Last month, the legendary co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog was arrested for allegedly purchasing shares successful a improvement workplace earlier its engagement successful a Dragon Quest game was announced. A period later, helium was arrested a 2nd clip for reportedly buying banal successful a institution that was acceptable to enactment connected a Final Fantasy spinoff. Yesterday, Tokyo prosecutors formally charged Yuji Naka for wrong trading astir $1,080,000 successful Final Fantasy stock.

According to NHK, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office determined that Naka had been making a nett connected insider trading (Thanks, VGC). For the uninitiated, insider trading is erstwhile idiosyncratic with non-public cognition of a institution is capable to usage that accusation to commercialized banal astatine an advantage. Doing truthful is illegal successful Japan. So Naka ran afoul of the instrumentality erstwhile helium purchased shares successful ATeam earlier the workplace had announced that it would beryllium processing the mobile crippled Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, a conflict royale that was exclusively released for mobile devices. Though the crippled was announced successful 2021, Naka was arrested connected December 7 of this year.

This was a period aft helium had been arrested the first time for buying shares successful Aiming, the workplace that created Dragon Quest Tact. In some of these incidents, helium was arrested alongside Square Enix worker Taisuke Sasaki. Sasaki was indicted for trading astir $782,000 successful stock.

If the 2 made a nett disconnected the ATeam stock, it was presumably earlier The First Soldier was canceled little than a year aft its launch. Square Enix had intelligibly been hoping to capitalize connected the popularity of Fortnite and different conflict royales. Instead, First Soldier suffered terrible show issues and was exclusively disposable connected mobile.

Naka had joined Square Enix successful 2018 to nonstop Balan Wonderworld, a unusual action-platformer that was near-universally panned arsenic a flop. The crippled was unfocused and confusing to galore reviewers, and Kotaku included it connected a list of the year’s biggest gaming disappointments. The manager departed Square Enix successful June 2021. Maybe Naka would person been amended disconnected if helium had been focused connected directing a bully crippled alternatively of manipulating the banal market.