Yuji Naka (formerly of Sonic Team) can kiss his career in the gaming industry goodbye because after these events. There’s a good chance no one will want to hire him.

We have already reported on two separate occasions that Naka has been brought to the attention of the Japanese authorities on two different insider trading charges. He and a former Square Enix colleague, Sasaki Taisuke, were formally charged after their arrests, so they can no longer be denied and must be said: Naka was improperly earning a ton of money with the knowledge of insider information!

According to NHK, the Tokyo prosecutors have found that Naka had confidential information about Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, one of the Final Fantasy VII spinoffs. He knew Square Enix was giving it to an outside studio, the mobile-focused ATeam Entertainment. So he bought 144.7 million yen (~$834K) worth of shares in the studio, knowing that the mobile game announcement would cause ATeam’s share value to skyrocket. Sasaki bought shares for 105 million yen (~$787K). It is not yet known when either Naka or Sasaki will stand trial.

But let’s not forget the first case, as Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier was the second! Let’s not forget Dragon Quest Tact, either. It was the first game that got the authorities interested in Naka. Aiming developed this mobile game, and before it was announced, Naka worked at Balan Wonderworld and bought about 10,000 shares for 2.8 million yen ($20K). It shows that Naka was cautious at first, but in the second case, he got carried away (there is a vast difference between the value of the shares…).

Square Enix has publicly stated that it will cooperate with the authorities: “We have been fully cooperating with requests from the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. As the investigation by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is underway, we will continue to cooperate with the investigation fully. We deeply regret the great concern this has caused all concerned. We have dealt with this incident strictly, including internal disciplinary actions against the suspected employees.”

Game over!

Source: VGC