Happy birthday, Yuji Naka! The famed former head of Sonic Team recently left Square Enix after the disappointing reception of his latest project Balan Wonderland. Rumors surfaced that Naka would retire after losing his Square Enix position, but it seems like Naka is keeping himself busy. Naka tweeted out today that he’s currently working on a mobile game by himself.
According to Naka, he’s studying programming to learn how to make smartphone games in Unity. It seems that he’s committed to going full-on independent, at least for the time being.
See Naka’s message below in which he thanks everyone for the birthday messages he received and outlines his current goals.
Why is Yuji Naka working on a mobile game?
It seems that following the unfortunate launch of Balan Wonderland, Naka wants to work on something smaller and more personal. And honestly, a solo Yuji Naka mobile game is a good move right now. He’s the sole developer on the game, and doing something more low-key is likely for the best.
Balan Wonderland generated a large amount of interest when it was first announced, especially since Yuji Naka was behind the wheel for a Nights Into Dreams revival. But that interest turned to caution and later apprehension for many as the game loomed closer to its release date. The reason was that early gameplay footage and demos showed many issues with the controls and physics. When the game launched, its overall poor critical and commercial reception cemented the game’s legacy as a failure.
This all led to worry about where the director’s career would be heading. For now, it looks like Yuji Naka is content to take a step back and work on this independent mobile game project. That’s likely for the best, and we at Mega Visions wish Mr. Naka both the best of luck on his current project and a very happy birthday!
Via Siliconera.
