Yuji Naka
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Let's Tap down under
A rating for Yuji Naka's latest project, Let's Tap, has popped up on the OLFC and would appear to indicate the title is destined for an Aussie release. Seeing as how we haven't heard anything on a North American or European release, this is likely going to be good news to folks outside of Australia. If Sega plans to localize the game down under, there's a very good chance that those of us who are looking forward to tapping away with the quirky title will get a chance to. %Gallery-33707%
Yuji Naka talks Let's Tap, departure from Sega
Described as "thoughtful and driven" by his interviewer, Yuji Naka is a man inexorably linked to Sonic the Hedgehog -- well, back when that was the cool thing to have on your business card -- and now, the surprisingly fun Let's Tap. Speaking to Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield during TGS 2008, Naka delved into the reasons for leaving his position at Sega for startup Prope (still backed by Sega). "The game industry has a very short history behind it, and as a result, the more games you make, the further you work your way up the company ladder, until you become one of the heads of the whole outfit," he explained. "Once that happens, you start running out of time to actually make games." We can't really blame the man for wanting to make games, even though his realistic reasoning comes at the expense of the "hedgehogs with guns ARGH" tantrum we've always envisioned him throwing on his last day at the office.As for the "Let's [Verb]" series, Naka hopes to continue it should Let's Tap and Let's Catch catch on. Shh, nobody tell him the bad news.
Sonic creator's studio working on Sonic-like game
Shown for the first time at TGS, Let's Tap! and Let's Catch! – the inaugural Wii games from former Sega executive, designer, and co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, Yuji Naka – were (refreshingly) not what we'd expected from his new studio, Prope. Frankly, we'd expected a Sonic or Billy Hatcher-esque platforming title. Wait – what's that, Gamasutra? Prope's working on a Sonic-style game? Shocking.Speaking to Gamasutra during the show, Naka revealed that, "At Prope, we're actually actually planning on making a game like Sonic right now," when asked about his future with character-based action games. "That's what we're making now," he further affirmed.So ... time for a game of "animal, vegetable, or mineral?" We're going to go with "animal." You can play along in the comments.
Let's Tap trailer explains penguin accessibility
Imagine our excitement when word arose that Sega's upcoming penguin-friendly title Let's Tap could be played "without holding a controller". We thought the day we've dreamed about since we pressed the power button on our respective first home consoles had come -- the day when video games aren't played with hands, but with minds. Unfortunately, a trailer for the game surfaced during the Nintendo Media Summit, revealing that while no controller-touching will actually be required to play Let's Tap, hands will still be part of the equation. To get a clear understanding of the control scheme, check out the trailer after the break. It seems the game will be manipulated by placing a Wiimote face-down on a flat surface (a Nintendo Wii box is used in the video), then tapping upon said surface. We're still not positive how it works -- though we are positive that the speak-and-spell-infused song used in the trailer has stick-in-your-head properties we haven't seen since the days of Lou Bega.
Let's tap the Let's Tap box
Do you reside in a house with no flat surfaces whatsoever? Do you awake in your hammock every morning surrounded by nothing but domed, conic or pyramidal furniture? Then good luck playing Let's Tap, chump! As we've already seen, Prope's new game is played by resting the Wiimote face down on a flat surface, and then tapping on said surface to complete minigames.It's barmy and utterly gorgeous, and will also come ingeniously packaged in a box which doubles up as a convenient flat surface for you to play on. We doubt you have a single flat surface in your home as stylish as this.%Gallery-33707%
Six of our favorite Media Summit videos
You've already had the chance to examine scores of wonderful screens from new Wii games announced at the Nintendo Media Summit. This new post is dedicated to displaying thousands of more screens (squashed together to create videos) of some of the bigger titles that have been shown at the event.We settled on placing Nintendo's official Punch-Out!! trailer at the top of this post, but could have easily led with some truly fantastic Sin & Punishment 2 footage, an impressive tech demo of The Conduit, or Yuji Naka's wacky-looking Let's Tap. Instead, all of those (and more) are past the break, and need to be viewed right now. Before you go, though, one final note: if any game released this year has a funkier soundtrack than Let's Tap, we'll be gobsmacked.
Let's Tap, Sonic creator Naka's 'penguin' game, coming Dec. 2008
At last, Sega has finally revealed Let's Tap for Wii, Sonic creator Yuji Naka's game teased as, "World first, the game that even penguins can play." How exactly a penguin does play it is still not explicitly stated, although our marine biologist friends tell us that penguins are prone to waddle, so this inverted Wii remote laying on the ground may indicate that we will be, erm, tapping on our remote somehow.As for the game itself, the available screenshots vary greatly and provide no basis for interpretation. There is a countdown on the official website that expires in seven days. What we do know, according to the info box in the lower right corner: the genre is "tap action," it supports one to four (to infinity) players and will release this December for 5,040 yen (approx. US $48).%Gallery-33341%
Sin & Punishment 2 and other third-party gems confirmed [update]
Update: Screen grab from Nintendo's media page, which has video of all these new games! Check it out right here.Nintendo just unleashed a demo reel of upcoming third-party Wii games, including Taiko no Tatsujin Wii, a new Tsumi to Batsu/Sin & Punishment game from Treasure, a Wii version ofAnother Code (otherwise known as Trace Memory, the DS adventure game), Let's Tap (Yuji Naka's latest project, a.k.a. the game that even penguins can play), Sengoku Musou 3 (Samurai Warriors 3) and a new "mothership" title in the Tales Of series.Will the internet regard this as the press conference that E3 should have been? We suspect so!
Sonic's creator teases something new
Ms. Naka: Janene, has Sonic seemed a bit ... off to you?Janene: Why, how do you mean? Sure, he's a little rambunctious, but --Ms. Naka: No, it's more than that. He's spinning around town with the wrong crowd, he pawned all my gold rings to buy, well, other gold rings ...Janene: No! His own mother's rings?!Ms. Naka: It's true. Ever since Prope -- you know, Yuji's studio? -- put up that teaser image about a new game it's going to reveal in 17 days, Sonic's just been completely out of control!Janene: Oh, Doris, that's perfectly natural. Yuji created Sonic, and now he's making something new. The little blue guy's just afraid he won't be the favorite any more.Ms. Naka: ... Oh, God, are you joking? We haven't loved him for years. Did you not play Sonic and the Secret Rings?
Yuji Naka -- life after SEGA and Sonic
Legendary game designer Yuji Naka left Team Sonic and SEGA last year to form his own company known as Prope. This guy created Sonic, NiGHTS, and my most ever-beloved and cherished Phantasy Star series. Except the third one, I think. That was someone else. At least, it had a majorly different development team. Anyway, that's not what we're going to ramble on about today. What has Naka and Prope been up to this past year?SEGA is supporting Naka and his new company, acting as a sort of partner. Naka admits that he's got about 26 people on staff right now, most with great experience, some straight outta school. They're not going to be particular about which console they develop for -- it all depends on the type of game they're creating. They'd like as many people as possible to enjoy their games, so expect multi-platform mayhem. No sequels, side-projects, or ports of classics -- everything is going to be original. And to quote Naka's slightly creepy, but well-meaning end on that subject: "We want to make works that have the power to fill the children of the world with dreams." Or fudge. Children are happy when filled with fudge, too. So what do you guys expect out of this team? Downloadable content, games for the younger crowd, or something new and artsy?
Rumorang: NiGHTS 2 spotted on game mag cover
Apparently, world exclusives just aren't what they used to be. Shortly after Official Nintendo Magazine teased readers with "world exclusive" information on a new game, only to backpedal once internet speculation deemed the game to be NiGHTS 2, comes this image of an upcoming issue of Swedish mag, Game Reactor. Their exclusive is right there on the cover -- the androgynous acrobat himself sporting a grand new costume. No mention of platform is made, though most online pundits point to Wii.The image, which was posted on the NeoGAF forums and the Game Reactor website, has since been replaced on the latter page with a version containing an empty outline of NiGHTS. Is that the official motif for teasing gamers with the sequel to a deeply loved Saturn classic? Caution requires us to continue labeling this as an unconfirmed rumor, but we think it's about time we changed our line of questioning.It's not a question of whether NiGHTS 2 exists now, but rather a question of how completely modern Sega (sans Yuji Naka) will mangle a cherished property. We say it in jest, but deep down, we can already picture an Afterburner clone, complete with fly-by shootings and bordello bombing runs.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Yuji Naka not involved in any new NiGHTS game
As dubious as we find this NiGHTS rumor, the community love for the game has kept it alive and kept gamers hopeful. However, the one man who could truly make a high quality NiGHTS game has no intentions of returning to the franchise.Speaking to CVG, Yuji Naka, the former leader of Sega's Sonic Team, has stated quite bluntly that "at present, I have no intentions" of revisiting any of his old Sega franchises, which includes Sonic and NiGHTS. Granted, Sega could make a new NiGHTS title without Naka, who left the company in May 2006 to form his own studio Prope. But the quality of Sonic Team's work has been questionable at best since his departure.If all these rumors lead to a NiGHTS virtual console release, then consider us excited. However, if Sega looks to add another entry in the series, then we hope the hype wears down (not likely) or that Sega gives this to a new studio. Considering recent releases, we're not sure a NiGHTS game from the Sonic Team will be capable of living up to the fanbase's high expectations.
Brand new NiGHTS "confirmed" by SPOnG
We were a little doubtful that NiGHTS would actually come to Wii. Sure, the latest rumor shows some compelling evidence, but too often have Nintendo fans been burned by dubious anticipation. SPOnG, the gaming equivalent of the National Enquirer tabloid, has boldly "confirmed" that NiGHTS is, indeed, heading to Wii. If that didn't raise a red flag, their "anonymous insider" quote certainly did: "Yes, there is a new NiGHTS coming, and coming quite soon actually. It's a full game too, not a rehash of old NiGHTS for Virtual Console as some have said it might be lately. It's a whole new game."SPOnG notes that former Sega mastermind Yuji Naka is supposedly helming the project with his new company Prope. While the wise will cast a great shadow of doubt on anything SPOnG has to say, a glimmer of hope remains that the April exclusive reveal in Official Nintendo Magazine will be everything we've hoped for.
Yuji Naka confirmed to be leaving Sega to form Prope
Back in March, we heard rumblings that Sega stalwart Yuji Naka was planning to leave Sega to start his own studio. Today, that rumor's been confirmed. According to Next Generation, Naka's new company is called Prope, which means "'beside' and 'near' future." Prope's web site (not linked on Next Gen) apparently explains that the name was chosen "in the hopes of bringing game entertainment much closer to users, establishing closer ties between users and us, and creating near future entertainment." We're just happy that Naka is retaining some ties to his old corporate home thanks to a 10% contribution on Sega's part to prop up the emerging new independent studio (a concept which Sega seems to support with its developers). Unfortunately, as the firm "will commit to new IP," you shouldn't expect updates of Sega classic franchises from the old hand anytime soon. It will also be interesting to see who's guiding the new Sonic games as well. Prope will open for business on June 1st. [Thanks, Sense; via 8-bit Ninja] See also: Rumor: Yuji Naka set to leave Sega NiGHTS Into Dreams, onto Revolution? Next-gen Sonic to be "re-invented" for PS3 and Xbox 360
Rumor: Yuji Naka set to leave Sega
Yuji Naka, the original programmer behind Sonic the Hedgehog and arguably the most influential man at Sega (next to Yu Suzuki, of course), is rumored to be leaving Sega.Citing sources "close to Sega," Next Generation claims that the influential leader "is planning to set up his own studio." If true, this action would mirror those of other game industry greats such as Tetsuya Mizuguchi (who founded Q Entertainment) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (who started Mistwalker).Unfortunately, this kind of rumor is difficult to confirm as you don't know for sure whether someone's leaving a developer until he's actually gone. With all the organizational changes at the company, however (especially since Sammy bought Sega), such a move wouldn't be too surprising. We just hope the next-gen sequels to Sonic are in good hands.See also: Next-gen Sonic to be "re-invented" for PS3 and Xbox 360 Rumor: Sonic coming to Revolution DS: Sakaguchi & Co. working on new RPG Lumines sales top gold status
