Being away from Tecmo seems to have done wonders for Tomonobu Itagaki's attitude. In an E3 interview with 1UP's James Mielke, the former Team Ninja head said he was "very honored and pleased to be of service" in response to the suggestion that Ninja Blade was a close imitation of Ninja Gaiden. He admitted he was "pretty tired" of making games featuring super-unrealistic women. He even went so far as to praise Tekken 6 director Katsuhiro Harada, only hating on Tekken when pressed.

And rather than harbor hard feelings against his former Team Ninja colleagues who stayed on with Tecmo, Itagaki offered well wishes to the team and its Metroid: Other M project. He called Yoshio Sakamoto, Nintendo's producer on the game, "a veteran I really respect," and suggested that Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi "will learn a lot working with him. I hope Team Ninja works hard in making a good game." We like Nice Itagaki!

The only ire was reserved for Bayonetta. "If I made a similar game as a game I made in the company I quit," he said about Platinum's Hideki Kamiya, "people would say, 'What an idiot, can't he make anything else?' Well, that is more or less the opinion I have for, uh, that Bayo-something game."

During a recent interview with 1UP, ex-Tecmo employee and leather lover Tomonobu Itagaki (along with comrades Hiroaki Matsui, Katsunori Ehara, and Yoshifuru Okamoto) iterated that he is returning to gaming, and will be backed up by a brand new team on a project for a future game. Unfortunately, we won't see anything on this new game at next week's E3, although Itagaki did confirm he would be in attendance.

The new company is tentatively called "Tokyo Vikings" (how ... appropriate) and is largely comprised of ex-Team Ninja staff, including a majority of the folks who worked on Ninja Gaiden 2. Surprisingly, his new team even managed to snag some key character designers from Virtua Fighter 5.

Itagaki was overall pretty tight-lipped about the new team and its mystery project, but did confirm that it wouldn't be a fighting game, as Itagaki is sure he's hit the ceiling there with Dead or Alive 4. He wouldn't comment on whether it would be an Xbox 360 exclusive, or heading to other consoles such as the PS3, but his past affiliations with Microsoft might suggest a likely path for his future games.

According to former Tecmo employee and Team Ninja leader Tomonobu Itagaki (Dead or Alive series, Ninja Gaiden Sigma), developing for the PS3 is easy-peasy. "I don't think that developing for the PS3 is hard at all. It was much harder developing for the Famicom," Itagaki told 1UP. "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."

For the longest time now, developers have been struggling with getting a hang of the PS3 hardware; for Itagaki, it's apparently nothing more than shooting the breeze on a Tuesday. So Itagaki-san, want to develop again for the PS3 and show these fools how it's done? It's been a while hasn't it?

Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda pulled a Mr. Hudsucker (minus the dying) and has left the company citing personal reasons. GI.biz reports his sword will be taken up by chairman of the board Yahuharu Kakihara as of Sept. 1.

Yasuda's personal reasons for leaving Tecmo might have something to do with the lawsuit brought by Ninja Gaiden's leather aficionado developer, Tomonobu Itagaki. Tecmo took a hit to its stock following Itagaki's departure (and subsequent fallout), so this changing of the guard might be a sign that the company is ready to clean up the mess and move on.

Much like a war that rages on for centuries, the struggle between Tomonobu Itagaki and his almost-former (July 1) employer, Tecmo, continues. The latest volley in this exchange between parties shows Tecmo bashing the lawsuit, claiming the details are "inaccurate."

Within the statement, Tecmo is quick to point out that all of Team Ninja's employees aren't following their leader and quitting. Tecmo also says that all 300 employees aren't filing lawsuits against the company.

For the rest from Tecmo's official statement, we suggest you head past the post break.

Man, things are crazy at Tecmo. Itagaki leaves (and sues), then Tecmo responds (and stocks plummet), then just about everyone at Tecmo sues their employer. Now, Tecmo has dropped a suppression order on Tomonobu, which would prohibit him from making any other public statements about what's going down.

The thing was filed on June 10th and seeks to prohibit Itagaki from:

• Talking about, destroying or leaking any Tecmo secrets concerning software, development or marketing
• Making false or misleading statements regarding Tecmo's business practices or other games
• Saying anything to defame Tecmo
  
• Making public statements about Tecmo in any way, as well as accepting media invitations to discuss Tecmo while still employed (July 1st)

[Via Joystiq]

In an effort to quell widespread rumors surrounding the business practices of the company, Tecmo has filed an injunction against former Team Ninja lead Tomonobu Itagaki. Filed in a Tokyo District Court, the injunction places a four-point gag order on Itagaki, effectively removing his opinion from the public forum beyond his existing comments on the matter against Tecmo.

The provisional disposition prohibits:

• 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
• Interviews regarding Tecmo or discuss the company and its practices to the press

In a statement made today, Tecmo has vehemently denied recent reports that dozens of Team Ninja employees have resigned in the wake of Itagaki's announcement and a lawsuit has been filed against the company on behalf of its 300 employees. Calling the reports "groundless" and "inaccurate," Tecmo has asked the media to approach the situation with a fair and balanced view. We'll update the story as details emerge, however, as proven by the injunction against Itagaki it looks like Tecmo would like to silence anyone who could shed light on the situation.

[via Talking About Games & Joystiq]

We thought it was bad when Tomonobu Itagaki left Tecmo, but little did we know it was about to get much, much worse. As rumored over the weekend, employees of the company are suing for unpaid bonuses. Well, it's not exactly the same as the weekend rumor, which said the lawsuit would come from three dozen or so higher ups. No, apparently the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of all 300 of the company's employees. A Famitsu article on the subject also says the suit complains of employees not getting holiday and overtime pay that they are owed.

So, in short, Tecmo is eating itself. You may now carry on with your day.

[Via X3F]

After Itagaki decided to leave due to unpaid bonuses, it looked as though things might just end with that. Then came the rumor that around three dozen employees would follow suit. Now it seems like Tecmo has been dismembered and is just waiting for the inevitable OT. A lawsuit was filed in Tokyo District Court just yesterday on behalf of all 300 of Tecmo's remaining employees, and according to one translation claims that "Tecmo has falsified documents and accounting procedures in regards to employment statuses, overtime pay and various lapses in employment standards when filing documents for labor inspections."

Additionally, a Famitsu article on the same topic also notes that employees were not getting their overtime pay, nor were they well-compensated for working on public holidays. The Google Translation of the original Japanese story is a bit dry and difficult to follow (as is to be expected from a computer translation) but specific words such as "forge" and "impersonation" hint at the kind of trouble Tecmo could be facing before this is all over.

Whatever happens, we just hope that the talent from Tecmo's various projects all end up alright and get the compensation they deserve. We're certainly no experts, but from what we hear, Japanese game devs (heck, game devs in general) are run pretty ragged and really do deserve their bonuses ...

[Via NeoGAF]

Wait, you mean there's actually a rumor today that didn't come from the infamous survey? Yup, indeed there is. This one comes to us from the good folks over at 1up who have been keeping their collective ears to the ground for just this purpose. Apparently, when Tomonobu Itagaki left Tecmo for not receiving his bonus, key members of the team realized just how badly they'd been shafted, and left as well.

So now the word is that they've all filed individual lawsuits of their own in response to not receiving their bonuses either. If Microsoft was smart they'd grab all these guys and give them a studio and game right away. Or maybe (despite what time and space may have to say about it) they already have ...

Losing one of your company's most recognizable figureheads, especially one whose name is so closely associated with most of your best-selling properties, is bound to put a damper on things around the office. However, that last statement assumes that there are still people in the office -- 1UP recently printed a rumor that as many as three dozen Team Ninja higher-ups could be leaving the company following Tomonobu Itagaki's resignation, and will sue Tecmo to gain unpaid bonuses for the games they've completed (much like the class-action suit Itagaki planned to file against the company following his departure).

1UP's source for the rumor was the ever-present "word on the street", though that's likely just rumorese for "we have an inside source". Whoever it may be, we doubt it's the same hopeful Tecmo higher-up who recently assured the public that Team Ninja was going to be just fine, as losing your poster boy, a heartbreaking amount of stock market value, and supposedly, a healthy portion of your workforce in such a short period of time would surely make any game developer feel anything but.

Ladies and gentlmen, fanboys and girls, Xbox 360 Fanboy presents the Ninja Gaiden II page. This is our first page dedicated to a single game (you may have seen similar pages on Joystiq). On the page you will find all the major Ninja Gaiden II news stories, every Ninja Gaiden II screenshot, and all the Ninja Gaiden II features compiled into a single, bookmark-friendly page. The page will be updated as time goes on to include other features and stories as well (including an upcoming episode of Points>Life). This is only the first dedicated game page on X3F. Expect more to show up in the future. With major 360 exclusives right around the corner (Gears of War 2, Fable 2), there's plenty to cover.

For all things Ninja Gaiden II, check out the page right now.

Now that Ninja Gaiden 2 developer Tomonobu Itagaki has departed from Tecmo and Team Ninja (and left a lawsuit in his stead), our friends at X3F have compiled a retrospective on Itagaki's career with the company. From his beginnings as a programmer for Tecmo Bowl, through Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden and all the way to his departure, everything is covered.

Join us as we take a stroll through memory lane and examine the games, the controversies and the impending future of Tomonobu Itagaki. Click here, get educated.

It looks like the departure of Tomonobu Itagaki from Tecmo is doing more than upsetting fans of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. It seems as though Itagaki's exit has worried Tecmo stockholders on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as well. According to GameSpot, shares in the company fell sharply on Wednesday upon the news. Upon closing on Tuesday, Tecmo's shares stood at ¥1,102 ($10.40). Shares fell to ¥985 ($9.30) upon opening Wednesday. The stock rose and fell throughout the day today, closing at ¥982 ($9.27). Ouch.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues without Itagaki at the helm of Team Ninja.

With the news of his recent departure and the release of his final swan-song to the Ninja Gaiden series, Tomonobu Itagaki has had an amazing career.

We've already tackled the history of Ninja Gaiden in our previous retrospective, A History of Violence, but this time we're going back to look at one of Ryu's most influential allies.

In this special feature we look back at the history of the man and how he helped re-shape Tecmo in the early 90s to the company they are today. Join us as we take a stroll through memory lane and examine the games, the controversies and the impending future of Tomonobu Itagaki.

Continue reading Tomonobu Itagaki: A Blood Splattered History