GamesActionBalan WonderworldSonic co-creator found guilty of insider trading breaks silence to accuse Square Enix producer of being ‘the kind of person who would submit lies to court’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionBalan WonderworldSonic co-creator found guilty of insider trading breaks silence to accuse Square Enix producer of being ‘the kind of person who would submit lies to court’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Square Enix)
Naka wasarrested in November 2022on suspicion of insider trading while the creator was still at Square Enix, the main accusation being he had bought shares in Aiming Inc knowing that Square Enix planned to collaborate with the studio on mobile game Dragon Quest Tact. A month later Naka was arrested again, this time in relation to a similar situation with studio ATeam and mobile game Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier.
The father of Sonic came this close to jail time, despite admitting his guilt during his first court appearancein March 2023: “There is no doubt that I knew the facts about the game before it was made public and bought the stock.” In July 2023 he was sentenced to awhopping fine of $1.2 millionand a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, suspended for four years. Naka’s “remorse” saved him from chokey, but he has to be on his best behaviour until 2027.
“It feels like it’s finally happening,“said Naka, via machine translation. “I hope he’ll be gone soon because he’s the kind of person who would submit a note with lies (with evidence) to court. I’ve never met him, but the new president [of Square Enix] seems like a good person.”
Miyake was in charge of Dragon Quest, and his new role will be overseeing a newly established studio focusing on smartphones. So one could choose to see this as a demotion, as Naka certainly does. But it’s the accusation of lying that makes it clear Naka’s bitterness about the insider trading case, and his time at Square Enix more widely, persists.
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“What would you do if you were to be ill for a long time,“wrote Naka in July 2022, “and unable to do anything because of it? And how would you feel if you were the director of an unfinished game and it was heavily criticized?”
Naka also apologised to players for the state the game released in, and ended of course with another backhand aimed towards Square Enix:
“Personally, I’m really sorry that I released the unfinished work Balan Wonderworld to the world. My intention with the game was to put it out in a proper form as an action game. But I think Square Enix and Arzest are companies that don’t care about games and players.”
I’ve contacted Square Enix for comment from both itself and Yu Miyake on Naka’s allegations, but the publisher has not replied. I’ll update with any response.
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