Brotaku

Yuji Naka, producer of Balan Wonderworld and co-creator of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, has been arrested for a second time by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office for insider trading. This time Naka is alleged to have purchased ¥144.7 million worth of shares in ATeam prior to the reveal of Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. Naka was also arrested in November for purchasing 10,000 shares of Aiming Inc for ¥2.8 million shortly before the announcement of Dragon Quest Tact.

A report from Yahoo Japan has also published an interview with a former colleague of Naka who worked with him on Balan Wonderworld. The employee claims that Naka demanded that staff at Arzest, the developers behind Balan Wonderworld, worked on the weekends. The interview also reveals that Naka wanted to delay the game for two months and expected Arzest to work on polishing the game for free.

The employee also claims that Naka tried to play the victim, asking in emails why people were attacking him. Naka is alleged to have created a toxic work environment and was unpleasant to deal with. Naka left Square Enix in June 2021, at the time he said that he was considering retirement.