I've never played Ninja Gaiden, and to be honest, I'm not that interested.

The quality that gets you interested in something is that you feel something for them. Like on TV, or a movie, or a song, or whatever. You just feel something, and you get pulled into it, and then that's how you pick something up. But Ninja Gaiden just didn't have that power, so that's why I wasn't interested in it.

These Japanese developers, they're like an all-male soap opera. Stay tuned for next week's episode, where Keiji Inafune calls Miyamoto a "total bitch".

Devil May Cry Creator 'Not Interested' in Ninja Gaiden [1UP]

One more thing I would add is that I don't think that developing for the PS3 is hard at all. It was much harder developing for the Famicom. It's true. I mean, give someone who's developing for the PS3 a Famicom and see if they can make a game for it. They won't be able to. Yeah, that'll prove it. We'll bet a drink on it.

You know shit is serious when Itagaki starts betting drinks.

Wanted Dead or Alive: Tomonobu Itagaki's first interview since going underground [1UP]

Yasuda has been at the center of the Itagaki vs. Tecmo legal suit. Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki is suing for unpaid DoA 4 wages. These were "special incentive" wages that Itagaki claims were agreed to by the former Tecmo president and the board of directors, but the current president is claiming these "special incentive" wages were made single-handedly by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board.

As we posted earlier, Itagaki left Tecmo and filed suit for unpaid bonuses. As Itagaki stated then, "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.'"

During the court proceedings, evidence was presented, such as this secret audio tape that we broke, which contained statements by Yasuda that seemed in direct conflict with his court claim that this "special incentives" proposal was made single-handedly by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board. The recording helps support Itagaki's claim that his special incentive bonus was approved by Tecmo's former president and the board of directors, and that the current president knows this, contradicting himself.

Besides this, Yasuda was embroiled in a totally separate lawsuit filed by other Tecmo employees as well — Hiroaki Ozawa and co-plaintiff Tatsuki Tsunoda. Ozawa is the Tecmo Labor Union leader and Ninja Gaiden 2 lead engineer, while Tsunoda is the Ninja Gaiden 2 level design lead. According to the suit, the workers were illegally placed on a "flexible hours" work scheme where overtime was not paid.

Because of this dubious employment structure, overtime for the employees exceeded over 100 hours per month in unpaid overtime. The evidence the plaintiffs submitted in their suit seems to indicate that Yoshimi Yasuda falsified contracts relating to overtime work, illegally withholding payment of wages to 300 employees over the course of the past 2 years. Despite Yasuda’s direct involvement with this deception, he attempted to shift responsibility by claiming that this was the fault of the founder and former chairman of Tecmo, now deceased, stating he was told not to hold an election and just pick someone to head the Tecmo Labor Union.

Sounds like Kakihara has a lot of work ahead of him starting September 1st. Official press release below:

代表取締役の異動に関するお知らせ

当社は、平成20年８月20日開催の取締役会において、下記の通り代表取締役の異動について内定いたしましたのでお知らせいたします。

記

１．異動内容
新役職名 氏 名 旧役職名
代表取締役会長兼社長 柿原 康晴 代表取締役会長
辞任 安田 善巳 代表取締役社長

（２）異動の理由
本日開催の取締役会において、安田代表取締役社長より、一身上の都合により代表取締役
社長並びに取締役を辞任したい旨の申し出があり、取締役会はこれを受理いたしました。

（３）異動予定日
平成20年９月１日

（４）新任代表取締役会長兼社長の氏名、略歴
新役職名 代表取締役会長兼社長
氏 名 柿原 康晴（かきはら やすはる）
生年月日 昭和45年12月30日（38歳）
出 身 地 千葉県
略 歴 平成元年３月 渋谷教育学園幕張高等学校卒業
平成11年３月 獨協医科大学卒業
平成11年５月 獨協医科大学附属病院第２外科 臨床研修医として勤務
平成12年10月 （財）癌研究会附属病院勤務臨床研修医として勤務
平成13年５月 獨協医科大学附属病院第２外科勤務
平成13年６月 当社監査役に就任
平成16年６月 当社取締役に就任
平成18年３月 当社取締役退任
平成18年３月 テクモウェーブ株式会社取締役に就任（現任）
平成18年10月 当社経営委員会委員長に就任
平成19年３月 当社代表取締役会長（現任）

以 上

My daughter tried playing Okami, and she got sick of it pretty quickly-and I got pretty sick of it, too. And I'm not out to make this an Okami bashing session or anything — I'm just saying that it didn't feel like it had much of a spirit. It's unique, but it's not a powerful fighter plane... So I heard Kamiya said something about the action genre not moving forward in eight years. Can you tell me more about that?

Apparently, Kamiya said the action genre hasn't moved forward since the release of the first Devil May Cry. To which Itagaki replied:

Was he asleep for eight years? ...There are two types of people out there who like to make controversial, splashy comments. There are those who are truly outspoken, and there are those who are just trying to cover up for there weaknesses. We have a saying here in Japan — "the weaker dog barks more" — and I sincerely also like to remind him to make sure to stay awake for the next years.

Knives out! Oh, and as a special bonus, Itagaki also offered sound-bytes on why he makes Xbox 360 games:

First of al, I think that the PS3 was an attempt by [former Sony chairman and CEO Ken] Kutaragi to create a uniquely Japanese computer to take on the intel standard; in that sense, I have a lot of respect for him. But to me, having a fighter that's powerful and easy to pilot makes it easy to win. That's my main goal, and thats why I choose to pilot 360.

...and on what he's been up to lately:

I've been taking pictures, working on my model trains, drinking, of course, and gambling. And that's what things have been lately. But you know me — I'm not just going to sit back. No, I'm definitely going to make something very soon. The great, wide expanse of the skies awaits.

Wow, Itagaki is into model trains. Did not know that. I guess you really do learn something new everyday.

Thanks dmitsuki for the tip!

We've posted all the documentation Tomonobu Itagaki submitted into evidence during the second round of arguments. Itagaki claims he has even more evidence, going as far as stating: "I am prepared to reveal this evidence as the need arises for the sake of greater justice." The evidence submitted earlier today after the jump. Heads up as there's lots of big images ready to suck up your bandwidth — and they're all in Japanese.

This contract, dated March 4th 2005, covers "special incentives" for Dead or Alive 4. The "special incentives" program was proposed by the former president of Tecmo (the president before current president Yoshimi Yasuda) where all employees would receive a certain percentage of the profits from a big-selling game. The profit points would be distributed among members of the team with the highest share going to the senior employees. In the DoA4 contract Itagaki submitted, it clearly states that he is entitled to 6.66 percent of the earned profits from the project.

In the statement Itagaki released today, he has now increased his claim for damages against Tecmo from the previously announced figure of 148,000,000 yen to 164,000,095 yen. In American money, that's an increase from $1.38 million to $1.53 million. The claim increase Itagaki is asking for simply reflects the wages he should have earned at the end of this June had he not been fired by the company.

This is the document Tecmo submitted to withdrawal its four-point gag order submission. As Itagaki says in his statement, "From the outset, the claims made in this petition had changed repeatedly in a short period of time, causing me to wonder what they would claim next; apparently Tecmo and its president Yoshimi Yasuda finally realized that their petition would most likely be denied, and before the fourth round of debates regarding its merit were held the claim was withdrawn unexpectedly." Continuing "it is clear that this self-centered behavior by Tecmo Co. Ltd. and its president Yoshimi Yasuda, from the filing of the petition to its subsequent withdrawal, was an attempt to increase my own personal burden in both time and funds needed to combat the petition."

This is the signed affidavit from Ninja Gaiden II producer Yoshifuru Okamoto. Okamoto explains that he recorded a conversation with Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda on January 22nd of this year. The reason for this, Okamoto explains, is that Yasuda had harassed him, calling him names.

Above is the audio transcript of the conversation between President Yasuda and Okamoto. In the transcript, Yasuda admits that the special bonus incentive had in fact been submitted and approved by the board of directors before he became president and while he was still section director. Yasuda says that the special incentive scheme had been discussed and a ringi (a type of Japanese corporate approval form) had been signed by the board of directors.

On page 2 of this transcript, when Okamoto says the special incentive wasn't voted on (like Yasuda now claims), Yasuda then replied, 取締役会決議と稟議が起きているんだよ. That literally translates to "The board of directors did vote on it and a ringi was signed." This is in direct conflict with Yasuda's court claim that this "special incentives" proposal was made single-handedly by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board. Therefore, it is invalid, states Yasuda. The recording helps support Itagaki's claim that this special incentive bonus was approved by Tecmo's former president and the board of directors, and that the current president knows this.

Also, during the conversation, Yasuda called Itagaki a "money grubber" because of the developer's desire to be paid incentives that had been approved by Tecmo. Yet in court, Yasuda has denied calling Itagaki a "money grubber." In Itagaki's statement, the game designer says that this audio recording is only a small part of concrete evidence he has. "I am prepared to reveal this evidence as the need arises for the sake of greater justice," Itagaki states.

In the second round of oral arguments for the Itagaki vs. Tecmo suit, Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki submitted evidence that included an affidavit from Ninja Gaiden II producer Yoshifuru Okamoto, a contract from 2005 that seems to clearly state terms of the Dead or Alive 4 bonus and a voice recording of Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda. Itagaki is suing Tecmo over unpaid DoA4 wages.

Kotaku obtained copies of both the secret recording and the contract and translated both for this story.

The contract, dated March 4th 2005, covers "special incentives" for Dead or Alive 4. The "special incentives" program was proposed by the former president of Tecmo (the president before current president Yoshimi Yasuda) where all employees would receive a certain percentage of the profits from a big-selling game. The profit points would be distributed among members of the team with the highest share going to the senior employees. In the DoA4 contract Itagaki submitted, it clearly states that he is entitled to 6.66 percent of the earned profits from the project.

On January 22nd of this year, Ninja Gaiden II producer Yoshifuru Okamoto taped a conversation with president Yasuda. Why was the producer of Ninja Gaiden II recording conversations with the president of Tecmo? According to Okamoto's affidavit, Yasuda had continually harassed him, calling him an "idiot", stating he was "no good" and saying that Okamoto "had no class." Okamoto claims that he asked for a meeting with Yasuda so that he could understand why he was so negative towards him. During this meeting, Okamoto secretly recorded their conversation. (Note: Okamoto has since left the company and had been contemplating doing so for some time.)

And during this meeting, current president Yasuda admits that the special bonus incentive had in fact been submitted and approved by the board of directors before he became president and while he was still section director. Yasuda says that the special incentive scheme had been discussed and a ringi (a type of Japanese corporate approval form) had been signed by the board of directors. This is in direct conflict with Yasuda's court claim that this "special incentives" proposal was made single-handedly by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board. Therefore, it is invalid. The recording helps support Itagaki's claim that this special incentive bonus was approved by Tecmo's former president and the board of directors, and that the current president knows this.

Also, during the conversation, Yasuda called Itagaki a "money grubber" because of the developer's desire to be paid incentives that had been approved by Tecmo. Yet in court, Yasuda has denied calling Itagaki a "money grubber." In Itagaki's statement, the game designer says that this audio recording is only a small part of concrete evidence he has. "I am prepared to reveal this evidence as the need arises for the sake of greater justice," Itagaki states.

We have contacted both Itagaki's representatives and Tecmo for comment on the story.

This morning about 10:00 a.m. Tokyo Time, the second round of oral arguments for the Itagaki vs. Tecmo case commenced. As we broke early last month, Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki left Tecmo and filed suit for unpaid bonuses. As Itagaki stated then, "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 a statement Itagaki released today, he has now increased his claim for damages against Tecmo from the previously announced figure of 148,000,000 yen to 164,000,095 yen. In American money, that's an increase from $1.38 million to $1.53 million. The reason for the increase is due to new developments in the case Itagaki revealed today.

In the statement Itagaki released in early June, he announced that he would be leaving Tecmo on July 1st. However, today it came to light that Itagaki was actually fired from Tecmo on June 18th — only weeks after he announced the suit. It's obviously possible to assume this termination was in retaliation to the lawsuit over bonuses he claimed he deserved. What's more, this preemptive act on Tecmo's part could also be seen as a way for the company to get out of paying Itagaki his fixed summer bonus and yearly incentives. According to Itagaki's statement released today, those were to be paid on June 30th. They of course were not.

Apparently, no reason was given for Itagaki's termination, and according to him, he was "terminated without reasonable cause." The claim increase Itagaki is asking for simply reflects the wages he should have earned at the end of this June had he not been fired by the company. Under Japanese law, Itagaki can also claim 14.6 percent per year back interest for the Dead or Alive 4 unpaid wages and bonuses. Itagaki has said he plans to do so.

Remember that four point gag-order Tecmo tried to slap Itagaki with? The company had simply filed for a gag-order, and it wasn't yet granted and didn't actually go into effect. Today as the second round of oral arguments for the Itagaki vs. Tecmo case commenced in which Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki is suing over supposed unpaid wages, it was revealed that Tecmo had already rescinded the gag-order on July 7th. But, did Tecmo publicly announce that it was withdrawing the gag-order filing?

Under Japanese law, the plaintiff does have the right to withdraw filing for a gag-order at anytime. In a statement released today, Itagaki said he wanted to give Tecmo a chance to announce that it had in fact withdrawn the gag-order. Two weeks passed, and Itagaki included Tecmo's gag-order withdrawal in the evidence he submitted for today's arguments. According to Itagaki, he regrets that it was he (and not Tecmo) who had to make this publicly known, but he states he did that so all the facts were known publicly.

Itagaki speculates that Tecmo withdrew the petition because the company knew it would be shot down and wanted to avoid the bad publicity. As Itagaki says in his statement:

From the outset, the claims made in this petition had changed repeatedly in a short period of time, causing me to wonder what they would claim next; apparently Tecmo and its president Yoshimi Yasuda finally realized that their petition would most likely be denied, and before the fourth round of debates regarding its merit were held the claim was withdrawn unexpectedly.

Continuing "it is clear that this self-centered behavior by Tecmo Co. Ltd. and its president Yoshimi Yasuda, from the filing of the petition to its subsequent withdrawal, was an attempt to increase my own personal burden in both time and funds needed to combat the petition."

Stay tuned as we break down the rest of today's Itagaki V. Tecmo news this morning.

"I needed a sounding board," says Tokyo based localizer and former Team Ninja member Andrew Szymanski. "So it was great having Matt and Hiroko." Andrew, who joined Tecmo after college and recently left the company last September, did an excellent job localizing the first Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox, but felt it was somewhat stilted. If game development is a group effort, why should localization be solitary? He was able to convince Tecmo and Microsoft to let him bring in Matt and Hiroko for the NGII localization.

It was a reunion of sorts as the trio had previously worked on Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. "One of the things that helped me convince the higher ups," recalls Andrew, "was that Matt and Hiroko both are authors and write books together.” Both are best known for titles like Yokai Attack! or Hello, Please!. “For localization, your skill at writing English is actually more important than your Japanese," says Matt. If you don't know a Japanese word, you can always look it up or ask someone. But if you can't string together a sentence, you can always, no wait, you're screwed.

Team Ninja knew Ninja Gaiden II wasn’t aimed strictly at the Japanese market. "The main target for Ninja Gaiden II was the West," says Andrew. “The market is global, and Japan is more global than ever before.” And since it’s a game targeted for a Western audience, it needed to be written in a Western language: English. The game’s story was conceived by Ninja Gaiden II’s director Hiroaki Matsui in highly detailed, manga-like stories boards.

But where did former Team Ninja lead ninja Tomonobu Itagaki factor in? According to Andrew: "Itagaki-san's main responsibilities are, of course, overseeing the development of the whole game, but he is often focused on combat design, enemy AI, level design, and other key gameplay elements. He trusts Matsui-san implicitly for art and story direction, and thus we mainly worked with Matsui-san to develop the dialogue, worldview, and key story points. He also relies on my judgement when it comes to the localization and the entire English version of the game as a whole, so it was great having the freedom and support to bring on Matt and Hiroko and create an English script that we were all proud of. It goes without saying that Itagaki-san has final say over everything that goes into the retail game, and it was a tremendously satisfying feeling to hear his words of praise when it came to our finished voiceovers and other localized assets. It was great seeing him say ‘Submit, or die!’ in English as he watched the cutscenes!"
At work and after work over bottomless beers, Matsui gave Andrew very vivid instructions of how he envisioned Ninja Gaiden II’s story and world. “These Team Ninja guys live and breathe this stuff,” says Andrew. “So much stuff happens outside the office because they’re always thinking about whatever they’re working on.” Andrew then typed up a rough English draft. Andrew then reconvened with Hiroko and Matt to punch up the first draft — which was also in English. Meaning? That the script Team Ninja was working from was in English and all the motion capture and voice acting was in English.

Even though it was being written in English, the trio were striving to make sure it stayed in line of what a ninja would actually say. Explains Andrew, “The question we always asked ourselves was ‘Is this ninjy?’” Basically, would a ninja actually say this. Continuing, he adds, “So I ninja would never say ‘I am going to kill you.’ Instead, a ninja would says, ‘You will be the bloostains on my blade.’ That’s ninjy.” Andrew, Matt and Hiroko weren't simply pulling out a dictionary and digging through to find words that “match”, but rather, entrenching themselves in the game from head to toe and back and again. “The first rule of localization,” says Andrew, “is to integrate localization into the development process.” But this wasn’t *just* localization — Ninja Gaiden II was something else entirely, somewhere between translation, collaboration and straight-up writing.
Ninja Gaiden II is the game as Team Ninja conceived it — no compromises. “It turned out exactly the way we wanted,” says Andrew. Team Ninja’s plan, the original impetus, was to create a throw-back — you know, a spiritual successor to something you would’ve played on the Nintendo Entertainment System. “This is a game where ninjas fight dinosaurs,” says Andy. “If you can’t have fun with that, where can you?”

"The hardest projects I've worked on have been the ones where the client doesn't appreciate the value of a good translation." says Hiroko. "Or ones where the contribution of a native Japanese speaker to the English version isn't appreciated, which happened more often in the early days. The easiest ones are the projects where the dev team welcomes us in as part of the process, because the closer the you can work with the people who designed the game, the smoother the whole process goes."

No matter how good your localization skills are, nothing can compare to working directly with the team that made the game to ensure that their vision makes it to gamers outside Japan. That's exactly what happened with Ninja Gaiden II. If any of the localizers had questions about what the developers originally intended, then Hiroko and Matt could immediately turn to Andrew. If Matt or Andrew had any questions about the intricacies of Japanese culture or nuances, they could refer to Hiroko. “It's so rare that a native Japanese speaker confronts an English speaker about their English translation,” says Matt. “I'm not talking about errors, necessarily, but more like nuance.” You know, the stuff between the lines, not on the page. The ninjy.

[Andrew, Itagaki Pic]

Something else to keep in mind: Earlier we reported that Tecmo slapped Itagaki with a gag-order, meaning that one had been filed — as of course there are no Japanese laws to prevent Tecmo from filing for that! However, a judge has yet to sign off on this gag-order for it to actually be in effect. Since this hasn't yet happened, the gag-order is, well, not in effect. What's more, that gag-order motion may very well be tossed out of court.

Itagaki vs Tecmo [IT Media]

Game developer Tecmo has a request for journalists.

Sections of the Western media are running a rumor that large numbers of our staff plan on leaving the company over salary issues, and it is regrettable that this inaccurate news is being propagated, fueling uneasiness among our developers.

We Tecmo are currently focused on bringing high quality products to our customers. Doing our best to concentrate under the circumstances, we hope to bring more enjoyable products to the marketplace.

We have exciting announcements regarding game launches planned for the future. Understanding of the work we are doing and consideration of fairness is asked regarding the treatment of unconfirmed information, as well as how it affects the actual staff. We thank everyone for their understanding.

Recent Press Releases [Tecmo]

According to Tecmo, only two employees have filed a lawsuit against the company, as previously reported. Tecmo claims that it notified "all affected employees that they would be appropriately compensated and is currently in the process of resolving the matter." It also goes on record as saying that reports that it had withheld information from shareholders regarding the lawsuit filed by Itagaki were, in short, hogwash.

Apparently, recent reporting on Tecmo's legal kerfuffle has caused "unrest" amongst company staffers, so the publisher and developer has asked us to "handle news reports concerning the above matters with care." Rest assured, Tecmo, that it is our policy to handle all news reports as if they were a brittle nest filled with the precious and fragile eggs of a hummingbird. Tecmo's full statement follows.

June 18, 2008

On and around June 15, 2008, various websites in the US reported a rumor about “dozens” of development staff members resigning and filing a lawsuit against Tecmo, LTD., following Tomonobu Itagaki’s departure from the company. The rumors are false and no such action is taking place at the company.

On June 16, 2008, two employees filed a lawsuit against Tecmo, LTD. with accusations of withholding overtime pay. Although a lawsuit was filed by the two employees, on April 1, 2008, Tecmo, LTD. did notify all affected employees that they would be appropriately compensated and is currently in the process of resolving the matter. There are several inaccurate reports stating that all 300 company employees are named in the lawsuit and the company would like to clarify that only two employees are involved in the suit.

In addition, there were reports that Tecmo, LTD., a publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, withheld information from its shareholders regarding the lawsuit filed in May 2008 by Tomonobu Itagaki. The company has observed the provisions defined by the Exchange and has released information accordingly and in a timely manner.

It is unfortunate that false and inaccurate reporting of our organization and employees’ actions have caused some unrest among our development staff members. Tecmo, LTD. would like to assure its partners and loyal fans that its teams continue to focus and work on several projects to be released and announced in the future. The company is committed to providing high quality, entertaining products for our fans around the world.

Your continued support of Tecmo, LTD. is appreciated and it is kindly asked that you handle news reports concerning the above matters with care.

Tecmo, LTD.

• Disclosing or leaking information regarding Tecmo's game software, sales, development or any other company secrets

• Using newspapers, magazines and the internet to criticize company software and company employees

• Obstructing the company's business through slanderous remarks to third parties

• Do not accept interviews regarding Tecmo or talk to the press about the company

This gag-order certainly seems in response to the statement Itagaki released to Kotaku and other outlets.

テクモ、板垣氏に対して仮処分を申請 [IT Media] [Pic]

テクモ社員、残業代求め提訴 [jiji via my game news flash]
テクモ労働組合の執行役員2名が未払賃金を求めて提訴 [Game Watch Impress]

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]

Stock Prices Drop [Excite News] [Pic]

X-Play History [Go Nintendo]

Tecmo just sent along another statement, this one in English, which includes the fact that Itagaki's last day is July 1 and that the Team NINJA team is still "intact" and working on several new projects.

The full statement is on the jump.

On June 3, 2008, Tomonobu Itagaki, Executive Producer of Tecmo, LTD.(Tokyo, Japan) owned development studio Team NINJA, submitted his resignation. Due to the fact that he had recently filed a legal complaint against Tecmo, LTD., there was no choice but to accept his resignation. His resignation is effective July 1, 2008.

The legal complaint is in regards to a claim to an incentive bonus linked to a past project. The parties could not reach an amicable resolution to this matter and Itagaki chose to seek a legal remedy. Tecmo, LTD. will let the court decide the outcome of this case and will seek a true, fair, and quick resolution.

Most importantly, Tecmo, LTD. would like to assure its loyal fans that Team NINJA, known for its top selling and critically acclaimed Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises, is intact and, as a matter of fact, have several new projects already underway. Team NINJA is, more than ever, committed to producing compelling and cutting edge games in order to maintain its reputation as a high quality developer and to continue to receive the support of its loyal fans.

Itagaki Leaving Tecmo, Suing Tecmo [Kotaku]

Our company getting sued by this employee is huge problem... the reasons for making this lawsuit public are self-centered. What's more, this employee is filing this suit for himself and making it seem like he alone is responsible for the development of the game titles the rest of the Team Ninja staff had poured its heart into.

Team NINJA is currently working on a line-up of new titles. All of Team NINJA is starting to work together on interesting new game titles.

This could get very messy folks.

Tecmo's Response [Tecmo.co.jp] [Pic]

Temco later declined to comment saying that they were aware of his statement but unwilling to say more. Now Microsoft is chiming in, responding to our request for comment, thanking Itagaki for his years of Xbox support.

Tomonobu Itagaki has decided to leave TECMO and Team NINJA to pursue other opportunities. We thank Tomonobu Itagaki for the many years he has supported Xbox as he has contributed immensely to the success of the videogame industry as a whole.

I'm sure that if Itagaki carries out his threats and leaves Team Ninja he won't be leaving game development. In fact he told us as much last month when he decided to drop another bomb, saying that Ninja Gaiden II was his swan song and that he was thinking of creating a shooter set in the Pacific Theater during World War II, perhaps one from the Japanese perspective. The question now is will he form his own studio or latch on to another collection of disenfranchised, but artistic developers. Yeah, probably not, I think it's more likely he's going to Microsoft, but I can dream.

He blamed his departure on President Yoshimi Yasuda, saying that Yasuda told him that "if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it." So Itagaki is doing both.

We contacted Tecmo last night and this morning for comment on the surprise departure and just received their mostly no-comment response:

"We’re aware of the statement sent out to the press by Itagaki but do not have anything more to add at this time."

Requests for comment to Microsoft Japan and Microsoft have gone unanswered, but we'll be sure to keep you up to date as this story shakes out.

To read Itagaki's full statement to Kotaku hit up the link.

Itagaki Leaving Tecmo, Suing Tecmo [Kotaku]

Tomonobu Itagaki's translator Andrew Szymanski contacted Kotaku, telling us, "At approximately 2:30 PM Japan Standard Time today, June 3rd 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."

What does this mean for Itagaki's future? Szymanski does not know, adding, "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." Quitting Tecmo (and suing it) means the chances of Itagaki making Dead or Alive 5 are more dead than alive. Guess he wasn't kidding when he said Ninja Gaiden II would be his Ninja Gaiden swan song. Hit the jump for Itagaki's full statement.

Statement

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.

Tecmo Co., Ltd. Creative Officer

Leader, Team NINJA

Tomonobu Itagaki

[Pic]

Yeah, there's nothing that can be done about that. Things like economic policies, the fact that the size of the size of the population of children in Japan is dwindling, people are moving away from console gaming — there are a lot of factors involved, it's not just Xbox 360 doesn't do well in Japan because it's Xbox; there's a whole load of societal factors involved there. It's not as though the hardcore would make a big difference. This all goes back to decisions that politicians made like sixty years ago.

Of course, by moving away from console gaming, Itagaki means moving away from HIS console gaming. Nonetheless! Itagaki will be announcing Dead or Alive 5 later this summer. It's unconfirmed whether this DoA will also be an Xbox 360 exclusive.

Itagaki Interview [Kikizo] [Pic]

What did you think of the PS3 game Ninja Gaiden: Sigma? I'm told you won't even sign copies of the game...?

Itagaki: It was no good.

Why's that? I thought it was pretty good.

Itagaki: All you need to do is play Ninja Gaiden II and then try and play Sigma afterwards and you'll see why. Despite the fact that it's on a 'next-generation' console there's no evolution whatsoever. That was made not by me, but one of my sub-ordinates who basically tried to copy the success of Ninja Gaiden.

Ouch. We thought it was pretty good! Elsewhere in the interview, Itagaki confirms that Ninja Gaiden II will never appear on the PS3, and if it ever did that would be "a loss of face for everyone involved."

Tomonobu Itagaki Interview [CVG] [Pic]

"Personally I think we were able to create the definitive 3D game in this series so I'm not planing on making any other games in the series," Itagaki said through a translator. "So I hope fans treat this as a swan song for the franchise.

"I think we were able to achieve everything we wanted with this game so anything else would be extraneous."

When asked if he plans on making a "swan song" Ninja Gaiden title for the PlayStation 3, Itagaki replied " that would be ridiculous."

Instead, the creator of the beloved franchise said he wants to make something that is "totally new, completely unrelated to anything I've done before. Not any part of any existing franchises."

Itagaki said what he'd like to do is work on another action title or perhaps a war themed game, perhaps something set in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

"I think the Pacific theater of World War II is a interesting topic," he said. "I think it would be cool to work with an American developer and do a game based on the Pacific Theater."

"I think it would be cool to do something like what Clint Eastwood is doing for that time period," he added, referencing Flags Of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima which shows both sides of the war.

When asked how long he had been thinking about doing such a title, Itagaki said it was something he came up with during our short interview.

"That's what it's like to create something; you start from nothing and you have to clear your mind and come up with new ideas," he said. "I'm interested in that period of time, for my generation, that was an event that influenced us more than anything else. I think that would be an interesting topic to explore."

If it turned out that a Japanese developed game about World War II was "too politically charged," Itagaki said he might want to explore the same issues in a game set in space.

I think people should gamble more. Or [they should] play something like backgammon, a game that's not a video game but more of an analog traditional game... It really teaches you the core of game design... I think playing those types of games gives you the foundation... when you're gambling, you can't afford to have a chip on your shoulder. You have to make the right decision based on what the cards are in front of you. So you're constantly changing up your attitude and your position.

"Violence is not about cutting an enemy into pieces or seeing a lot of blood," he [Itagaki] says. "That's not what real violence is." To emphasise his point, Itagaki reaches for a sheathed samurai sword mounted in his office, and holds it out in front of me.

"In the Japanese warrior tradition you would shame an opponent. A real sword expert would aim his slice at the first four fingers of his opponent's sword hand. This would cost a warrior his livelihood and someone suffering this wound would normally commit suicide rather than live without their sword hand.

"That's what I consider to be real violence," he says...

I don't make games for other game developers nor am I trying to transmit any sort of information or philosophy to other game developers. I mean, I do this for the fans and the people out there who want to play my games. So, when you're talking about an event like GDC, which is really an event by game developers for game developers, then I don't really have a whole lotta interest in that event in and of itself... I won't say there's no point to it. GDC is a very important event, and I certainly respect and realize what they're trying to do here. It's just a personal choice... Some day maybe when I've matured maybe, and when I become a little more well-rounded like Peter Molyneux, I may decide to come and give advice and give lectures on how to make games. But right now, I'm more focused on my own endeavors.

Sorry, Flynn, but it's not NIN-JA GAY-DUN, it's NIN-JA GUY-DEN. As in N'Gai Croal. I officially win our debate. Team Ninja's master ninja Tomonobu Itagaki—don't worry he helps with the pronunciation of that, too—provides the sound-off in the latest MTV Multiplayer pronunciation guide, even throwing in the proper way to say "Helena", something I wasn't even aware was an issue. Sorry, Canada and the UK, you know the deal with this MTV video nonsense. Ask a friend in the U.S. to give you the gory details.

How To Say 'Ninja Gaiden' The Right Way, From Itagaki-San Himself [MTV Multiplayer]

I don't believe the adage that the artist should be able to express whatever he wants is necessarily applicable in this case, because we're creating entertainment. And entertainment shouldn't include things that make people feel uncomfortable or extremely upset...[and] people out there that want to create something that is very far removed from societal norms and the moral sensibilities of the general public ... They're unfortunate, and I don't want to be grouped in with that group of people.

...from a Japanese perspective, when you decapitate someone you're killing them instantly. So from a Japanese perspective, with the sword, when you decapitate somebody you're basically giving them a very quick and easy death.

Team Ninja is known for their flash. Whether it's producer Tomonobu Itagaki's rockstar look, Ryu Hayabusa's penchant for decapitating everything in sight, or the cup sizes of every Dead or Alive female fighter, understated is usually not an adjective that appears in sentences describing Team Ninja. But the developer's offices are so bland, so utilitarian, so... office-y we wondered if we had been led into the wrong building. Soon, however, Itagaki emerged, a hint of tobacco and hard liquor on his breath.

We were lucky enough to have a private interview with the head of Team Ninja about their upcoming venture, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, so we (as quickly as we could) got down to business.

The interview took place in what looked like the team's demo room. Nothing more than a couple couches, a big screen TV, an Xbox 360 and a pair of statues—Master Chief from Halo and Kasumi from Dead of Alive—adorned the room. Outside of a trio of low-key posters for DOA and Ninja Gaiden, you'd have a hard time placing the developer. But the katana on the display stands might have helped.

A pink Nintendo DS with the TGS demo was on hand, so I cracked it open while we talked to Itagaki via his translator. One of the Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword staffers was on hand, but he let Tomonobu do the talking.

Team Ninja is known for their graphical expertise, claiming that they only work on the most powerful hardware for each generation. So why the DS? Itagaki was refreshingly honest, saying that developing for the Nintendo portable was "kind of nostalgiac." How so?

"The time it takes to go from a spec sheet to a program to actually being able to see something on screen is much shorter than it used to be," he said. "If I put in a request for a change, I can see it within the day. That's what it was like ten, fifteen years ago."

But times have changed. The Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 demand more time, more tinkering, more people. Itagaki wanted to get under the hood, figuratively. "With old cars, when they would overheat or something, you could pop the hood and dig around, fix something by hand. You could fix your own car. Now it's all sealed... everything is enclosed and CPU controlled. You have to take your car to the dealer and have him diagnose it just to fix it. That's what it feels like. [Developing for the DS] feels like working on an old car."

Putting down the Nintendo DS and the game, I asked Itagaki about presenting the Nintendo DS fanbase with a less action oriented, more puzzle focused adventure game. That won't be happening, he said. "I don't intend to put a whole lot of puzzles in. Basically, stuff you only have to give a little bit of thought to to figure out what you should do." Referring to the giant rock (and poor Kanji reading skills that had me stuck) he clarified, "There are boulders like that, from time to time. Hopefully, you'll be appreciative that we didn't decide to make the rocks explode."

Thanks for thinking of us, but we only hate exploding barrels.

So why make an action game for the Nintendo DS, when puzzle games, training games and testing software is all the rage?

"On a personal note, when I look at the current state of the [DS] market in the terms of titles that are available, I think it's kind of sad." No tears were visible behind the ever present sunglasses, but he told us "I think that since the DS is a very unique computing device, when I originally announced the title, I had expected and hoped that people would be bringing out very game-like games, games that utilize that interface. But what we've found is that a lot of games are out there that are almost like applications, things that aren't using the full extent of what the DS is capable as gaming hardware."

So who's doing it right? "I think Metroid Prime Hunters is a very good example of a very game-like game, so there certainly are other titles, but I definitely want Ninja Gaiden DS to be an example of that." Itagaki likes FPS games?! He sure does, revealing that "The only first person shooters I play are Halo and the Metroid Prime series."

Ninja Gaiden for the DS is a welcome surprise, one that plays well and uses the stylus in a totally unique way. Western audiences will probably snap it up, but what about something that will dominate Japanese sales charts. I asked Itagaki if Team Ninja has any plans to make a ninja training application for the DS.

He laughed it off. "That's impossible," he said. "Those kind of application type games you can literally make yourself using a PC in ten hours or so. I wouldn't want to try to make that and market it for money for people."

"I'm not trying to be on the defensive. I think it's O.K. that those games exist," he said, "But that's not the kind of game that I want to make. I don't think that really matches what we're trying to do here with Team Ninja."

The Team Ninja lead then got a little hypothetical on us, doing some spur of the moment game design.

He wondered "what kind of game I'd make if someone put a gun to my head and said 'You gotta make a training game or else I'm going to kill you'. I think it would be like a military commander decision simulation or something like that. I think it would be something that would try to show the difficult decisions that generals in the military have to make."

The design document jazz odyssey kept on grooving, with Itagaki saying "I think if you made a straight up quiz type situation, if you chose what that commander actually did, you would get points. Now we have military historians that say this general should have done such and such at this battle, if you actually go in and choose what they should have done instead of what they actually did, you might get points as well. Something like that could be interesting."

Hey, we'd buy it. But Itagaki thinks the game is perfect for "businessmen to understand how to choose during difficult situations."

"We have a game concept happening right now!" he exclaimed, "I'll give you this idea for free. Go ahead and make it."

We'd heard that Itagaki was a decision-making ninja, issuing every "yes", "no" or "Tekken sucks" in under sixty seconds. "Yes. It's true," he confirmed. "Basically, I'm just living moment to moment. It's kind of a miracle I'm alive actually."

I told Itagaki that I'm not a quick decision maker and that his unnamed decision making non-game was perfect for someone like me. "What should we title it? Make it a good title in English, please. Try to do it before the end of this interview." And one condition, "I want to include 'light' and 'shadow' in the title of the decision making game, so..."

"Decide Before Dawn?" I offered. The sound of crickets chirping echoes across the table. At least Ashcraft laughed.

Given that the Nintendo DS generally appeals to more casual gamers, the type who buy millions of copies of Nintendogs, New Super Mario Bros. and Animal Crossing Wild World, we were a little concerned that Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword might be too easy. Boulder aside, it certainly wasn't difficult to tear through the Tokyo Game Show demo. Not to worry, said Itagaki.

He calmed our fears, saying "It would be against my philosophy to dumb it down just to make it easy. Games should be challenging, that's what makes them fun. You have to keep that element of forcing the player to go up against the game, and lose, but get better, so that they can conquer it. There are ways that you can do that, but make it more approachable."

During this dicussion, Itagaki gave us an aside, one about the "evolution of games."

"In the past, our president came to me and said 'Create a game concept. Something that no one has effort thought of before. And you don't have to think about technological limitations. It's because we're worried about technology all the time that we can't come up with good ideas, so give me a concept that no one has ever thought about.'"

"So I gave him a single piece of paper with an idea which is that when you push a button on the controller, the character's hand comes out of the screen at you. So, the president was at a loss for words. Eventually he asked 'Why would you come up with an idea like this?' I said that 'Hey, you said we didn't have to think about any technological limitations.' So that was kind of an expression of me saying as an engineer, don't underestimate the limitations of technology."

The concept of Ninja Gaiden DS is not unlike that one-page design document. The team's goal was tap into the immediacy of the physical interaction involved by cradling the Nintendo DS in your palm, using the motion of your hand to physically manipulate the ninja.

As we were wrapping up, we learned what Itagaki likes less than dealing with technical limitations and the executives who don't understand them—game development seriously eats into his sleep. And his drinking. "I love to sleep. I love to sleep and I love to drink," he responded to a question about his least favorite thing about working in game development, "If I could just drink and sleep, that would be great for me."

That drinking, he says, while enjoyable, eats away at his ability to enjoy games recreationally. He tells us "Unfortunately, the more I drink, the more my eye for details is stimulated. I start breaking games down and analyzing their good and bad things."

Finally, I ask Itagaki the most obvious question (since we like drama). "Who are your rivals on the DS?" I ask, touching the dreaded T-word from rival Namco. He responds, "This is the first time we've made a portable game and so I'm going to be very modest. We couldn't possibly have any rivals." Does this signal a kinder, gentler, more diplomatic head of Team Ninja? He laughs. "I shouldn't lie to you like that. I'm sure there are a lot of good rivals for us out there. I'm sure that when most people see this game, they're going to say 'There they go, at it again.' In a good way. Hopefully, we'll be able to shake things up a bit."

Well, when Namco publishes Death By Degrees DS, we'll ask you again.

"Death by Degrees DS?", he sneers. "Okay, we'll take you up on that."

A puff of smoke and one botched Justify Your Game later, Itagaki and team are gone. It's Sunday and the team is going back to work, either tweaking their handheld debut or killing another bottle of scotch. With love.

I've never played a good game where the developers put a big icon of the button you're supposed to press onscreen... I look at Heavenly Sword and it seems really half-assed, because it's asking you to do all these button-timing sequences but you are not getting much payoff from it.

Snap! Heavenly Sword producer Kyle Shubel's answer to those criticisms?

My response to Mr. Itagaki would be that the intent of the Hero sequences is to empower the player to experience events that would be nearly impossible to play in a natural platforming state... for example, making the player run down ropes, leaping from rope to rope as they're being cut from underneath you, all while dodging other objects — that would be a frustrating experience to 99 percent of our users if we were to force them to do that manually.

Thanks Christian!

The previous Ninja Gaiden Sigma Collectors Edition trailer left many of us confused. Why was Satoshi Hanematsu wailing on the electric guitar throughout, providing a caterwauling soundtrack to random Ninja Gaiden Sigma gameplay? Still haven't figured this one out. This clip, however, gets it done and done right. Previews of the behind the scenes featurettes included with the collectors edition, giving us a glimpse at the lives of Team Ninja are officially filed under "I" for interesting. This associate editor, for one, simply cannot wait to watch Tomonobu Itagaki smoke entire packs of cigarettes while waxing candidly about how awesome he finds himself in high definition.

Team Ninja's chief ninja and Dead or Alive mastermind Tomonobu Itagaki is one competitive dude. He says that the projects he's currently working aren't just good, but good. So much so that they'll destroy the hopes and dreams of other developers. Itagaki explains:

I'd like to show everybody some of the new stuff that we've been working on in the near future. The only problem with that is that when the other developers see what we're doing, they're going to lose all of their motivation to create any game in the same genre, because there's no way they can beat it.

I wouldn't want to go into a cabbage field with a big knife or a scythe or something and just start cutting down thousands and thousands of heads of cabbage. That's not something I would find fun. I do think there are probably some people out there who want that kind of experience when playing a game. That's why, when it comes down to the number of enemies on-screen, I'd rather have good enemies than just a lot of enemies. That's why I don't buy into the philosophy of, "Look! We have a thousand heads of cabbage on screen at once, isn't this great?!"

Itagaki Interview [Game Informer]

In other ninja-related ratings, Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game was similarly given the ratings treatment, nabbing an E10+. That's somehow different from Ninja Gaiden's E-rating and probably due to the TMNT game sporting Mild Cartoon Violence.

Also rated, Nervous Brickdown for the DS. Ha! I love puns! Michael McWhertor

ESRB Software Ratings

When not downing bottles of Johnnie Walker, Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki enjoys the simple things, like hosting Xbox 360 tournaments with grade schoolers. Itagaki enlightens:

Is DOA4 really that hardcore? The elementary school kids that come to my house to play are always squealing with laughter as they kick the ass of the final boss, Alpha 152S.

Does this mean Itagaki has spawned or just has made his living room into the neighborhood game center? This is a side of the leather jacket wearing, cigarette puffing and Ramones hairdo sporting game creator we haven't seen before. Itagaki, the doting den mother. Willing to so bet he yells at the kids when they sit too close to Kasumi boobies. Brian Ashcraft

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