Editing Yuji Naka (section)

===Leaving during mid-development of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (2006)===
In May 2006, while [[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)|''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (2006)]] and ''[[Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'' were in production behind closed doors, it was announced that Naka was leaving [[Sega]] to create his own game studio, [[wikipedia:Prope|Prope]].<ref name="YujiNakaLeavesSonicTeam"/> This decision bears resemblance to [[Naoto Ohshima]]'s departure of [[Sonic Team]] in 1999, when he founded [[wikipedia:Artoon|Artoon]].

In 2009, Yuji Naka would later speak with ''[[Nintendo Power]]'' about leaving Sega. He was satisfied with the decision, stating his independence in Prope felt like the freedom old [[Sonic Team]] had during the Classic era.<ref name="2009NintendoPowerPrope">{{Cite journal |journal=[[Nintendo Power]] |volume=242 |date=June 2009 |pages=46–48 |title=Power Profiles: Yuji Naka |quote='''Questionnaire''': How are things different now that you're running your own independent studio? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages? / '''Yuji Naka''': I don't really see any disadvantages. Initially, it was really hard putting together the team. That took a long time. I feel a lot more freedom than I did recently at Sega. The way Propels now feels really close to the old Sonic Team, when it was more independent. I really like that.}}</ref>