Yuji Naka

Yuji Naka (Naka Yūji) (born September 17, 1965) is a Japanese video game programmer, designer, and producer who was the former head of Sega's Sonic Team, where he was the lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog series of games on the Sega Mega Drive. With Sega, Naka also led development on games including Nights into Dreams (1996), Burning Rangers (1998), Sonic Adventure (1998), and three games in the Phantasy Star franchise (1987-2000). In 2006, he left Sega to found Prope, an independent game company. Naka also worked under Square Enix to direct Balan Wonderworld (2021). Naka learned how to program by replicating and debugging video game code printed in magazines. The experience prompted him to study assemblers and practice writing code during his school classes. After graduating high school, Naka decided to skip university and stay in his home town. His true breakthrough, however, came in 1991 when he programmed the original Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Mega Drive, wit