Itagaki Bets You A Beer The PS3 Is Easier To Program For Than The Famicom

Giving his first interview since his, uh, departure from Tecmo, former Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki has told 1UP's James Mielke a bunch of stuff. Some of it interesting, some of it confusing, some of it batshit insane. You should really go read the whole piece, but if you're after a highlights package, this quote probably takes the cake: More »

Tomonobu Itagaki Mehs Okami, Respects Kutaragi

Earlier, Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya didn't exactly have kind words for Ninja Gaiden. They weren't mean per se, they just weren't kind. Kamiya said he's "not interested" in NG so perhaps you could say he is indifferent. In the same issue of EGM, former Team Ninja lead ninja Tomonobu Itagaki has this to say about Kamiya and his game Okami: More »

Tecmo Japan Wants Journalists To Be Fair, Understanding

As previously posted, Tecmo issued a press release calling out the foreign media for that rumored talk of some three dozen Team Ninja member Tecmo exodus. The Japanese press release released today is slightly different and has been "localized" so to speak. [Note: A previous press release Tecmo USA released didn't have mention of Itagaki's "sexual harassment suit" while the Japanese was quick to point it out.] Today's press release is the second one Tecmo Japan has released in the last two days that addresses the mass exodus rumors. Yesterday's was a two sentence affair stating that the Western media rumor was not true. Today, which you've already read the English version of, is slightly longer and quite humble. Hit the jump for that: More »

Rumor:36 on Team Ninja Quitting, Planning Lawsuit

The Itagaki-Tecmo pissing match may have hit a new level of animosity. 1Up, attributing only "word on the street," reports that as many as 36 key members of Team Ninja are walking, and preparing a class-action lawsuit against Tecmo regarding unpaid bonuses they were due for completed games.Earlier this month Tomonobu Itagaki, who leads/led Team Ninja, announced his intention to quit Tecmo, effective July 1. In his announcement he was PO'd about a company decision not to pay bonuses on a completed game, so, chances are his comrades feel the same. Tecmo, for its part, says the bonus to Itagaki that is in dispute was approved by a previous management team, not the current one.1Up also writes:

Another problem for Tecmo is that in Japan, any lawsuit filed against a publicly-traded company must be immediately reported to its shareholders on the same business day. The fact that Itagaki had actually filed a complaint against Tecmo in Tokyo District Court on May 14, but Tecmo management withheld this information from shareholders, possibly as late as when the notorious developer released his high-profile public statement on June 2, creates even bigger problems for the game publisher. Of course Tecmo still owns Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, and can hire developers to make all the games it wishes off of those franchises. But if this is true, it's absolutely a fair to wonder what they'll be like without, and how faithful they'd be to the gaming experience so many have come to expect to this point. Rumor: Three Dozen Team Ninja Members Leaving With Itagaki [1Up]