View source for Yuji Naka

{{PersonBob
| image=Yuji_Naka.jpg
| birthplace=Hirakata, Osaka prefecture, Japan
| dob=1965-09-17
| dod=
| company=[[Sega of Japan]]
| role=Programmer, Designer, Producer, Executive
| education=Nishinoda Technology Senior High School
}}
'''Yuji Naka''' (中 裕司) is a video game designer, programmer, the former head of [[Sonic Team]] (usually credited by his alias, '''YU2'''), 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 learned how to program by copying and debugging game code published in magazines, and these experiences prompted him to learn how to use assemblers and write his own programs. The electronic music group [[wikipedia:Yellow Magic Orchestra|Yellow Magic Orchestra]] was also an influence on the young Naka.

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]] called ''[[Girl's Garden]]''. Yuji Naka's distinction was producing/project managing projects while simultaneously handling the lead programming of them. Examples of this are ''[[Space Harrier II]]'' and ''[[Phantasy Star II]]''.

In 1990 he, along with [[Naoto Oshima]] and [[Hirokazu Yasuhara]], began to conceive [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] and then leading the now dubbed [[Sonic Team]], putting his leadership and programming talents into work.

The last time, Yuji Naka did any hands-on coding was ''[[NiGHTS into Dreams]]'', with Sonic Team members [[Tetsu Katano]] and [[Takahiro Hamano]] succeeding him in that regard.

On March 16, 2006 it was announced that Naka would be creating his own independent game studio, with partial financial backing from Sega. Naka left Sega to set up this studio, called [[Prope]].

==Production history==
{{multicol|
{{ProductionHistory|Yuji Naka|Y.Naka|Nitta Tai Yuji|Muuu Yuji|Muuuu Yuji|YU2|Yuji Naka (YU2)|なか ゆうじ|中 裕司}}


* ''[[Sonic 1|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' (Mega Drive Version) (1991) — Program (as '''YU2''') [NOTE: Also Project Manager]
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]'' (Mega Drive Version) (1992) — Chief Programmer (as '''Yuji Naka (YU2)''') [NOTE: Also Project Manager]
* ''[[Sonic Spinball]]'' (Mega Drive Version) (1993) — A Special Bow to [NOTE: Manual credit]
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'' (1994) — Producer, Lead Programmer
* ''[[Sonic & Knuckles]]'' (1994) — Producer, Lead Programmer
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles]]'' (1994) — Producer, Lead Programmer
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (anime)]]'' (1996) — Supervisor
* ''[[Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island]]'' (1996/1997) — Advisor (SOJ) (Sega)
* ''[[Sonic Jam]]'' (1997) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic R]]'' (Saturn Version) (1997) — General Producer (Sega Enterprises Ltd.), Producer (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
* ''[[Sonic R]]'' (PC Version) (1998) — General producer (Sega Enterprises Ltd.) (Sega), Producer (Sega Enterprises Ltd.) (Sega), Supervisor (Sega)
* ''[[Sonic Adventure]]'' (1998) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure]]'' (1999) — Superviser (as '''Y.Naka'''), Produce (as '''Y.Naka''')
* ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'' (2001) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic Adventure 2: Battle]]'' (2001) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic Advance]]'' (2001) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic Mega Collection]]'' (2002) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic Advance 2]]'' (2002) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic X]]'' (2003) — Executive Producer
* ''[[Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut]]'' (2003) — Producer (Sonic Adventure DX Staff), Producer (Sonic Adventure Original Staff)
* ''[[Sonic Pinball Party]]'' (2003) — Producer
* ''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 1: Phantasy Star generation:1]]'' (2003) — Special Thanks (Sonic Team)
* ''[[Sonic Battle]]'' (2003) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic Heroes]]'' (2003) — Producer
* ''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 11: Hokuto no Ken]]'' (2004) — Special Thanks
* ''[[Sonic Advance 3]]'' (2004) — Producer
* ''[[Sega Superstars]]'' (2004) — Producer
* ''[[Astro Boy]]'' (2004) — Chief Producer
* ''[[Sonic Mega Collection Plus]]'' (2004) — Producer
* ''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 17: Phantasy Star generation:2]]'' (2005) — Special Thanks (Sonic Team Div)
* ''[[Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love]]'' (PS2 Version) (2005) — Chief Producer
* ''[[Sonic Gems Collection]]'' (2005) — Chief Producer
* ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog (game)|Shadow the Hedgehog]]'' (2005) — Producer
* ''[[Sonic Rush]]'' (2005) — Producer
* ''[[Puyo Puyo Fever 2]]'' (2005) — Chief Producer
* ''[[Sonic Riders]]'' (2006) — Executive Producer
*''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 19: Fighting Vipers]]'' (2005) — Executive Supervisor)
*''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 20: Space Harrier II ~Space Harrier Complete Collection~ ]]'' (2005) — Executive Supervisor
*''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 23: Sega Memorial Selection]]'' (2005) — Executive Supervisor
*''[[Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 25: Gunstar Heroes: Treasure Box]]'' (2006) — Executive Supervisor
* ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'' (2007) — Original Executive Producer
* ''[[Let's Catch]]'' (2008) — Producer
}}

==Song credits==
===''[[OutRun]]'' (Master System Version)===
* Magical Sound Shower — Arrangement
* Passing Breeze — Arrangement
* Splash Wave — Arrangement
* Last Wave — Arrangement

==Interviews==
{{multicol|
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega Visions (August/September 1992)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega Visions (August/September 1992)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (December 20, 1996)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (December 20, 1996)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima interview by Hobby Consolas (Unknown Month, 1996)|Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima interview by Hobby Consolas (Unknown Month, 1996)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima interview by Saturn Power (July 1997)|Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima interview by Saturn Power (July 1997)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Dreamcast Magazine (January 22, 1999)|Yuji Naka interview by Dreamcast Magazine (January 22, 1999)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Gamefan (June 1999)|Yuji Naka interview by Gamefan (June 1999)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Official Dreamcast Magazine (September 1999)|Yuji Naka interview by Official Dreamcast Magazine (September 1999)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega Saturn Magazine (October 8, 1998)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega Saturn Magazine (October 8, 1998)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Futuregamez (November 30, 1999)|Yuji Naka interview by Futuregamez (November 30, 1999)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Edge (1999)|Yuji Naka interview by Edge (1999)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by IGN (February 1, 2001)|Yuji Naka interview by IGN (February 1, 2001)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Gamespot (February 2, 2001)|Yuji Naka interview by Gamespot (February 2, 2001)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Famitsu (April 19, 2001)|Yuji Naka interview by Famitsu (April 19, 2001)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Gamespot (July 3, 2001)|Yuji Naka interview by Gamespot (July 3, 2001)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Times (September 13, 2001)|Yuji Naka interview by Times (September 13, 2001)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (2001)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (2001)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Nintendo (February 12, 2002)|Yuji Naka interview by Nintendo (February 12, 2002)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by XenGamers (July 17, 2002)|Yuji Naka interview by XenGamers (July 17, 2002)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Gamespot (September 30, 2002)|Yuji Naka interview by Gamespot (September 30, 2002)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Euro Gamer (May 23, 2003)|Yuji Naka interview by Euro Gamer (May 23, 2003)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by CVG (May 27, 2003)|Yuji Naka interview by CVG (May 27, 2003)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (June 14, 2003)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (June 14, 2003)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka interview by Sega Score (December 12, 2003)|Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka interview by Sega Score (December 12, 2003)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega Europe (January 30, 2004)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega Europe (January 30, 2004)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (January 2004)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (January 2004)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (February 2004)|Yuji Naka interview by Sega.com (February 2004)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by IGN (May 13, 2004)|Yuji Naka interview by IGN (May 13, 2004)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by The Next Level (June 15, 2004)|Yuji Naka interview by The Next Level (June 15, 2004)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Kikizo (June 24, 2004)|Yuji Naka interview by Kikizo (June 24, 2004)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Gameplanet (December 7, 2004)|Yuji Naka interview by Gameplanet (December 7, 2004)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by GameSpy (September 2005)|Yuji Naka interview by GameSpy (September 2005)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Kikizo (February 04, 2009)|Yuji Naka interview by Kikizo (February 04, 2009)]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by Nintendo Power (May 4, 2009)|Yuji Naka interview by Nintendo Power (May 4, 2009)]]
*[[Interview: Yuji Naka (2010-05-05) by Gamasutra]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka interview by 1UP (June 25, 2010)|Yuji Naka interview by 1UP (June 25, 2010)]]
*[[Interview: Yuji Naka (2010-07-05) by NightsIntoDreams.Com]]
*[[sonic:Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka interview for Sonic Heroes website|Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka interview for ''Sonic Heroes'' website]]
}}

==Magazine articles==
{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Magazine articles}}

==References==
<references/>