant. His first release was a game for the SG-1000 Mark III called Girl's Garden, but his massive breathrough wasn't far off. In 1990 Yuji Naka, along with Naoto Ōshima and Hirokazu Yasuhara began work on the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Naka became a leading programmer for the newly founded "Sonic Team" which would be the team in control of most projects featuring Sega's mascot. After the completion of Sonic 2, he became the producer.

On March 16, 2006 it was announced that Naka would be creating his own game studio, independant of Sega. Naka left Sega to do set up this studio, called Prope, but has since come back as a consultant for various Sega Titles, including Sonic the Hedgehog titles.

Production History

Interviews

Being the producer of most of Sonic's games has earned Yuji Naka the rights to many interviews with those in the gaming industry. Some of those interviews may be found below (courtesy of Sonic World):

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