Naka To Quit Sega!

[Amy Rose]

Taken from http://www.sonic-cult.org/

"Good news folks: according to Next Generation, Yuji Naka plans to quit SEGA. Does this mean that we will finally get Sonic games with good gameplay, and Sonic Team will stop their tradition of mothering games (and fucking them up) as their own franchiese which they just bought up from bankrupt companies or assimilated otherwise?

Unfortunetaly no, as Yuji Wanka' also plans on forming a new team that would still have close association with SEGA (why even bother then?). Gee, I can't even begin to guess what the name of the new studio will be. Team Naka? Team Ego? Team Money? Team we-make-puyo-puyo-games-for-your-toaster?"

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm, I like the other link (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2515&Itemid=2) better (the one Sonic Cult links to). Regardless the SC text did bring up an interesting idea...has Sega funded a new studio to get him out of their hair, or is he just looking for more autonomy (this is the possibility I think likely; I think the first suggestion is pretty ludicrous given that he was behind Phantasy Star Online).

[diskoboy]

Good for him. Sega has just been making one disastrious decision after another for about a decade now.

I wish him luck in whatever he does. And I hope he retains the rights of Sonic and NiGHTS at very least.

Now lets see how long it takes Yu Suzuki to bail.

[Ed Oscuro]

And I hope he retains the rights of Sonic and NiGHTS at very least.
0% chance of that. I figure he's going to run an affiliated studio, or else there really is something going on.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Good god...this like hearing Miyamoto leaving Nintendo... @_@

Btw Amy, why didn't you post this news at other forums?

[alec006]

Could this be good or bad........brand new studio for Naka meaning new game company maybe and much better Sonic Games :) ,then theres the bad points........hmmm :/

[Jibbajaba]

Naka... Naka... Nakana work here anymore!

Chris

[klausien]

Now lets see how long it takes Yu Suzuki to bail.

I believe he has already taken a similar route to autonomy.

[diskoboy]

Now lets see how long it takes Yu Suzuki to bail.

I believe he has already taken a similar route to autonomy.

Well, I think Sega's trying to put him back in the limelight. He's got 3 arcade games, alone, coming out this year. And they look pretty good.

After Burner Climax (I was a huge fan of the original, and I can't wait to play this game! I hope they put it in a moving cabinet..)
Psi-Phy (A touch screen fighter - I may have spelled the title wrong.)
And Virtua Fighter 5

And I heard After Burner Climax is supposedly going to show up on the 360, later on. VF5 will probably show up on the PS3. If Sega is smart (which they're not) they'd make VF5 a launch title for the PS3.

[Rockman Neo]

Well, if Sega does ever want Naka to come back, they better have another Porsche ready.

I just hope both next-gen Sonic games (One for the PS3 and 360 and the other for the Revolution) don't suck as much as Sonic Adventure 2. Oh wait, never mind. They're 3D. Of course they'll suck.

[Haoie]

Hold up? What's wrong with Puyo Pop? It just happens to be 1 of the best puzzler series [and in fact began life as a spinoff] for competition, and the Fever series was a good change to say the least.

[Rockman Neo]

Hold up? What's wrong with Puyo Pop? It just happens to be 1 of the best puzzler series [and in fact began life as a spinoff] for competition, and the Fever series was a good change to say the least.

I don't think they were making fun of Puyo Pop specifically. They were just making fun of a common Japanese stereotype.

Y'know, like "SUPER-HAPPY-BAKA-BAKA-FUN-TIME!"

[GaijinPunch]

And I heard After Burner Climax is supposedly going to show up on the 360, later on.

Rumor, rumor, rumor. This is based on assumptions from E3 videos.


VF5 will probably show up on the PS3. If Sega is smart (which they're not) they'd make VF5 a launch title for the PS3.

Don't expect a VF5 port until July 06 (one year after it's out in the arcades). A PS3 launch title would be, utterly stupid. Their arcades make a small fortune off of VF.

But back on topic, yeah -- who gives a shit. Besides PSO (which was 5 years ago), Naka and Sonic Team in general have done nothing unforgettable since NiGHTS. The Sonic games are good, but they are far from wanking material.

[diskoboy]

I'd agree and I disagree about VF5 not selling well. VF4 sold well on the PS2. They were Number 1 titles on both the Saturn and Dreamcast at their launches. The Virtua Fighter series is one of the only credible fighters still left out there. And the series still has a massive fanbase in Japan. Both console and arcade versions. So all in all, It'd do well in Japan if it came out at launch. North America - It'd do okay, but not as good as it would do in Japan.

Plus, Like DOA4 for the 360, it'd be a nice way to show off the PS3's hardware. The screenshots I've seen look incredibly nice.

Plus, I figured Climax was a rumor, but it would be nice. Maybe Sega could put it out as a 'budget' title ($39 would be budget on the 360). I say this is beacause there's not really much to After Burner. It's your typical on rail shooter. But since there are hardly any arcades left in America, After Burner will hardly see the light of day here, unless it sees a console release. Maybe Xbox live arcade?

[GaijinPunch]

So all in all, It'd do well in Japan if it came out at launch.

I'm sure it would sell gangbusters. That's the problem though.... why would you sell a console port of a game you released in the arcades just 4-5 months before, that has the potential to be milked a lot more?

[Lozza]

Naka... Naka... Nakana work here anymore!

Chris

Ah. That was quite funny. LOL

[EnzoSangiorgio]

Good. He needs to stop. There hasn't been a good console Sonic game since Sonic Adventure, and even that was just passable. Get him out of there, get Sonic Team out of there, and get the Sonic license out to a developer that could do it some goddamn justice.