Trust Me and We Will Escape From the City
Sonic the Hedgehog is a great role model. He always helps people, I think. Sonic eats a healthy diet of chilidogs, which fuels him for plenty of outdoor exercise. One of his creators, Yuji Naka, well… not so much.
In early December, Yuji Naka was arrested for doing insider trading with former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sasaki. They are accused of using information provided by Sasaki to invest in Ateam. Naka reportedly purchased 120,000 shares in Ateam for 144.7 Yen ($834,000). This was before it was announced that they would be developing the mobile game Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier.
Perhaps Yuji Naka is more like Doctor Robotnik than Sonic the Hedgehog. This is not the first time he has been arrested for insider trading. In 2020, he bought 10,000 shares in the developer Aiming, who later released another mobile game called Dragon Quest Tact. Again, he used information that was not publicly known. Naka was arrested in November 2022.
Third time’s a charm, right? Maybe news outlets should look at any future investments Yuji Naka makes. It might mean there’s another mobile game based on a beloved JRPG franchise on the way.
Nuji Naka should probably follow the example of Sonic the Hedgehog. If you can’t outrun the law, you shouldn’t piss them off. This whole debacle sounds more like a side story from another Sega property, Like a Dragon.
What do you think of this story? Funny? Sad? A little of both? Let us know in the comments below.