Yuji Naka, credited in some games as YU2, is a Japanese video game programmer, designer and producer. He is the former head of the Sega studio Sonic Team, where he was the lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog series on the Sega Mega Drive.
Naka also led the development of games including Nights into Dreams (1996), Burning Rangers (1998), Sonic Adventure (1998) and three games in the Phantasy Star franchise (1987–2000).
In 2006, Naka left Sega to found Prope, an independent game company. He joined Square Enix to direct the platform game Balan Wonderworld (2021), which reunited him with the Sonic co-creator Naoto Ohshima.
After the game underperformed critically and commercially, Naka announced he had left Square Enix.
In 2022, he said he was removed from Balan Wonderworld before it was released, and sued Square Enix. That November, Naka was arrested on suspicions of insider trading during his time at Square Enix.
Why was Yuji Naka Arrested?
Video game legend Yuji Naka, best known as the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has been arrested by Japanese authorities on charges of insider trading.
On Friday, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office gave a statement alleging that Naka obtained sensitive information about a new Dragon Quest mobile game while employed at Square Enix in 2020.
The statement claims that Naka purchased 10,000 shares of the game’s co-production company, Aiming, prior to news of the project going public. Naka and two other Square Enix employees have been arrested on insider trading charges.
Naka left Square Enix in 2021 after the critical commercial failure of his new original 3D platformer, Balan Wonderworld.
The game’s March 2021 release was a notorious misfire, with fewer than 2,100 copies sold during its first week. This poor performance caused Naka to tweet that he was considering retirement. You either retire a hero or work long enough to become Doctor Eggman.