Yuji Naka, the creator of the beloved Sonic The Hedgehog, and more recently the colossal failure Balan Wonderworld has had a pretty rough couple of years. The problem for Naka is that most of it has been self-inflicted, from the bomb that was Balan Wonderworld, a game that was considered one of the worst games of 2021, to the more recent charge of Insider Trading involving Square-Enix’s Dragon Quest Tact. It’s gotten worse though as Naka has once again been arrested, this time for further insider trading, and this time involving another Square-Enix mobile game – Final Fantasy VII: The First Solider.
A report from the Japanese publication Asahi has emerged, claiming that Naka has once again been arrested for furhter insider trading activity. The report, translated by Google Translate, reads,
In February 2021, Square Enix and the game production company “Ateam” ( Nagoya City ) announced that they would jointly develop the smartphone game “Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier”. According to the announcement, the two suspects learned of the decision to form a business alliance between the two companies and purchased Ateam shares before the information was made public. Sasaki is suspected of purchasing a total of 91,000 shares for approximately 105 million yen, while Naka is suspected of purchasing a total of approximately 120,000 shares for approximately 144.7 million yen (or $834,000 USD). Sasaki also passed the information on to an acquaintance, who is said to have purchased a total of about 10,000 shares (approximately 11.8 million yen). Together, the two suspects earned hundreds of millions of yen.
As previously referenced, this isn’t the first time in recent history that Naka has been arrested for insider trading, the first time involved Dragon Quest Tact, and the consequential investments that Naka had made in the developer Aiming based upon his insider knowledge of the project.
At the time of the original arrest, Square-Enix commented on the matter saying,
Today, some media outlets reported that the former employees of Square Enix were under investigation for suspected insider trading. We have been fully cooperating with requests from the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. As the investigation by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is underway, we will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation. We deeply regret the great concern this has caused to all concerned. We have dealt with this incident strictly, including internal disciplinary actions taken against the suspected employees.
Square-Enix is yet to comment about this most recent arrest, but as we’re learning now, Naka’s already sorry state, can in fact decline further it seems. His concerns with Square-Enix and their support of Balan Wonderworld might be the least of Naka’s worries now.