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YU2's Real Name: Yuji Naka
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YU2 (YU2) 本名: Yuji Naka (中裕司)
Answer: "YU2" was the credit alias of Yuji Naka (中裕司), the lead programmer of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog.
Yuji Naka was born on September 17, 1965, in Osaka. He joined Sega in 1984 as a programmer. Like many Sega staff of the era, he appeared in game credits under a nickname, "YU2" (or "Yuji Naka" in later titles). Sega, like other Japanese companies, used aliases partly to protect staff from being recruited by rivals.
Naka was the lead programmer of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), creating the fast scrolling engine at the heart of the game, and worked on Phantasy Star and NiGHTS into Dreams. He later led Sega's Sonic Team.
In 2022 he was arrested, and later convicted, in Japan in an insider-trading case connected to Square Enix, which was reported by major outlets including NHK.
FAQ
Who was YU2 in Sonic credits? Yuji Naka, the game's lead programmer.
Why did Sega use credit aliases? Partly to make it harder for rival companies to recruit staff.