- Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka catches a $1.2 million fine over insider trading, but avoids jail time - 9 July 2023
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 further ¥171 million (roughly $1.2 million) penalty. As surmised by SEGAbits , a report from Yahoo News notes that he was handed a 2.5 year prison sentence, but in turn was also given a four year suspension. He apparently showed "remorse," leading to the suspended sentence. Essentially, the game deve…
- Sonic The Hedgehog co-creator given suspended sentence for insider trading - 8 July 2023
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
- Balan Wonderworld studio Arzest is the lead developer on Sonic Superstars - 11 June 2023
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 Arzest would be developing the latest Sonic title, which makes a lot of sense considering the studio was founded by original Sonic designer Naoto Oshima. Interestingly, though,Sega initially approached Sonic Mania director Christian Whitehead, but plans didn't work out. "When we were making Sonic…
- Sonic creator Yuji Naka faces 2.5 year prison sentence - 1 June 2023
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 day one patch following "reports of a photo-sensitive epilepsy risk" The new platformer from Sonic the Hedgehog creators gets a free Steam demo next week
- Sonic creator, Yuji Naka, pleads guilty in court to charges of insider trading - 3 March 2023
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 Game r). A former employee of Square Enix, Naka has spoken publicly since 2020 in regard to Dragon Quest Tact, and Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier (which he developed alongside Ateam). This information has led to the Naka being charged with insider trading, after purchasing stocks in each company. Read more
- Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka reportedly arrested in Square Enix insider trading investigation - 18 November 2022
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
- Square Enix still recommends Balan Wonderworld "with confidence" despite recent lawsuit - 15 May 2022
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 has now been resolved, which meant that Naka could discuss some of the reasons that Balan Wonderworld received a lacklustre response. "I personally regret that Balan Wonderworld was released to the world in an unfinished state," wrote Naka at the time. "I wanted to consider all kinds of things and…
- Yuji Naka sued Square Enix over Balan Wonderworld’s release - 28 April 2022
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, when a YouTuber's arranged piano performance of the game music was released in a promotion instead of the original game track, turning the composer into a ghostwriter, I insisted that the original track be released and this caused trouble," wrote Naka. Read more
- Former Sega producer alleges Yuji Naka killed promising Star Fox-like Dreamcast game - 22 December 2021
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 deadlines, Subotnick tells his side of the story: That, Subotnick says, caused a chain reaction throughout the company of people jumping from a sinking ship, with his five engineers finding other jobs. That meant hiring again, training the new hires, and basically restarting the team, which woul…
- Sonic creator confirms Square Enix departure following Balan Wonderworld launch - 5 June 2021
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 joined Square Enix back in 2018 following stints at Sega and his own independent studio Prope. Naturally, his time at Sega during the 1990s and 2000s catches the eye as he worked as a programmer and producer on games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and so on. Read the rest…
- Sonic creator Yuji Naka leaves Square Enix after Balan Wonderworld flop, may retire - 5 June 2021
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
- Balan Wonderworld, the new platformer from some Sonic creators, is out now - 26 March 2021
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
- BALAN WONDERWORLD is Available now! - 26 March 2021
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!
- Balan Wonderworld devs ask players to install day one patch following "reports of a photo-sensitive epilepsy risk" - 26 March 2021
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 One Patch before playing Balan Wonderworld. We have received reports of a photo-sensitive epilepsy risk from a potential flashing bug if playing the game un-patched. The Day One Patch prevents this issue as well as enhances the overall play experience." While the video is circulating online, we wo…
- Balan Wonderworld sure feels a lot like a classic Sonic Team game - 27 January 2021
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 artist behind Sonic the Hedgehog, since 1998's Sonic Adventure. There's an undeniable sense of Sonic Team in its 90s and early-00s pomp to Balan Wonderworld, and after a playthrough of the soon-to-be-released demo I've come to realise that's no bad thing at all - it's an enjoyably colourful and energ…
- Balan Wonderworld - Demo-Version zum farbenfrohen Jump'n'Run-Abenteuer angekündigt - 21 January 2021
Square Enix und die Balan Company haben eine Demo-Version zum bald erscheinenden Action-Jump'n'Run Balan Wonderworld angekündigt, die noch im Januar für PC und Konsolen erscheinen wird. Sie bietet euch die Möglichkeit bereits vor Release in drei der zwölf fantastischen Welten hineinzuschnuppern, umfasst rund zwei » Komplette News auf pressakey.com lesen
- Balan Wonderworld will release a co-op demo next week - 20 January 2021
Bright and colorful platformer Balan Wonderworld isn’t too far away from its March release date now but you can try it out next week if you’re keen. Square Enix have announced that you can hop in and give it a go on January 28th. You can even try out the local co-op bits if you’re planning to play along with a pal when it launches. (more…)
- Balan Wonderworld will release a co-op demo next week - 20 January 2021
Bright and colorful platformer Balan Wonderworld isn’t too far away from its March release date now but you can try it out next week if you’re keen. Square Enix have announced that you can hop in and give it a go on January 28th. You can even try out the local co-op bits if you’re planning to play along with a pal when it launches. (more…)
- Balan Wonderworld will release a co-op demo next week - 20 January 2021
Bright and colorful platformer Balan Wonderworld isn't too far away from its March release date now but you can try it out next week if you're keen. Square Enix have announced that you can hop in and give it a go on January 28th. You can even try out the local co-op bits if you're planning to play along with a pal when it launches. Read more
- The new platformer from Sonic the Hedgehog creators gets a free Steam demo next week - 19 January 2021
I don't want to let Balan Wonderworld slip under the radar - built by director Yuji Naka and artist Naoto Ohshima, the same team that brought us Sonic the Hedgehog and Nights into Dreams, it's a colourful take on action-platformers the likes of which we rarely see these days. Luckily, we won't have to wait until the full release in March to see how the game's shaping up, because a demo is due to launch next week. The Balan Wonderworld demo lands Thursday, January 28 on Steam (and every notable console platform). While 'demo' might suggest just a brief sample of content, publisher Square Enix says the release will feature two hours of content, and will be fully playable in both single player and local co-op. The demo will feature three of the final game's twelve playable worlds. Balan Wonderworld's gameplay gimmick is costumes, which give you special abilities that let you explore new ar…
