Tag: Team Ninja

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Team Ninja Plays Follow the Leader

Tomonobu Itagaki

Just last week, it was announced that Tomonobu Itagaki would be leaving Tecmo due to difficulties with his soon-to-be-former boss, and now it seems that his loyal team is following in his footsteps. It seems that three dozen or more other members of Team Ninja are leaving the company and all of them will be filing suit against Tecmo for unpaid bonus royalties.

This doesn’t look good for Tecmo. What makes matters even worse for Tecmo is that they might not have reported Itagaki’s lawsuit immediately when he filed it on May 24, which violates Japanese law. This is why you need to take care of your employees, or you could end up being screwed one day.

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Itagaki is Leaving Tecmo!?!

If you’re a big fan of the Ninja Gaiden or Dead or Alive franchise, you’ve likely heard of Tobonobu Itagaki, and you have some sad news ahead of you. Itagaki is the lead over at Team Ninja and it seems that there are some irreconcilable circumstances between him and the president of Tecmo. Below is an excerpt of what was posted by Itagaki himself.

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.

It seems this stems from Yoshima Yasuda failing to pay Itagaki a promised sum of money upon completion of Dead or Alive 4. If you want the full story, check out 1up’s James Mielke’s blog.