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]
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(Page 1) Reader Comments
Why do Japanese companies need to choose stupid names and later have to use 10 thousand lines of text to explain why that stupid name was chosen?
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Hmm, improve, actually. The 3D sonic games since SA 2 have just been dreadful, a new direction would be good, from someone who realizes people really only care about Sonic Tails and Knuckles, and not every little furry animal in furtown.
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As far as I'm concerned, complaining about Sonic games right now is not much different than complaining about New Coke. It's fixed already, man; no need to keep bitching.
Of course, with Naka gone, who knows. I'm taking bets on Shadow the Hedgehog 2, myself.
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http://www.hkfilm.net/dm2_10.jpg
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Actually, the need to explain the name stems from a general lack of respect for the intelligence of journalists/bloggers.
The moment I saw prope I knew it was latin for near - being the root word for propensity. I think anyone with even a 3rd rate highschool education should be able to figure that out...
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Everyone that writes for a living should at least have some knowledge of Latin or root word analysis. I think the required dumbing down of mainstream media causes a general lack of respect for those that report our news. I feel that this is reflecting in these long winded press releases.
Most companies in the gaming industry are failing at PR. This press release sounds like an attempt to woo more Venture Capital. The name Prope creates the impression of mass appeal to VCs because mass appeal usually equates to dollars.
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"Everyone that writes for a living should at least have some knowledge of Latin or root word analysis."
Yeah, because we're all professional writers, you know? O.o
And Naka has gone crazy recently...T_T
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I'm sorry, Naka-san, I really didn't realize what I was typing, but I still think Yu Suzuki has been acting crazy recently.
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