Yuji Naka has returned to social media following his conviction for insider trading and has wasted no time in setting his sights on Dragon Quest producer Yū Miyake, who, it was recently confirmed, is to step down from his role.
Miyake joined Enix back in 1992 and has worked on the likes of Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age, Dragon Quest Treasures, and Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. He will now be heading up the company's smartphone division.
"It feels like it's finally happening," says Naka in a tweet, translated via Google. "I hope he'll be gone soon because he's the kind of person who submitted a memo with lies (with evidence) to court. I've never met him, but the new president seems like a good person."
Naka seems to be suggesting that some of the evidence used to convict him back in July 2023 was false.
Naka and two other ex-Square Enix staffers were accused of purchasing shares in the Japanese developers Aiming and Ateam after learning that the duo were involved in the production of Dragon Quest Tact and Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, respectively. Naka himself admitted that he used insider knowledge during the trial.
He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, suspended for a period of four years. He also received fines of two million and 171 million yen (over $1 million USD).
Naka helped to create Sonic the Hedgehog during his time at Sega, and led Sega's internal Sonic Team, which was responsible for titles like NiGHTS: Into Dreams, Burning Rangers and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg.
He joined Square Enix in 2018, and helped create 2021's much-maligned Balan Wonderworld alongside Naoto Ohshima, the man who came up with Sonic's design.