Yuji Naka
Image: Nintendo

Ever wondered what would have happened if Yuju Naka - former head of Sonic Team and one of the driving forces behind the success of the iconic blue speedster - had made the move over to Nintendo? Well, turns out that could have easily been reality. In a recent interview, Naka-san (who joined Square Enix back in January) revealed that he hoped Nintendo would reach out once his time with Sega had come to an end:

Interviewer: This may open an old wound for you, but… (laughs) You quit Sega right after you made Sonic, correct?

Naka: Yeah.

Interviewer: And I heard that you actually approached Nintendo after you quit…?

Naka: When I was driving back to my home in Osaka from Tokyo, I decided to stop by Nintendo’s headquarters in Kyoto. I actually wanted to see how long it would take for me to commute from Osaka to Nintendo’s offices. (laughs) However, when I stopped my car in their parking lot, a security guard came out and started eyeing me suspiciously. I got scared and decided to just go home. (laughs) If that security guard hadn’t been there, who knows how different my future might have been…! (laughs)

Naka: While I was reading those books, I got a call from a third-party developer asking if I would come work for them. But the truth is, I was holding out for a call from Nintendo.

Interviewer: Oh, really?! (laughs)

Naka: The reason I thought that is, a few months before I quit Sega, I heard a story about another programmer from a big gaming company who had quit his job, and was then called by Nintendo. I was like, “Wow, that could happen to me too!” (laughs) So when I quit Sega I had this faint hope that I’d be getting a call… but it never came. (laughs) It was sad.

What do you think Naka-san would have gone on to do if he had joined Nintendo way back when? Share your thoughts with us below...

[source shmuplations.com]