GAME DESIGNER
Yuji Naka
1965 - Today

Yuji Naka
Yuji Naka (中 裕司, Naka Yūji; born September 17, 1965), sometimes credited as YU2, is a Japanese video game designer and programmer. He is the co-creator of the Sonic the Hedgehog series and was the president of Sonic Team at Sega until his departure in 2006. Naka joined Sega in 1984 and worked on games including Girl's Garden (1985) and Phantasy Star II (1989). He was the lead programmer of the original Sonic games on the Mega Drive in the early 1990s, which greatly increased Sega's market share. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Yuji Naka is the 41st most popular game designer (down from 37th in 2019), the 1,746th most popular biography from Japan (down from 1,523rd in 2019) and the 21st most popular Japanese Game Designer.
Memorability Metrics
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Among GAME DESIGNERS
Among game designers, Yuji Naka ranks 41 out of 77. Before him are Eiji Aonuma, Chris Taylor, John Romero, Yuji Horii, Tetsuya Nomura, and Dave Arneson. After him are Tim Cain, Jeff Kaplan, Mike Harrington, Scott Cawthon, Jens Bergensten, and Johan Andersson.
Most Popular Game Designers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsEiji Aonuma
1963 - Present
HPI: 53.98
Rank: 35
Chris Taylor
1950 - Present
HPI: 53.94
Rank: 36
John Romero
1967 - Present
HPI: 53.69
Rank: 37
Yuji Horii
1954 - Present
HPI: 53.21
Rank: 38
Tetsuya Nomura
1970 - Present
HPI: 52.87
Rank: 39
Dave Arneson
1947 - 2009
HPI: 52.85
Rank: 40
Yuji Naka
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.50
Rank: 41
Tim Cain
1965 - Present
HPI: 51.74
Rank: 42
Jeff Kaplan
1972 - Present
HPI: 51.32
Rank: 43
Mike Harrington
2000 - Present
HPI: 50.83
Rank: 44
Scott Cawthon
1971 - Present
HPI: 50.60
Rank: 45
Jens Bergensten
1979 - Present
HPI: 50.49
Rank: 46
Johan Andersson
1974 - Present
HPI: 50.45
Rank: 47
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1965, Yuji Naka ranks 380. Before him are Cyrille Makanaky, Olivier Megaton, Osamu Maeda, Momoko Sakura, Takeshi Kusao, and Dyanna Lauren. After him are Carlos Eugênio Simon, Soichi Noguchi, Iryna Yatchenko, Patrick Roy, Kazuo Echigo, and Salou Djibo.
Others Born in 1965
Go to all RankingsCyrille Makanaky
SOCCER PLAYER
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.70
Rank: 374
Olivier Megaton
FILM DIRECTOR
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.66
Rank: 375
Osamu Maeda
SOCCER PLAYER
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.61
Rank: 376
Momoko Sakura
COMIC ARTIST
1965 - 2018
HPI: 52.60
Rank: 377
Takeshi Kusao
ACTOR
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.57
Rank: 378
Dyanna Lauren
PORNOGRAPHIC ACTOR
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.55
Rank: 379
Yuji Naka
GAME DESIGNER
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.50
Rank: 380
Carlos Eugênio Simon
REFEREE
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.48
Rank: 381
Soichi Noguchi
ASTRONAUT
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.45
Rank: 382
Iryna Yatchenko
ATHLETE
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.45
Rank: 383
Patrick Roy
POLITICIAN
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.42
Rank: 384
Kazuo Echigo
SOCCER PLAYER
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.40
Rank: 385
Salou Djibo
POLITICIAN
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.39
Rank: 386
In Japan
Among people born in Japan, Yuji Naka ranks 1,746 out of 6,245. Before him are Maki Kaji (1951), Ryosuke Sasagaki (1985), Toshihiko Seki (1962), Kiyomi Kato (1948), Mitsuko Horie (1957), and Yasuaki Kato (1976). After him are Shota Iwata (1988), Masakuni Yamamoto (1958), Toshikazu Kato (1981), Soichi Noguchi (1965), Yoichi Futori (1982), and Yasutaro Matsuki (1957).
Others born in Japan
Go to all RankingsMaki Kaji
BUSINESSPERSON
1951 - 2021
HPI: 52.56
Rank: 1,740
Ryosuke Sasagaki
SOCCER PLAYER
1985 - Present
HPI: 52.56
Rank: 1,741
Toshihiko Seki
ACTOR
1962 - Present
HPI: 52.55
Rank: 1,742
Kiyomi Kato
WRESTLER
1948 - Present
HPI: 52.52
Rank: 1,743
Mitsuko Horie
ACTOR
1957 - Present
HPI: 52.52
Rank: 1,744
Yasuaki Kato
SOCCER PLAYER
1976 - Present
HPI: 52.52
Rank: 1,745
Yuji Naka
GAME DESIGNER
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.50
Rank: 1,746
Shota Iwata
SOCCER PLAYER
1988 - Present
HPI: 52.49
Rank: 1,747
Masakuni Yamamoto
SOCCER PLAYER
1958 - Present
HPI: 52.48
Rank: 1,748
Toshikazu Kato
SOCCER PLAYER
1981 - Present
HPI: 52.47
Rank: 1,749
Soichi Noguchi
ASTRONAUT
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.45
Rank: 1,750
Yoichi Futori
SOCCER PLAYER
1982 - Present
HPI: 52.45
Rank: 1,751
Yasutaro Matsuki
SOCCER PLAYER
1957 - Present
HPI: 52.43
Rank: 1,752
Among GAME DESIGNERS In Japan
Among game designers born in Japan, Yuji Naka ranks 21. Before him are Yu Suzuki (1958), Kazunori Yamauchi (1967), Hideki Kamiya (1970), Eiji Aonuma (1963), Yuji Horii (1954), and Tetsuya Nomura (1970). After him are Yoshinori Kitase (1966), Goichi Suda (1968), Koji Igarashi (1968), Yoshiaki Koizumi (1968), and Hidemaro Fujibayashi (1972).
Yu Suzuki
1958 - Present
HPI: 55.14
Rank: 15
Kazunori Yamauchi
1967 - Present
HPI: 54.72
Rank: 16
Hideki Kamiya
1970 - Present
HPI: 54.30
Rank: 17
Eiji Aonuma
1963 - Present
HPI: 53.98
Rank: 18
Yuji Horii
1954 - Present
HPI: 53.21
Rank: 19
Tetsuya Nomura
1970 - Present
HPI: 52.87
Rank: 20
Yuji Naka
1965 - Present
HPI: 52.50
Rank: 21
Yoshinori Kitase
1966 - Present
HPI: 50.09
Rank: 22
Goichi Suda
1968 - Present
HPI: 49.52
Rank: 23
Koji Igarashi
1968 - Present
HPI: 47.70
Rank: 24
Yoshiaki Koizumi
1968 - Present
HPI: 47.18
Rank: 25
Hidemaro Fujibayashi
1972 - Present
HPI: 45.60
Rank: 26