A former Sonic the Hedgehog executive wasn’t fast enough to run away from the law and is about to lose so many gold rings. Yuji Naka, known as the former head of Sega’s studio’s Sonic Team, faced trial recently after he was arrested last year for insider trading whilst working with Square Enix.
Japanese news outlet NHK reported on the trial. It was revealed that the video game creator was accused of violating Japan’s 2006 Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which regulated the stock exchange and trading. It was alleged that Naka and other former Square employees illegally purchased stock right before official game announcements. It was revealed that the game developer purchased around ¥144.7 million ($1.08 million) in developer’s stock.
The former Sonic developer admitted to the crime during his opening statement. He admitted that he had purchased a total of 130,000 shares after hearing about new developments for the video game, Dragon Quest, and earned ¥20 million (over $146,000 USD) after selling the stock.
Naka was arrested back in November 2022, when the Public Prosecutors Office accused him of insider trading relating to the 2020 mobile game, Dragon Quest. He was arrested later in December after he was accused of purchasing stock right before the official announcement of Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier.
Naka created Sonic the Hedgehog back in 1989 when Sega wanted to create a game to compete with Nintendo’s Mario. Naka created the prototype for what would soon become the iconic blue hedgehog and the game was released in 1991. He worked on Sonic The Hedgehog until 2006 when he left Sega and eventually made his way to Square Enix.
The trial is still ongoing.