Yuji Naka, who is famous for helping create Sonic the Hedgehog, recently made a comeback on social media after being away for a while. During his return, he accused Yu Miyake, a well-known producer for the Dragon Quest series, of giving false information to the court during Naka’s insider trading trial.
These accusations came to light after it was announced that Miyake would leave his Dragon Quest series producer role. Myake is going to lead the company’s mobile game division as part of a larger restructuring at Square Enix. Naka has faced legal issues before. In November 2022, he was arrested for suspected insider trading.
These actions involved buying shares in companies before public announcements of Square Enix partnerships, allowing him to benefit from the subsequent rise in stock value. In March 2023, Naka admitted guilt to the insider trading charges. He was looking at jail time and hefty fines but got a suspended sentence.
“I hope he’ll be gone soon because he’s the kind of person who submitted a memo with lies (with evidence) to court.”
Yuji Naka
It’s a huge controversy for both companies involved, and it definitely doesn’t help that one big name from SEGA is going after one of Square Enix’s incoming bosses. Naka recently accused Miyake of adding a new layer of controversy to the situation. He alleged that Miyake lied in official court documents, but the specifics of these alleged lies remain unclear. Naka expressed hope that Miyake would leave Square Enix while also stating his belief that Takashi Kiryu, Square Enix’s new president, is a good person.
Square Enix started a major restructuring process on April 1st. President Kiryu aims to improve the development pipeline and increase declining sales. The focus will be on making more AAA games in-house and reducing reliance on external partners. Kiryu has also expressed concerns about the lack of diversity in Square Enix’s portfolio and plans to prioritize releasing a smaller number of but more diverse titles.
With this new controversy, Square Enix will have trouble getting rid of the very visible arguments these two are having over Social Media. If anything, it’s not helping anyone involved.
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