games  anime  |  toys
Destructoid is gaming news, community, videos, and sometimes love. Take the tour or jump in with Facebook:

 


Itagaki leaving Team Ninja, suing Tecmo photo

The last time I ran into Team Ninja head man and Ninja Gaiden director Tomonobu Itagaki, he was a happy son of a bitch. He had new games lined up, his army of scantily clad girls in tow, and his sunglasses were shinier than ever. Not so much today, though. In fact, he seems a bit angry.

1Up has the low down on the story of Itagaki's departure from Team Ninja. It seems that he is suing Tecmo for unpaid bonuses, claiming damages in total of 148 million yen. Itagaki's aide Andrew Szymanski sent along a statement from his boss, which also said that Itagaki will resign from Tecmo Co., Ltd. on July 1st.

The dispute is over an unpaid bonus for the Dead or Alive 4 on the Xbox 360. Itagaki was promised a payment after completition, but never saw that. He says that his boss told him to either quit or sue if he was unhappy with this. 

Itagaki also sends along an apology to you, dear gamer:

"I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. Ninja Gaiden 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last Ninja Gaiden I will create. I will also never be able to make Dead or Alive 5. I regret the circumstances that have forced me to leave Tecmo, where I had worked for so many years, and I regret the disappointment this will cause my fans. However, I can no longer continue to work with President Yoshimi Yasuda, a man who chooses not to honor promises even when he is able to do so. I truly hope that nothing like this happens again in the future."

What do you think of all of this? Do you think Itagaki will be alright? 


Continue: More Tecmo stories





prev
next 50 comments

75 comments | showing # 1 to 50

Ichigo Style's Avatar
Ichigo Style at 06/03/2008 09:46
Itagaki is a legend, and I'm sure he'll bring us some more great games, wherever he goes. We'll have to wait and see, Team Ninja is an amazing dev team, and I hope they continue to press on with the same integrity they did when Itagaki was with them, and Itagaki can find another team as good.
TurboSpaz's Avatar
TurboSpaz at 06/03/2008 09:46
Stick it to the man!
timtheterrible's Avatar
timtheterrible at 06/03/2008 09:47
Don't know quite what to think about this. I was never a huge Team Ninja fan, and the last game that I really enjoyed from Itagaki was Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Chaos Sword for the NES. That being said, though, I hope his new IP's will do well. Maybe he needed this push to stop churning out old franchises with new coats of blood and try something unique.
Novakaine's Avatar
Novakaine at 06/03/2008 09:51
Itagaki was hated by a lot of people it seems, but I always loved him. I personally loved his games, and I loved his rock star persona and attitude.

I wonder where he'll go... one thing's for certain: Tecmo will dearly miss him. He basically kept that company on profits for the past decade or so.
Grenator Bole's Avatar
Grenator Bole at 06/03/2008 09:53
I think if what he says is true, he has no other option. I would love to see the strange, violent things he could create for Nintendo, but sadly, that will never happen. DOA was a fun fighting game, never the best, but fun. Ninja Gaiden on the other hand had that amazing retro difficulty that made me into a man that can stay calm in any situation because nothing can be as hard as playing his games as a five year old until I could beat them. I hope his crazy ass can find something new and exciting so I can break a few controllers, just for old times.
MaxVest's Avatar
MaxVest at 06/03/2008 09:53
Interesting to see this. I don't think lawsuits of this type in Japan have quite reached the commonness that they have the US, where a lawsuit is just one of the costs of doing business. This is an unusually strong public swipe at the President.
The Wizard's Avatar
The Wizard at 06/03/2008 09:55
I think he'll be fine. He probably thought this out before quiting and suing Tecmo and has another job set up somewhere (Microsoft?)This also brings up another question: does this mean that DoA and NG franchises will no longer be Xbox exclusives?
EternalDeathSlayer's Avatar
EternalDeathSlayer at 06/03/2008 09:57
Wow. That's fucking crazy.

Oh well, more publicity for NG2, which comes out TODAY.
SuitcoatAvenger's Avatar
SuitcoatAvenger at 06/03/2008 09:58
Perhaps he and Kudo Tsunoda can get together and for a new studio dedicated to the continuation of designers that wear sunglasses indoors/at night.

In all sincerity, this is a surprise considering how big of a cog he was in Tecmo. If Microsoft was smart, they'd swipe him up with an exclusivity contract in a hearbeat. Not only is Itagaki one of the few Japanese developers who actually likes the 360, he's also got enough of a base in the country to spur console sales with a newly-developed exclusive. Just a thought.
galagabug 's Avatar
galagabug at 06/03/2008 09:59
don't take no junk from nobody!
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 06/03/2008 10:00
Here is to a big-boobed jb JRPG(or JBRPG)by Itakagi. Wait, did I say that out loud?
ParaParaKing's Avatar
ParaParaKing at 06/03/2008 10:04
I guess if he gets the money, he will either live the good life or continue to make games for somebody else.
covah's Avatar
covah at 06/03/2008 10:05
Like I said in the Cblogs, I'm really saddened by this news. Team Ninja was one of my favorite developers and Itagaki was why. DoA is my favorite fighting series and Ninja Gaiden is my favorite action series. These franchises won't be the same if they continue. And I was really hoping to see Dead or Alive 5 at some point.

Also, there goes Dead or Alive Code Cronus and Project Progressive, two games Itagaki had ideas for.
Robert's Avatar
Robert at 06/03/2008 10:12
That pic makes him look like a zombie.
ShinAmano's Avatar
ShinAmano at 06/03/2008 10:14
He will bring us more incredible games that is for sure...Team Ninja will press on.
covah's Avatar
covah at 06/03/2008 10:19
Team Ninja will press on but its not going to be the same, Its like if Kojima doesn't work on Metal Gear... which is probably going to end up happening and the games just wont be the same.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar
GuitarAtomik at 06/03/2008 10:22
Itagaki will be fine. Boobs will jiggle again. Can't wait to see what new IP he'll work on next.
kevkevblazini's Avatar
kevkevblazini at 06/03/2008 10:25
I dunno, I'm kinda excited at the possibility of the "Boob Engine" being used to animate Peach, LOL wouldn't that be some crazy sh*t!
loki d20's Avatar
loki d20 at 06/03/2008 10:26
I'm sure someone will scoop him up, Avenger's idea about Microsoft doing so wouldn't be bad at all considering how well Ninja Gaiden did and how well Ninja Gaiden 2 will likely do.

Kind of sad to see a Japanese company mimicking the business style of the good ole U.S. of A. I wonder how much money will be wasted just trying to get the money, or even worse to not get any at all?
savagesaladin's Avatar
savagesaladin at 06/03/2008 10:31
@timtheterrible

He's not the original creator of Ninja Gaiden for NES.

I'm sure Itagaki's boss is a total scumbag that deserves murder. His boss probably thinks he can push him around and just make someone else create the game. Though who would want to work for someone like that?
Ichigo Style's Avatar
Ichigo Style at 06/03/2008 10:33
I posted earlier when I came upstairs to check a walk through for Persona 3: FES (I don't know what kinds of houses there were in japan way back when!), so I completely forgot to bring this up-

Where the hell is my Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball 3 going to come through? I collected all of the swimsuits in both 1, and 2. Dammit.

Also, where does the rest of dtoid see this man going? Sony's out of the question (the man hates them), and loves Microsoft, possibly a small dev team that's published by Microsoft? Sega? I know he had great relations with Sega back in the Saturn/Dreamcast days...
free touch's Avatar
free touch at 06/03/2008 10:37
I see him going to Gameloft, because they suck as much as he does. OVERRATED
Vigor's Avatar
Vigor at 06/03/2008 10:44
I dont really care for him that much. He makes good games, but he thinks his games are the greatest games of all time, and that other developers should bow down to him. He hates on every other game god of war, heavenly sword, tekken. When they are good games in there own right. He needs to lose the ego.

He said ninja gaiden sigma for the PS3 was trash. It may have been a remake, but it was awesome. To play in 1080p with new weapons. And for people that didnt have a xbox it was great.

He needs to chill, and look at maybe some of the things he does causes some of his problems. But i think his head is to big to realize.
b33b3s's Avatar
b33b3s at 06/03/2008 10:51
Here's hoping that he gets a job at Platinum Games.
Neonie's Avatar
Neonie at 06/03/2008 10:51
Is that picture what he looks like in The Matrix?
TheNakedAnt's Avatar
TheNakedAnt at 06/03/2008 10:54
My cumbersome itagaki man-crush forces me to feel empathetic towards him, Though i do wonder if there wasn't more at play here than what you see on the surface.
Hitogoroshi's Avatar
Hitogoroshi at 06/03/2008 11:03
Don't let people fuck with your money.
ZagZagovich's Avatar
ZagZagovich at 06/03/2008 11:05
Itagaki is strong. He will be fine that's for sure. I'm sure we'll hear of him soon.
CaptainApocalypse's Avatar
CaptainApocalypse at 06/03/2008 11:07
Companies pull shit like this all the time. I'd be interested to see Japan's laws concerning what constitutes a verbal contract. No matter who is at fault here, we're still not getting another Ninja Gaiden or DOA. At least, not from the guy whose done it right so far.
Mr Gilder's Avatar
Mr Gilder at 06/03/2008 11:07
I haven't really been a fan of any Tecmo franchises that don't involve Itagaki. He won't be jobless for long before one of the other Japanese bigboys gobbles him up.

Imagine if Capcom rose to the occasion? Imagine if he worked on Devil May Cry . . . imagine the state of Trish's boobs in that vision of the future.

Itagaki is now free to bring his unique vision of breast-centric gameplay to other venues. The world is his.
Tull's Avatar
Tull at 06/03/2008 11:09
Even money says Microsoft scoops him up and makes him a very rich video game rockstar.
Alexradl's Avatar
Alexradl at 06/03/2008 11:09
No worries. I'm sure he'll continue making semi-good games with another company. It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit plays out though.
GOLD5's Avatar
GOLD5 at 06/03/2008 11:09
Usually in Japan, when someone is contracted for work, it's considered rude to talk about how much you will be paid. Even ruder, is for the company doing the paying, to not give the worker a completely fair recompense for their work based on their skill and experience. It's supposed to be all taken care of in a respectful fashion. This Tecmo President Yoshimi Yasuda truly has NO HONOR. I hope his ancestors are ashamed of his greed and deceit. Apparently Yasuda should brush up on his poker skills because Itagaki sure called his bluff and raised the roof!
skullivan's Avatar
skullivan at 06/03/2008 11:16
DOA4 came out almost 3 years ago. Why is it this is only an issue now?

In any case, I'm glad that Itagaki will be forced to move on from DOA. It's not like there was some sort of compelling narrative going on in that series that is going to suffer without him. And hopefully it'll mean no more DOAX games. It should be interesting to see what he comes up with on his own.
foxhound009's Avatar
foxhound009 at 06/03/2008 11:20
"I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. Ninja Gaiden 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last Ninja Gaiden I will create."

lol what a selfish prick, he made those games by himself he thinks? he really thinks they need him xD

I hope I'll never hear about him again... I never liked those shitty glasses of his anyways..
Demtor's Avatar
Demtor at 06/03/2008 11:21
Meh, wutevea. Maybe its for the best since he wanted to work on new IP anyways.

Whenever I see a picture of that guys ugly mug, it makes me think of JP from Grandma's Boy.

"Please, sit on my face!"
manasteel88's Avatar
manasteel88 at 06/03/2008 11:22
my only issue is outside of DoA and Ninja Gaiden, what has tecmo done recently that people actually care about. Tecmo bowl is the only thing I can recall on the horizon. Itagaki was a huge player in Tecmo. I think the Team Ninja teams will carry on fine without him but still its awkward.

I doubt MS is gonna pursue Itagaki with setting up a studio around him. I just don't think that they have that intention. It would be cool to see his take on Killer Instinct though.
Blackhat's Avatar
Blackhat at 06/03/2008 11:42
So this guy's famous for DoA, and one Ninja Gaiden game? Why all the hype and mystique? Sounds like a one-trick pony to me (and a rather lame trick at tha- look boobies!)
foxhound009's Avatar
foxhound009 at 06/03/2008 11:44
His games suck... someone has to tell him that...
he seem to think otherwise...
Noah's Avatar
Noah at 06/03/2008 11:57
Good news from the 1up link...
"Itagaki mentions that he intends for his next game to be "a brand new action game" that will be violent like Ninja Gaiden."


@The Wrath

Yeah I was starting to feel a little sorry for him, then I remembered that sexual harassment case...he's probably one of those guys who uses the PSP camera for upskirt pics.

Fame is a funny thing. It's hard to feel sympathy for a rich person who's quitting his job over MORE money. It does sound unfair though.
Ichigo Style's Avatar
Ichigo Style at 06/03/2008 11:59
foxhound-
You say that his nose being in the air is any different than Kojima, whom you seem to be a fan of. Please, tell me- Has Kojima ever come up with an original idea? Snatcher (which is his child) is a complete rip-off of the movie Blade-Runner, and Metal-Gear Solid wreaks of pretty much every other US Action flick he could get his hands on (Snake's name is lifted from Snake Plissken, and even his character design to an extent). Itagaki has done some great things with his franchises, and I'll be completely honest- has struck me as a more creative person than Kojima, whom seems to think that I'm going to choke down an hour and a half of cinematics in MGS4.

Once again people, this man's ego isn't anything out of the ordinary, and at least he's upfront about it. Kojima is as much of an ass as Itagaki is.
Cowboy TTop's Avatar
Cowboy TTop at 06/03/2008 12:06
Itagaki is better off out of Tecmo, where he can invest the money he's due and start his own development studio. I'm sure Team Ninja will soldier on well without him. Come on, Tecmo, pay the man his money and restore your honour.

If I was Itagaki, I'd contact Sega and see whether he can recreate the Shinobi series for them (something that's sorely needed for Sega, and would be a nice challenger to Ninja Gaiden). That would really put the cat amongst the pigeons.

I'll look forward to what great games Itagaki will make in the future, as I'm sure he's far from done with making games.
foxhound009's Avatar
foxhound009 at 06/03/2008 12:08
@Ichigo Style
mgs is an rip off..... seriously..?
how many other games are like mgs?.. what sam fisher.. that's not really that close....
now count how many ninja gaiden like games are out there...
those tricks saltos and body part ripping games...
c'mon.. let's be serious..

about his ego.. I don't like fake people..
be yourself not someone you saw in matrix movie xD ...
SyntaxError's Avatar
SyntaxError at 06/03/2008 12:18
Let's just say that Kojima is subtle while Itagaki is more in-your-face.

As someone pointed out, are there any Tecmo games in recent years that has been hyped without him involved in some form? I can't recall any.

On a lighter note, he just might be the man to develop the world's first anti-gravity thingamabob. Those bewbs defy the laws of physics. Apply the computations they used in their graphics engine and voila!!!
Cheeburga's Avatar
Cheeburga at 06/03/2008 12:22
Microsoft will probably pick him up.
d0x's Avatar
d0x at 06/03/2008 12:28
No matter what people think of this guy he makes amazing games, there can be no question. Find me an action brawler with more combat depth then Ninja Gaiden and I will stop gaming forever. Its deeper than most fighting games on the market.

This is sad news, but I hope MS scoops him up, gives him a fat wad of cash and has him create some new IP for them. A 1st party fighting game, and action game are just the the doctor ordered for Microsoft. Who better to lead the team that makes them?
Big Z's Avatar
Big Z at 06/03/2008 12:35
With Ninja Gaiden such a runaway success and an obvious indicator of the kind of quality you can expect from Itagaki and crew, somehow I don't think he will be unemployed for long.
atheistium's Avatar
atheistium at 06/03/2008 12:38
but i wanted DOA5 :( ... DOA5! DOA5!!111
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar
TrailerParkJesus at 06/03/2008 12:46
What a fucking rockstar.
RWarrior1CO's Avatar
RWarrior1CO at 06/03/2008 13:16
DOA4 came out almost 3 years ago. Why is it this is only an issue now?

One theory is that he may have felt some loyalty to the company that kept him from leaving, but this slight eventually wore away at him until he couldn't take it anymore. If that's the case, I can certainly sympathize.

We can only guess at the truth, though. Is Itagaki telling the full story? Did President Yasuda withhold the bonus simply out of spite? Does the sexual harassment thing have anything to do with it? We don't know.
prev next 50 comments

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!

 
New on Destructoid.TV play all videos

Loading
Loading Destructoid Videos



    Win this!
    Reminder: We're giving away six copies of Magnacarta 2!



    Dtoid Twitter    Got news?   tips@destructoid.com

    Reviews & Previews
    Mahjongg Artifacts 2 review
    Dragon Age: Origins review
    Lost Winds: The Winter of the Melodias review
    Osmos review
    Space Invaders Extreme 2 review
    Half-Minute Hero review
    JU-ON: The Grudge review
    Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble review
    Thexder Neo review
    Domino Rally review
    more reviews
    PS3's 256-player MAG
    Rooms The Main Building
    Skate 3
    Hudson's bringing back the Bonk
    James Cameron's Avatar
    Bomberman Battlefest
    Calling
    Bad Company 2's multiplayer
    Partying like it's 1959 in BioShock 2's multiplayer
    BioShock 2 through the eyes of Big Daddy
    more previews


    - The Dtoid Army is 49565 strong -

    Showing Cblogs with 3+ faps   show all

    Call for entries: do the wrong thing
    New to Dtoid? Read the survival guide




     Originals
    Jim Sterling: How to respond to a videogame review





















    More Destructoid Originals



     Popular now more
























    Destructoid's editorial lovefest is:
    Nick Chester
    Editor-in-Chief    		 Jim Sterling
    Reviews Editor
    Dale North
    News Editor    		 Hamza Aziz
    Community Manager
    Anthony Burch
    Features Editor    		 Rey Gutierrez
    Video editor & director
    Niero
    Founder, publisher
    Letters to the editors
    tips@destructoid.com
    Associate Editors
    Ashley Davis Jonathan Holmes
    Brad Nicholson Jonathan Ross
    Brad Rice Jordan Devore
    Chad Concelmo Matthew Razak
    Colette Bennett Tom Fronczak
    Conrad Zimmerman Topher Cantler
    Dyson Samit Sarkar
    Contributors
    Adam Dork
    Ben Perlee
    Daniel Lingen
    Joseph Leray    		 Joe Burling
    Mikey
    Will Maddock
    Stella Wong





     

     
      get involved

    register or login
    post a blog
    post a forum
    enter a contest
    contribute a news tip
    suggest a feature
    be a guest editor
    		 support

    new member's guide
    login assistance
    tech support
    report abuse
    email our editors
    read our dev blog
    nuclear crisis?
    		 keep in touch

    RSS feed
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Myspace
    Flickr
    Game nights
    Meetup+play online     		seriously

    about Destructoid
    advertising
    terms of use
    privacy policy
    jobs at MM
    buy our crap     		our network

    Tomopop
    Japanator
    Despingation?



    Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press
    living the dream since March 16, 2006