SEGAbits Forums
Gaming => General Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: ROJM on September 20, 2012, 11:57:14 am
-
Yuji Naka cemented his name in the history of video games by programming the original Sonic the Hedgehog. But Naka, once defined by his time at Sega, has now been outside of the company for nearly six years, after forming his own studio, Prope. And it seems he couldn't be happier.
"One of the reasons I left Sega was, if I stayed there, I would have had to just make Sonic games," he told Polygon in an interview at Prope's Tokyo headquarters. "Right now I don't have to make Sonic anymore, so I'm enjoying that freedom a lot."
Since his departure from Sega, Naka has explored that level of freedom with a pretty wide-ranging selection of titles, ranging from Let's Tap, an odd rhythm-based party game that required a cardboard box, to Ivy the Kiwi?, an adorable sidescroller whose similarities to Sonic end the moment you start playing the game.
One of the reasons I left Sega was, if I stayed there, I would have had to just make Sonic games
More recently, Naka has started delving into mobile games, creating six iOS titles in the last three years.
"Right now I can create a game without any limitations or dealing with any outside company," he explained, extolling the benefits of not needing a publisher to put a game out on mobile. But he also acknowledges the challenges with mobile games, saying that there are "people who are new to creating games also putting out their games in the exact same market."
Many of those competitors in the mobile space seem to focus on less gameplay-oriented experiences, opting for automatic progress instead of requiring skill. Naka's mobile titles, though, seem cut from the cloth that made him so well-known in the first place.
"The reason my games are actually [skill-based] is probably because I'm a creator from the old days," he said. "I understand the importance of action. Of winning and losing, and how your emotion moves when you win or lose while you're playing the game. That's why I want to create games where you gain that experience."
He admits, though, that the demand for skill-based games in the mobile space isn't always there.
"A lot of people don't want that kind of mobile game. Maybe they just want a simple, press-one-button-to-proceed game? That's a very sad fact. Right now I'm not sure what's going to happen in the game industry. Is it going to go back to how it was or go with the flow of this social gaming trend? I'm not sure what's going to happen. But I want to keep on creating my type of games, no matter what."
It's that level of choice that comes from running your own company, rather than being under the shadow of a major publisher. And Naka says there are plenty of major game developers still under that shadow.
"Like with Nintendo: Miyamoto has been making Mario games. He's under that too. He has to keep on making Mario games. [Eiji] Aonuma has to keep making Zelda games. [Hideo] Kojima has to make Metal Gear games. I wish he could take that off of everyone's shoulders so they could create other stuff, like new stuff. Because that's healthier for the industry. Movie directors create all sorts of movies, and the movie industry is healthy. I wish the game industry was like that as well."
It does seem, however, that even with the freedom of running his own company, a part of Yuji Naka remains in the past, hoping to match his most well-known creation.
"I'm not sure how many more years I'll be creating games, but my dream is to be able to create a character that can be equal to Sonic."
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/9/20/3360304/life-after-sega-the-sonic-creator-talks-about-his-newfound-freedom
I can't imagine Suzuki san or any of the other great creators in the game industry saying they are free from the games series that they created. ::)
-
I can't imagine Suzuki san or any of the other great creators in the game industry saying they are free from the games series that they created. ::)
To be fair to the guy, he's making more different games then he ever could under Sonic Team.
I also see his point...SEGA are about making new IPs, but they just can't step away from Sonic for at least one or two years and give everything else they have a chance.
I am sure that GAME FREAK would love to make a game not related to Pokemon that could become just as big too...as the thrill of the chase is better then the catch. Naka discovered Sonic, and was thrilled by it...but after awhile, that success feels less achieved once you've played around with it so many times to keep a diminishing fanbase happy.
I am saddened that SEGA didn't keep him on board for smaller projects....since he has these good ideas that created Let's Tap and Ivy the Wiki but since no one wants to take that risk with him...he's stuck in a rut financially. :\
-
yeah, i can't see why Naka would be happy about not being able to make Sonic games when he made them what they are, i think it's more like
"I'm free from Iizuka!"
-
Shame Naka hasn't made anything good since Ivy the Kiwi. His other game has yet to release (Rodea the Sky Soldier), then there is that fishing game and the Digimon game.
-
I'm sorry but Naka was in a very powerful position within Sega, the same sort of position that Nagoshi now occupies and he could have easily made another non Sonic game if he really wanted to. Its not like sega would have said no to him. hell, Suzuki also had a strong position and he made any game he wanted outside of the cash cow that was/is VIRTUA FIGHTER. And that includes after the "corporate embarrassment" that was SHENMUE he was able to produce new original titles. So i dont think Naka was forced to just make sonic titles or suggest that was the case because its simply isnt true. Or does anyone forget the other cash cow which he was involved in called PSO?
-
I thought Naka and Iizuka are good friends?
Just because he's in a high position, it doesn't mean he can make the decision to make whatever he wants...at the end of the day, SEGA are in it for the money...and they lost a lot of that themselves to take some risks of NOT putting a Sonic game out there....just look at NiGHTs and Burning Rangers...those games are good, but they didn't sell as many as SEGA hoped.
Virtua Fighter and PSO cash cows? I would have said Street Fighter and World of Warcraft myself...since SEGA did make money from those two franchises you mentioned but were surpassed a few years later by sequels of the ones who started those genres.
-
I thought Naka and Iizuka are good friends?
Just because he's in a high position, it doesn't mean he can make the decision to make whatever he wants...at the end of the day, SEGA are in it for the money...and they lost a lot of that themselves to take some risks of NOT putting a Sonic game out there....just look at NiGHTs and Burning Rangers...those games are good, but they didn't sell as many as SEGA hoped.
Virtua Fighter and PSO cash cows? I would have said Street Fighter and World of Warcraft myself...since SEGA did make money from those two franchises you mentioned but were surpassed a few years later by sequels of the ones who started those genres.
Sigh, that doesn't mean they dont make any money. PSO has been quite succesful for sega, which is only now why they're getting around releasing the actual sequel to the original game namely because they have been spinning off PSO into whatever they could possible think of to generate cash.
And VF has always been a strong seller in the arcades especially in japan where it usually outsells its competition whenever a new version is released. And Naka with trhe sonic team released new titles since NIGHTS and BURNING RANGERS, which still has an impact on sega like SAMBA DE AMIGO and CHU CHU ROCKET as well as PSO. This gave him the freedom to make more games outside of sonic.just like it did back in the DC era
-
PSO. . . a cash cow? I'd like to live in whatever alternate dimension you're from.
As for Naka, I bought Let's tap and Ivy the kiwi and they were both modestly fun titles that tried new things. I keep waiting for that big game that demonstrates what it was that made Naka so ingenious in the first place but it seems like it's never coming. It does make me a little sad to see him fade into obscurity. The only times I ever see his name pop up is when he makes an offhand comment about the sonic franchise. So in that sense I would hardly call him "free from sonic"
-
I think he made a very good point about film directors being free to explore with each new film. The game industry's fixation on sequels is a bit unhealthy, as evidenced by referring to them as "franchises." The other place the term "franchise" pops up is in the fast food industry. It's not exactly something that indicates artistic expression is at the forefront of motivators. Of course, games are not films, and games sometimes thrive when they are popular enough that they can be worked on iteratively. But some games stand on their own as singular experiences and frankly should never have sequels... not to say that they won't if the stockholders see money in it. But from an artistic point of view, does there need to be a sequel to a masterpiece? I don't think so.
-
I was under the impression Yuji Naka had said something similar in the past. He's probably venting over Rodea: The Sky Knight which, oddly enough, has been in development hell for some time.
-
Actually, Rodea has been in publishing hell. The game is finished, just not on a disc and in stores. :P
-
PSO. . . a cash cow? I'd like to live in whatever alternate dimension you're from.
What one do you live in? The ammount of users that paid to use the game's online services alone? The countless episodes ? The portable versions? It was still succesful for Sega to carry on the series up to this day compared to many Sega games that weren't or subjectivily succesful that still don't get a sequel to this very day. ::)
-
I'm not sure how anyone can deny Phantasy Star was anything but a consistently successful series? The series has had a title for almost every year since 2000!
2000 - Phantasy Star Online
2001 - Phantasy Star Online ver. 2
2002 - Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
2003 - Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution
2004 - Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst
2006 - Phantasy Star Universe
2007 - Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus
2008 - Phantasy Star Portable and Phantasy Star 0
2009 - Phantasy Star Portable 2
2011 - Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity
2012 - Phantasy Star Online 2
Think the number of titles shows that Phantasy Star is a highly successful series for SEGA.
-
i have mixed feelings
one part of me says yo yuji you sold out
and the other one is that he is not thankfull to his old one
one has to realise that there are 2 yuji naka.
the old and the new. ive seen this with friends when suddenly they change in somebody so bad that they are not your friends anymore
could yuji naka be that one?
-
I don't quite understand where you are getting at, but I'll try explain it to the best of my ability: Friends is one thing, business is a whole other issue.
Naka-san's frustrations with SEGA were presumably due to the fact that in a company, the more high up you are, the less you are involved with actual development. But no matter how high up you are, you still have something that you answer to.
And Yuji Naka's transition from Sonic Team head honcho to Prope allowed him to have his creative freedom and not be restrained. This is not unsual, it's a fairly common occurence in the world of business. I'm sure there are personal frustrations too, but at the end of the day, it's just business.
@Barry
Oh, OK... After a while I stopped hearing about the game, I actually though it was out, but only in Japan. In tht case, I feel for Naka-san. The game looked great, but the Wii is no longer a relevant platform...
-
I'm not sure how anyone can deny Phantasy Star was anything but a consistently successful series? The series has had a title for almost every year since 2000!
2000 - Phantasy Star Online
2001 - Phantasy Star Online ver. 2
2002 - Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
2003 - Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution
2004 - Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst
2006 - Phantasy Star Universe
2007 - Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus
2008 - Phantasy Star Portable and Phantasy Star 0
2009 - Phantasy Star Portable 2
2011 - Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity
2012 - Phantasy Star Online 2
Think the number of titles shows that Phantasy Star is a highly successful series for SEGA.
Exactly, and the sad thing is its one of the few DC era games to still carry on to this day. :'(
Oh yeah, you forgot Phantasy Star Episodes 1 and 2 Plus which had extra features on it, japan gamecube exclusive.
-
it is disturbing hearing stuff like that from him because yuji naka made sonic and however the fact that he was not free in what he did. but thats s normal since sonic is just sonic. sonic is a franchise.
and just to sneak at knuckles chaotix of the 32x seems to have similaritys like ivy the kiwi. but u cant make a sonic game turn in to a mario game
just lik mortal kombat aint streetfighter which is why they didnt mux it mk vs sf.
so yeah he is free. but the way he says it is like he doesnt like sonic and that is why i have a problem with it
i might be wrong because i misinterprete him
-
it is disturbing hearing stuff like that from him because yuji naka made sonic and however the fact that he was not free in what he did. but thats s normal since sonic is just sonic. sonic is a franchise.
and just to sneak at knuckles chaotix of the 32x seems to have similaritys like ivy the kiwi. but u cant make a sonic game turn in to a mario game
just lik mortal kombat aint streetfighter which is why they didnt mux it mk vs sf.
so yeah he is free. but the way he says it is like he doesnt like sonic and that is why i have a problem with it
i might be wrong because i misinterprete him
Get use to it, Yuji Naka has always been a bit of a git(to you americans,git is another word for Jerk)Besides Naka didn't really create Sonic so he wouldn't have that much love for him despite profiting and letting half the world think he did create Sonic. The fact that the games without key personell involved from the original days of Sonic just showed that he also didnt get the concept or how the game works. SONIC 2006 was the most obvious testament to this fact.
-
Yuji Naka was lead programmer on many of Yu Suzuki's arcade masterpieces, so as far as I'm concerned he's entitled to his creative freedom and his candid expressions.
-
Yuji Naka was lead programmer on many of Yu Suzuki's arcade masterpieces, so as far as I'm concerned he's entitled to his creative freedom and his candid expressions.
Really? Im suprised he had the time considering he was programming games in the console division. ::)
-
I'm not sure how anyone can deny Phantasy Star was anything but a consistently successful series? The series has had a title for almost every year since 2000!
2000 - Phantasy Star Online
2001 - Phantasy Star Online ver. 2
2002 - Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
2003 - Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution
2004 - Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst
2006 - Phantasy Star Universe
2007 - Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus
2008 - Phantasy Star Portable and Phantasy Star 0
2009 - Phantasy Star Portable 2
2011 - Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity
2012 - Phantasy Star Online 2
Think the number of titles shows that Phantasy Star is a highly successful series for SEGA.
I wouldn't claim this as evidence to any kind of great success. I mean come on, 2006 to 2011 is just one game stretched between multiple iterations. Even 2000 to 2004 with the exception of Card Revolution (which still used all the same assets) was the same game with slight improvements each time. To my knowledge, only PSP2 was any kind of financial success, making headlines with its 300k units sold debut week. And even then "cash cow" is a freaking stretch.
-
I thought Phantasy Star has been very successful in Japan. I mean I know it's not in the west due to the way SEGA America handles it, but that's another story..
-
I wouldn't claim this as evidence to any kind of great success. I mean come on, 2006 to 2011 is just one game stretched between multiple iterations. Even 2000 to 2004 with the exception of Card Revolution (which still used all the same assets) was the same game with slight improvements each time. To my knowledge, only PSP2 was any kind of financial success, making headlines with its 300k units sold debut week. And even then "cash cow" is a freaking stretch.
So a company exploiting a game, the same game, releasing variables of the same game time and again isn't a sign it was succesful? Ever heard of a game called Streetfighter 2? Same applies here. PSO wasn't a sf style cash guzzler but Sega expoliting the same game over a period of time because that game did generate cash, enough cash for them to keep doing returning to it. Cash cow too me. Anything over 100k is still considered succesful especially when users are paying for the various content. So it isn't a stretch to call PS0 that when that game series sold from 100 to 200k.
-
So a company exploiting a game, the same game, releasing variables of the same game time and again isn't a sign it was succesful? Ever heard of a game called Streetfighter 2? Same applies here. PSO wasn't a sf style cash guzzler but Sega expoliting the same game over a period of time because that game did generate cash, enough cash for them to keep doing returning to it. Cash cow too me. Anything over 100k is still considered succesful especially when users are paying for the various content. So it isn't a stretch to call PS0 that when that game series sold from 100 to 200k.
well, if you consider a franchise that sells 200k units a cash cow then a cash cow it is.
-
Really? Im suprised he had the time considering he was programming games in the console division. ::)
I realize you believe you know more about Sega than any other living being, but as a matter of fact he was doing jobs in both divisions.
-
I realize you believe you know more about Sega than any other living being, but as a matter of fact he was doing jobs in both divisions.
If only you actually said that.
Yuji Naka was lead programmer on many of Yu Suzuki's arcade masterpieces, so as far as I'm concerned he's entitled to his creative freedom and his candid expressions.
He only worked with AM2 twice, on SPACE HARRIER and SONIC THE FIGHTERS (for obvious reasons) He didn't work on many of Sega's arcade masterpeices like you are eluding to.
He spent most of his career during that time of Sega's AM2 golden run, in the consumer division . Most of the classics you are talking about were ports of AM2 games for consoles which doesnt count because they are ports(good ports but ports nonetheless). The point is that he's had a great run at Sega, and Sega has given this guy a smooth ride yet he still complains. He's complaing now about something that plainly isn't true. If someone has a right to complain about their treatment at the hands of Sega is probably Reiko Kodama and Mizuguchi but you dont hardly ever hear them bitch and moan. You dont see Sega helping him to set up their own company only to see hardly any games released for them and then complain that they were holding him back which is basically what he is saying. Talk about biting the hand that fed you.
-
well, if you consider a franchise that sells 200k units a cash cow then a cash cow it is.
Not me, Sega does, as evident on the many titles released. And PSO sold around 2-300k PSU sold under that around 100-200 k overall.
-
If only you actually said that.He only worked with AM2 twice, on SPACE HARRIER and SONIC THE FIGHTERS (for obvious reasons) He didn't work on many of Sega's arcade masterpeices like you are eluding to.
He spent most of his career during that time of Sega's AM2 golden run, in the consumer division . Most of the classics you are talking about were ports of AM2 games for consoles which doesnt count because they are ports(good ports but ports nonetheless). The point is that he's had a great run at Sega, and Sega has given this guy a smooth ride yet he still complains. He's complaing now about something that plainly isn't true. If someone has a right to complain about their treatment at the hands of Sega is probably Reiko Kodama and Mizuguchi but you dont hardly ever hear them bitch and moan. You dont see Sega helping him to set up their own company only to see hardly any games released for them and then complain that they were holding him back which is basically what he is saying. Talk about biting the hand that fed you.
What I said was that he was lead programmer on Yu Suzuki's arcade masterpieces. I didn't say that he didn't work in the console division; obviously that is the work that has made him a legend. My point was that there is other work he did for Sega which is also quite significant but less publicized. He was also the lead programmer on Out Run... the coin-op as well as the SMS port.
As for what Naka actually said, it doesn't seem that severe to me. He's basically saying that if he'd stayed at Sega he would have had to continue focusing on the Sonic series, and he didn't want to work on just one game series for the rest of his career. People are reacting like he's shat all over their childhoods. No one's shitting all over your childhood just because they don't want to have to do minor variations on the same theme for the rest of their life.
-
What I said was that he was lead programmer on Yu Suzuki's arcade masterpieces. I didn't say that he didn't work in the console division; obviously that is the work that has made him a legend. My point was that there is other work he did for Sega which is also quite significant but less publicized. He was also the lead programmer on Out Run... the coin-op as well as the SMS port.
As for what Naka actually said, it doesn't seem that severe to me. He's basically saying that if he'd stayed at Sega he would have had to continue focusing on the Sonic series, and he didn't want to work on just one game series for the rest of his career. People are reacting like he's shat all over their childhoods. No one's shitting all over your childhood just because they don't want to have to do minor variations on the same theme for the rest of their life.
He didn't do OUTRUN arcade, but that's an argument for another day and lets stick to the topic. It not the severety im complaining about. Im complaining about the fact that what he is saying isn't true. Naka had a considerable ammount of power within sega which he could do anything he wanted. Sega didn't force him to continue making Sonic games like they forced Suzuki to kep making Virtua Fighter titles. He took a step back and left it to others to continue the series after the forth title. Naka could have easily done the same and concentrate on doing other titles within Sega. He had that much power within the company. To me his little speech is what typifiys his behaviour and what he has always done when he was with Sega. he was hardly forced to keep making sonic.
-
Obviously you're just speculating. Who are you to say what anyone within Sega could easily do, or would be required to do? I'm sure if it was so easy for him to achieve all his personal career goals at Sega he wouldn't have left. As it happened one of his goals apparently was to start his own studio.
-
Central
Yuji Naka didn't work in the Coin Up division even though he applied to join the Coin Up originally. Naka never worked on a coin up, until Samba De Amigo.
Sega didn't force him to continue making Sonic games like they forced Suzuki to kep making Virtua Fighter titles.
SEGA made him CEO something which Yujia Naka was open that he didn't really like or really enjoy doing . I don't blame him or the members of the Team for having a tit full of SONIC tbh
-
Obviously you're just speculating. Who are you to say what anyone within Sega could easily do, or would be required to do? I'm sure if it was so easy for him to achieve all his personal career goals at Sega he wouldn't have left. As it happened one of his goals apparently was to start his own studio.
No i'm not speculating, its a fact. Sega doesn't force their top level staff to do anything at least in the old days and they sure didn't force Naka to do anything. Specifically Naka because he has the tendency to walk away when he doesn't like something. Which he's done before. Most of the things he's gotten throughout his career has been because of Sega,Including his own studio. Im really getting tired of this sympathy Naka is getting when he's really had a very great time at Sega. And this is a guy who did not create Sonic the hedgehog yet seemed to benefit the most from its creation.
You keep acting that Naka is some hard done by low level employee when his position in some regard was higher than Yu Suzuki who also had a strong franchise in Virtua Fighter. He not only took a back seat from that franchise he did start to create other game ideas. Unfortunatly it was the Shenmue situation that did him in. So are you seriously telling us that you believe the person responsible for many of Sega's big hits and specifically how they built their name on was free to not create games based on one of his bigger hits yet Naka was forced to do Sonic time and again?
-
Central
Yuji Naka didn't work in the Coin Up division even though he applied to join the Coin Up originally. Naka never worked on a coin up, until Samba De Amigo.
SEGA made him CEO something which Yujia Naka was open that he didn't really like or really enjoy doing . I don't blame him or the members of the Team for having a tit full of SONIC tbh
TA, he was involved in SONIC THE FIGHTERS with AM2 in some overview advisory role so he has had arcade experience but Samba is the first or one of the first sonic team designed arcade titles he was directly in charge of.
-
Sega doesn't force their top level staff to do anything at least in the old days and they sure didn't force Naka to do anything
SEGA Japan has a silly tendency to promote people up the ranks based on 1 game or some great bit of code . Naka -san may have been genius coder , but was not a team leader.
Naka-san should have been made head of SEGA technical R&D imo and Yoji Ishii head of the Sonic Team
Unfortunatly it was the Shenmue situation that did him in.
SEGA treated Yu-Suzuki terribly imo , with out Suzuki-san they would be no SEGA that man singled handedly made SEGA inthe 80's . You can forget the other staff Yu Szuki was the man and the way SEGA treated him (after one failure ) was horrible and its a loss to SEGA to let that man go
but Samba is the first or one of the first sonic team designed arcade titles he was directly in charge of.
Yeah
-
SEGA treated Yu-Suzuki terribly imo , with out Suzuki-san they would be no SEGA that man singled handedly made SEGA inthe 80's . You can forget the other staff Yu Szuki was the man and the way SEGA treated him (after one failure ) was horrible and its a loss to SEGA to let that man go
Yeah
Its a loss for Sega to get rid or lose half the talent that they had, there seems to be no ready replacements there at the moment. Its really gone back to the period before the Nakayama period started when Sega was more or less a one man show that became a faceless company churning out games. As much as i admired Nagoshi, it really didn't make sense to make him the one man show of sega when Sega especially after the Nakayama era started was more than a one man show company as what culmilated with the teams in the DC /third party period.
SEGA Japan has a silly tendency to promote people up the ranks based on 1 game or some great bit of code . Naka -san may have been genius coder , but was not a team leader.
Naka-san should have been made head of SEGA technical R&D imo and Yoji Ishii head of the Sonic Team
I wouldn't call it silly to recognise talent but making them go corporate is silly which i agree, many game developers never make good buisness corporate men IMHO i mean look at Hisao Oguchi, he always looked like a fish out of water in that enviroment and the reality is that the corporate side is always going to be a culture shock to the free world of the game developer/programmer etc.