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
