Sonic creator Yuji Naka arrested
He is suspected of insider trading
The well-known game designer Yuji Naka who worked for years at SEGA , having created the famous character Sonic has just been arrested!
As the Japanese media FNN reports , the Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office arrested Naka in a case involving Square Enix’s collaboration with the Japanese development group Aiming. Specifically, Naka was an employee of Square Enix at the time the publishing company signed an agreement with Aiming to develop a Dragon Quest spin-off for smartphones.
Naka, therefore, is said to have bought 10,000 shares of Aiming for 2.8 million yen ($20,000) before the project was announced and is thus suspected of insider trading. At the same time, Taisuke Sasaki and Fumiaki Suzuki, two former Square Enix employees who were also arrested, bought a total of 162,000 shares for 47.2 million yen ($337,250).
It is believed that the three former members of Square bought shares of Aiming in the hope that their price would rise after the announcement of the Dragon Quest title.
For the record, Naka had years ago left SEGA, taking a similar role at Square Enix as of 2018, developing Balan Wonderworld. Ultimately, after the failed run of said title, he also left Square Enix in June 2021. Naka currently has other open accounts with Square, having sued Square earlier this year, accusing it of removing him from director of Balan Wonderworld six months before release.
