Ninja Gaiden/DOA creator Itagaki sues Tecmo and leaves Team Ninja

[Queasy]

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Last month, Team Ninja head and Ninja Gaiden director Tomonobu Itagaki suggested in an interview that he would be done with the franchise after the upcoming release of Ninja Gaiden 2. On Monday night we received a clearer picture of just what he meant with the announcement that Itagaki is leaving Team Ninja and suing Tecmo.

1UP received the following confirmation of this news from Itagaki aide Andrew Szymanski:

"At approximately 2:30 PM Japan Standard Time today, June 3 2008, an official statement from Tomonobu Itagaki was sent by fax to major Japanese news outlets. In the interest of fair and expedient reporting of this story throughout the English-speaking world, I have been asked by Itagaki to convey this statement to you. Herein find attached Itagaki's official statement, in English, for the benefit of your readers.

"...You will likely have questions regarding the content of the statement, or about Itagaki's future plans. I am afraid that I will be unable to answer such questions for the time being; however, rest assured that more information will be forthcoming as soon as it is deemed appropriate to do so."

The full text of the letter from Itagaki follows:

"I, Tomonobu Itagaki, hereby announce that on the 14th of May 2008 I filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court against Tecmo Co., Ltd. for unpaid completion bonuses, and against the President of Tecmo, Yoshimi Yasuda, for such unlawful acts as unreasonable and disingenuous statements made towards me, claiming damages in total of 148 million yen. I also announce that this complaint was delivered to the defendants on May 22nd of the same year. In addition, I hereby announce that I have today submitted a letter of resignation to Tecmo Co., Ltd. stating that I will resign as of the 1st of July, 2008.

"Before the start of development on Dead or Alive 4, Tecmo Co., Ltd. had agreed to pay a completion bonus to me for this Xbox 360 title, which I produced. However, when the time came for the actual payment, Tecmo Co., Ltd. went against its previous agreement and refused payment. President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me 'if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.' In addition, he made demeaning remarks about me to my subordinates and colleagues, causing me significant emotional distress and worsening my personal relationships and work environment. Thus, I have no choice but to resign from Tecmo Co., Ltd.

"The conduct of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its president Yoshimi Yasuda towards me has been unbefitting of a publicly-listed company. I have filed this lawsuit with a strong intent to question the social responsibility of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its President Yoshimi Yasuda, as well as condemning them for their unjust acts. Today, in addition to announcing the reasons for this lawsuit, I make clear my reasons for resigning.

"To All Game Fans

"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."

In addition to the allegations made in the letter, we've heard rumblings that Itagaki believes that Yasuda has focused too much on making a profit without a regard for quality. While Itagaki's official announcement does not point to any specific releases, recent Tecmo ports such as Rygar for the Wii and Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3 are possible targets of Itagaki's anger, which would also explain recent interviews where Itagaki has been especially negative toward Sigma and has said that a PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden 2 would not be good. We've even heard rumors that Yasuda wanted to port Ninja Gaiden Sigma (a PS3 port of a rerelease of an Xbox title) to the Xbox 360 before he was talked out of it by Itagaki and others at Tecmo.

In the same interview we linked to above, Itagaki mentions that he intends for his next game to be "a brand new action game" that will be violent like Ninja Gaiden. It's safe to assume that this game will not be with Tecmo and probably that Itagaki knew that already when he started discussing it. We cannot speculate further as to what Itagaki might be up to next, but considering the timing, there's clearly some very bad blood between Itagaki and Tecmo. The outspoken game maker waited until the evening before Ninja Gaiden 2's release to make this announcement, which is sure to leave a slightly bitter taste in the mouths of many fans picking up their next dose of blood-soaked action.

:shocked:

 

[AstroManLuca]

As long as Itagaki keeps making games, I'm happy. His games have always been great. It's too bad about no more Ninja Gaiden or DOA, but I'm sure what he comes up with in the future will be just as good if not better. Besides, we need new stuff more than sequels.

 

[Modeps]

Holy shit.
:Q

 

[Reckoner]

Unclaimed bonuses = more rock star clothing?

 

[erwos]

Theory: Microsoft is going to hire him and hand him his own studio.

Say what you will about his personal activities, but he's proven he can put together AAA games, and Microsoft really needs to beef up their first-party operations to compete with Sony and Nintendo.

 

[WraithETC]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Unclaimed bonuses = more rock star clothing?

They took away his smoke breaks and forced him to take off his sun glasses.

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: erwos
Theory: Microsoft is going to hire him and hand him his own studio.

Say what you will about his personal activities, but he's proven he can put together AAA games, and Microsoft really needs to beef up their first-party operations to compete with Sony and Nintendo.

Good theory. I like it.

 

[AstroManLuca]

MS needs him, and he needs more silk shirts, leather jackets, and designer sunglasses. Win-win.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Good, maybe he'll hire a new art director. MS should give him a studio though.

 

[Glitchny]

Tecmo might want to watch out. He has the power to get a large portion of team ninja to follow him out the door.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Glitchny
Tecmo might want to watch out. He has the power to get a large portion of team ninja to follow him out the door.

That is part of the reason I suspect he will be vigorously pursued by Microsoft. They won't be able to buy the franchise rights to DOA (which, honestly, is a reasonably competent fighter) or Ninja Gaiden (which is an old, old Tecmo franchise), but a fresh start isn't going to hurt anyone.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Ninja Gaiden was an awesome game, but I think re-releasing it over and over again is evidence of the profit before quality mentality that Itagaki speaks of. I mean really.. porting a port of a remade port? come on...

 

[Dumac]

Originally posted by: erwos
Theory: Microsoft is going to hire him and hand him his own studio.

Say what you will about his personal activities, but he's proven he can put together AAA games, and Microsoft really needs to beef up their first-party operations to compete with Sony and Nintendo.

Interesting idea.

 

[tw1164]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: Glitchny
Tecmo might want to watch out. He has the power to get a large portion of team ninja to follow him out the door.

That is part of the reason I suspect he will be vigorously pursued by Microsoft. They won't be able to buy the franchise rights to DOA (which, honestly, is a reasonably competent fighter) or Ninja Gaiden (which is an old, old Tecmo franchise), but a fresh start isn't going to hurt anyone.

I think you may be on to something.

microsoft-thanks-itagaki-for-years-of-support

 

[Baked]

Does that mean we won't get DOA Xtreme 3?

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Glitchny
Tecmo might want to watch out. He has the power to get a large portion of team ninja to follow him out the door.

Yep. In Japan, your word is your bond. Break it and everything falls apart.

 

[CasioTech]

why did he leave team ninja?


does tecmo own TN? Can't TN leave tecmo and make new games?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: CasioTech
why did he leave team ninja?

Read the article.

Originally posted by: CasioTech
does tecmo own TN? Can't TN leave tecmo and make new games?

I'm pretty sure "Team Ninja" just refers to Itagaki and the other people who work under him to develop those games. Tecmo may own the "Team Ninja" trademark as well as the licenses to the games they've created, but they don't own the people who work there. If Itagaki gets a bunch of them to leave with him, they could start up a new game studio under another name and work for a different publisher (Microsoft?). This has happened several times in the past?one example is how one former Blizzard development team, Blizzard North, disbanded, and several of the employees went on to create a new game studio called Flagship Studios, where they created Hellgate: London.

 

[randay]

did he make rumble roses or was that someone else.

 

[CasioTech]

kind of how all the good people left Rare.

 

[CasioTech]

"that he was thinking of creating a shooter set in the Pacific Theater during World War II, perhaps one from the Japanese perspective."

yeah that sounds like a REAL winner!


/BOREEEEE.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Historically, WWII games that allow you to play as the Axis generally let you play as both sides throughout the single player version. I don't think there's ever been an Axis-only game. Then again, I also don't think there's ever been a first person shooter where you can play as the Axis powers (multiplayer modes excluded).

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: randay
did he make rumble roses or was that someone else.

someone else