2023-07-09 15:30 UTC · VG247
Yuji Naka, co-creator of Sonic and director of Balan Wonderworld, has received a $1.2 million fine over insider trading. Late last year, Naka was arrested over alleged (at the time) insider trading, having bought stock in Ateam Entertainment Inc, the developer of Dragon Quest Tact and Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier, prior to either of the games being publicly announced. Now, as reported by Japanese outlet Jiji (thanks, PC Gamer), Naka has been fined a very hefty amount. The fine is in two parts, one being a not too much by comparison ¥2 million (about $14,000) charge, the other being a fur
2023-07-08 20:54 UTC · Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Yuji Naka, the co-creator of Sonic The Hedgehog, has been found guilty of insider trading. The former Sega and Square Enix developer has been given a suspended sentence of two years and six months, and ordered to pay two fines totalling ¥173 million (around £948,000). Read more
2023-06-11 12:11 UTC · VG247
Sonic's recently announced next game Sonic Superstars is being developed by Arzest, probably best known as the team behind Balan Wonderworld. Sonic Superstars was easily the best reveal at Summer Game Fest earlier this week, as it looks like an incredibly fun return to the series' classic 2D gameplay, with some fresh twists. But it turns out the game is mainly being developed by a non-Sega studio, Arzest, who you'll probably remember as being behind Balan Wonderworld, a game that I would not describe as being well received. In an interview with VGC, Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka shared that A
2023-06-01 12:37 UTC · PCGamesN · editor@pcgamesn.com
Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka reportedly faces a prison sentence of two and a half years after alleged insider trading during his time at Square Enix. Following his work on Sonic the Hedgehog, Naka joined Final Fantasy developer Square Enix in 2018, twelve years after leaving Sega and working on projects with his independent studio Prope. He went on to create platform game Balan Wonderworld, which was widely panned at release. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Sonic creator confirms Square Enix departure following Balan Wonderworld launch Balan Wonderworld devs ask players to install d
2023-03-03 10:55 UTC · VG247
Game developer and Sonic creator, Yuji Naka, pleaded guilty in court to charges of insider trading yesterday, March 2. The charges were made while the developer worked on Balan Wonderworld alongside publisher, Square Enix. Ultimately, Yuji Naka had come to know that new Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy mobile games were being developed by Ateam Entertainment Inc. As a result of the information, Naka bought stocks in the company, anticipating that the announcement of the games would come soon after (via Denfa Minico Gamer). A former employee of Square Enix, Naka has spoken publicly since 2020 in
2022-11-18 12:15 UTC · Rock, Paper, Shotgun
An investigation into suspected insider trading by former Square Enix employees is underway, and Japanese news site Fuji News Network reports that Sonic The Hedgehog’s co-creator Yuji Naka has been arrested in connection. Naka is alleged to have bought around 10,000 shares in Dragon Quest Tact developers Aiming back in 2020 for ¥2.8 million (£16,800). At that point, Naka was still working with Square Enix on Balan Wonderworld. Read more
2022-05-15 14:57 UTC · VG247
Developer Square Enix briefly touched on Balan Wonderworld during its recent full-year earnings call, after the game's director Yuji Naka recently discussed his lawsuit against the company. Last month, Naka revealed that he had sued Square Enix over issues he faced regarding the development of Balan Wonderworld. But during the company's recent earnings call, it said that "it is a game we recommend with confidence," after confirming that it had been involved in a lawsuit with Naka. Though Square Enix declined to comment further, according to Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki (via VGC). The lawsuit
2022-04-28 15:50 UTC · VG247
Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has shared that Square Enix removed him as director of Balan Wonderworld six months before the game launched. Naka shared the news on his own Twitter account, where he also detailed the fact he filed a lawsuit against Square Enix, and that he's able to share all of this as the lawsuit has now concluded (translations by Cheesemesiter3K). The renowned developer noted that he thinks "it's wrong of Square Enix not to value games and game fans." Continuing the thread, Naka wrote that according to the court documents, he was removed for two reasons. "First,
2021-12-22 03:06 UTC · VG247
Cutthroat practices aren’t anything new to the business world, but you don’t normally hear about them when they happen within a single company. That’s exactly what former Sega producer Mark Subotnick alleges happened at his former company in the latest episode of The Retro Hour Podcast. (Thanks for the reporting, NintendoLife!) As part of the episode titled “Dreamcast: Where It Went Wrong”, Subotnick detailed the time he was working on a Star Fox-like game called Geist Force with Sega of America. Once thought to be cancelled because of a lack of confidence in the product and missed
2021-06-05 15:49 UTC · PCGamesN · editor@pcgamesn.com
Sonic the Hedgehog creator and Balan Wonderworld director Yuji Naka has confirmed on Twitter (below) that he's left Square Enix. Sonic Stadium initially reported that Naka had confirmed the news through his personal Facebook page back in April, though Naka himself has now confirmed the news on Twitter. "I resigned from Square Enix at the end of April," Naka explains, as translated by Gematsu. "While I cannot share the reason right now, I hope to be able to discuss it when the time comes. As for what I'll do in the future, I'm already 55 years old, so I may as well retire." Naka initially joine
2021-06-05 14:53 UTC · Eurogamer
Sonic creator Yuji Naka has confirmed his exit from Square Enix, and said he may retire. In a tweet, Naka said he left Square Enix at the end of April. Balan Wonderworld, which Naka directed and Square Enix published on multiple platforms in March, flopped at retail. It sold less than 2100 copies in its opening week in Japan, and failed to make the top 40 in the UK physical chart. On his departure from Square Enix, Naka said: "I can't talk about the reason now, but I hope I can talk about it when the time comes. As for future activities, I'm 55 years old, so I may retire." Read more
2021-03-26 17:31 UTC · Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Opening night is here, kids. The theater-themed 3D platformer Balan Wonderworld makes its debut today including the talents of former Sonic Team heads Yuji Naka and Naota Ohshima. Your small heroes Emma and Leo collect and swap costumes that give them new abilities to battle and puzzle through each area either solor or in co-op. They've got over 80 costumes to find, and some of these worlds look downright weird. Read more
2021-03-26 16:10 UTC · Community Announcements · SEE TobyC
The stage doors for Square Enix’s newest 3D Action-Platformer are open! Guided by the Mysterious maestro Balan, fulfil your role as either Leo or Emma and dive into Wonderworld to help bring balance to the hearts of 12 others, as well as yourselves! Discover and use the power of over 80 different costumes to navigate your way through 12 labyrinthian worlds filled with puzzles and mysteries. Join Leo and Emma on a journey to discover true happiness today!
2021-03-26 11:40 UTC · PCGamesN · editor@pcgamesn.com
Square Enix has issued a statement asking Balan Wonderworld players to ensure that they download a day one patch before playing the new PC game. Several players expressed concern online after seeing early footage of a boss fight in the latter stages of the game containing what they believed might be a potentially seizure-inducing effect. We reached out to Square Enix for comment to find out whether the leaked footage was reflective of the game as it would launch and if the developer was aware of the issue. We were presented with the following statement: "Please ensure that you install the Day
2021-01-27 09:14 UTC · Eurogamer
Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka is back! Not that he's ever really been away, of course - after leaving Sega back in 2006, he founded Prope and produced entertaining curios such as Let's Tap while also contributing to the always fascinating Street Plaza games - but with Balan Wonderworld the Naka of old is back, as is a brand of action that's become increasingly rare. This is 3D platforming as you know and quite possibly love it from the turn of the century. Not so much of a surprise, really, given that Balan Wonderworld marks the first collaboration between Naka and Naoto Ohshima, the ar
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