Itagaki (Ninja Gaiden/DoA) Quits Tecmo, Sues for Boatloads
In a statement released to the media, Itagaki said that he was leaving Tecmo due to unpaid bonuses, and that he is suing the Japanese company for 148 million yen ($1.4 million). The head of Team Ninja stated that his last day on the job will be on July 1, 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 statement said.
Basically, he says he was promised money for delivering a completed Ninja Gaiden II and at the last minute, Tecmo management flipped on him. That said, by releasing this statement, he's clearly trying to get his fans to rally against Tecmo so who knows what the real story is and if it played out as he describes. Tecmo may have reasons for denying him that money and I don't think they'd risk losing effectively their most important staffer just to be greedy. This is a real shame because like Itagaki or hate him, he's made some awesome games and I don't think future Ninja Gaiden titles will be the same without him (though I'd be happy to see DoA die of.) But like most people who leave their prior employers, I see him announcing a new studio soon and he'll probably take most of Team Ninja with him since as I understand it, they're fiercely loyal to him. PlatinumGames would also be a good fit for him I think given what they've recently announced.
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip
http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
Could make you wonder if the sexual harassment suit was encouraged by the company?
MaxShrek .. looks like Jake.. drives like Elwood.
This was posted in NG2 Catch All thread.
That said, pretty much like 1up.com noted... Itagaki has made some statements recently that actually now make more sense. In more interesting news, Tecmo wanted to port Ninja Gaiden Sigma to Xbox 360... that is until Itagaki and few others talked them down.
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
Yeah but this doesn't have a whole lot to do with NG2 directly, as the game itself is done already.
"Also, I have four legs and am covered in wool. Baa!" *Legion* reveals his inner furry.
The guy is free marketing. I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft hire him.
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He's actually said he was unimpressed with Ninja Gaiden Sigma and that he thought it was poorly done. He wasn't involved with that project and I get the feeling from how he talks about it that whoever got it greenlit did so behind his back. That's probably why they talked Tecmo out of a 360 version. I watched Stylez beat Sigma on my PS3 and aside from some mid-level loading issues (which are also present in Ninja Gaiden 2), I thought it was a fine representation of the game and so did he. Itagaki's got no shortage of ego and I think a confrontation with his corporate overlords was inevitable. Thing is, he has a rabid fanbase and supposedly some very loyal staffers so I don't think he'll have any problem getting funding for what will effectively be an independent Team Ninja. I think Tecmo should be very worried that they've lost him.
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip
http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
If Microsoft was smart they'd snatch him up and give him a studio.
wordsmythe wrote:
That's a very big IF...
Fear the flames...
Microsoft is getting pretty desperate to get some successful AAA grade internal IP going so this would be a smart move. Aside from Halo, they haven't had anything huge from in-house in quite some time other than maybe Forza 2. Everything else that's been big and had their name on the box like Gears of War has been IP that they don't own. Thing is that while Team Ninja's games have done well, they've never been massive blockbusters and even Itagaki has no chance of giving Xbox more than a laughable position in Japan so they may not see the return as worth the investment, particularly with how badly they got burned with some of their more overpriced acquisitions like Rare. I could see them maybe giving him a multi-title publishing deal with enough of an advance to get his studio running. That might be the smarter way to go. It allows him to do his own thing but locks him down to Microsoft's consoles for a while.
Regardless, I suspect that we'll hear an announcement about his new studio being formed within a week of his last day at Tecmo. And given the level of success Tecmo's non-Team Ninja related titles have had, I don't see Tecmo lasting much longer. Ironically, Team Ninja was originally created as a last ditch effort to save Tecmo from bankruptcy back in the day and now they're pushing the guy who masterminded that out the door.
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip
http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
But Tecmo Bowl is being redone for the DS!!! That'll save 'em, won't it?
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I'm sure it'll do OK. I doubt it'd make a fiscal year.
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip
http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
1up has an interesting rumor...
Link
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
Ah, so if Microsoft was REALLY smart, they could have a pre-made studio in a matter of days, with very little work.
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
Yep. Microsoft should throw $10M at him and say "Go make Team Ninja Co., Ltd."
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip
http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
All 300 Tecmo employees sue. Not only were they not getting bonuses but they were also not getting vacation or overtime pay.
Ha! That's pretty incredible. Although, at-will employment doesn't guarantee overtime pay, at least in the US.
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