Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka sentenced to two and a half years in prison for insider trading

Naka has also been fined just over $1.25m and 'showed no signs of remorse', according to prosecutors

(Credit: Yuji Naka)

Yuji Naka, co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and the director of Balan Wonderworld, has been sentenced to prison for insider trading.

Naka will serve two and a half years in jail after pleading guilty to the charges in March this year. He was arrested back in November 2022 along with two other Square Enix employees following reports of alleged insider trading.

Naka was accused of purchasing around 10,000 shares worth 2.8 million yen (around $20,000) in the company Aiming, a Japanese developer which partnered with Square Enix to make a Dragon Quest mobile game.

However, this was done before Aiming’s involvement in a new Dragon Quest game was shared with the public, which suggests Naka used his insider knowledge to capitalize on Aiming’s inevitable stock price increase.

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Yuji Naka sentenced

• 👨‍⚖️ Yuji Naka has pleaded guilty to the charge of insider trading

• 👋 He has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison

• 💰 He’ll also have to pay a hefty fine

• 🦔 Naka is the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and was arrested last year

He was re-arrested back in December 2022 after it came to light that Naka also purchased shares in mobile developer ATeam before it announced it was working on Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier.

Prosecutors said Naka “showed no signs of remorse”, according to the Japanese site Abema Times (thanks, VGC). A final judgment on Naka’s sentencing is expected on July 7, 2023, as the initial fine of just over $1.25 million may be reduced.

Naka had already parted ways with Square Enix before the arrests took place after the disastrous launch of Balan Wonderworld which was panned by critics. However, Naka’s reputation is unlikely to recover after serving his criminal sentence.

In terms of Square Enix, the company has some big titles on the way. Final Fantasy 16 is the main attraction for upcoming PS5 games in 2023, but it also announced Foamstars at Sony’s PlayStation Showcase, a rather shameless rip-off of Nintendo’s excellent Splatoon series.