@riffleraffle: Well, when a corporation gets to the point where they feel it's better to save the money for their own exec bonuses, instead of compensating their workers, it's when they crash and burn. I've worked for many of those types of companies...and they don't exist anymore, even though they did great when they cared about the people making them money.

Darkest Daze

We get it, Itagaki. You can come back now. Pretty please? =)

Americo

Moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for...

@riffleraffle: Itagaka doesn't control the share price. What do you suggest he does, rolls over the takes it?

And the CEO won't go far without a viable company.

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.

@CatPope: @TheHun: You both can hand in your gamer badges at the door. I appreciate Itagaki's work as much as anyone (likely more than most), but all of those other Tecmo games Jashin mentioned are pure gold and deserve respect.

MattB

I don't think you people understand the implications of a ten percent drop. Folks, by sticking it the machine by making a public statement there's a good chance A LOT of people, both executive and creative, are going to lose their jobs. This isn't going to hurt the CEO of Tecmo at all. This is going to hurt the people who made Itigaki's games! I wouldn't be surprised if a good chunk of Team Ninja was laid off. Making a public statement first bashing HIS OWN TEAM that made Ninja Gaiden Sigma and the public quitting, in my eyes, destroys any sympathy I may have had for being bilked out of money. Because of his ego, it's not just him who will be losing money, it'll be his colleagues, friends, and team members. The CEO isn't going to go broke. The developers will.

riffleraffle

@Highlander Wolf:

Agreed.

dead_red_eyes

Maybe now we can have NG2 on PS3. *hope*

SsLordMagus

Oh yeah - respect to Itagaki. One for making great games, and one for standing up to corporate slime that owes him money. Respect the artists.

Highlander Wolf

Mission accomplished, Itagaki. Hope you feel good about hurting all of your colleagues in the name of sticking it to the President.

riffleraffle

...gawdem. That's a pretty F-ing big shuriken.

Highlander Wolf

@Jashin: no never heard of them! Temco might be done now.

Oh and Itagaki is not overrated. Anyone who makes games that score above 80 is not overrated.

TheHun

Actually... This says it best.

+ Watch video

Cola82

@Jashin: "Itagaki is a dick. I hope he becomes penniless, a hobo hits him with a brick and pisses on him."

That made my day. That and the JT disbarment article. Thank you.

NighTrekr

@Jashin: Hey now, I also care about gratuitous violence.

CatPope

Ouch.

Cola82

@GOLD5: Mature comment. Is being a virgin a bad thing by the way? Who cares if he is not.

I don't see why everybody's getting their panties in a twist just because he hates the guy. I'm sure he has his reasons, and he's entitled to his opinion like the rest of us.

Kenny

@Jashin: I've only heard of Fatal Frame of the games you listed, but I haven't played any of them. Itagaki has been very important to them over the past few years. Your personal distaste for him doesn't change that fact. I find it hard to imagine that no one else on Team Ninja is talented though, so I think they'll still make decent games. I'm not sure if any of their games will be great. The management doesn't seem to be very bright though. Is anyone really looking forward to Tecmo Bowl DS?

Spartan1308

@GOLD5: I'm not saying this to troll, but that in itself is pretty immature. The guy can have a strong opinion, especially since it's relevant to the topic. Chillax. ;)

mackincheese

@suya123: >>>:::(((

Kidding.
Besides, You have every right to object with that pheonix wright avatar....

*Rimshot*

scotty

Well, if Circuit City would get my game to me BEFORE the 20th (when they've estimated it will arrive) then I might care about this news.

As it stands, I have no idea how good Ninja Gaiden 2 is, and whether Itagaki deserves this treatment or not.

trelantana

@CatPope: Yeah I guess pseudo-gamers who only care about Ninjas and bouncing tits probably wouldn't have heard of those awesome series.

Jashin

@scotty: No offense to you Scotty, but this is just my preference. I simply do not enjoy DoA, or Ninja Gaiden either. I also simply don't like egotistical people. Therefore, I can rightfully say I detest Itagaki and all that he stands for. So, sorry if I offended you in any way.
@GOLD5: I'm not even out of High School yet. So, I'm going to ask: How is my 6 months compared to your time?

suya123

@Jashin: Rygar, Kagero Deception, Fatal Frame?: No?

I guess wikipedia is going to have to help me on this one.

CatPope

Like seriously, this is a surprise?

technical_ta

@sander_dutch: Classify this as an "oops" moment.

CatPope

Itagaki is a dick. I hope he becomes penniless, a hobo hits him with a brick and pisses on him.

and Itagaki is NOT Tecmo, Itagaki is a fucking overrated project lead. Ever hear of Monster Rancher, Rygar, Kagero Deception, Fatal Frame?

All great series and Itagaki didn't have shit to do with them. Good riddance.

Jashin

@Dorphat the Insomniac: Awesome haiku there. XD

FatCatLim

@Ichidou: I wouldn't want them to refuse to send over anymore JRPGs...[/sarcasm].

jihadjoe343

Justice Served

Spartan1308

@jihadjoe343: Shhh, they're japanese business men. I'm fairly certain they can mind-blast us from across the ocean.

Ichidou

Oops, that cost them US$ 2,200,000 actually.
Wow, Tecmo, I guess it would have been cheaper to keep this guy, even with sexual harrassment suits pending.
I mean, sexual harrassment suits in Japan shouldn't be that expensive. Most judges are pervs themselves probably ;)

sander_dutch

So obviously Tecmo felt that it was more financially viable to force out their top game designer who could potentially go back into the market against Tecmo rather than pay him a little over a million dollars for a game that he had a few years back.

Sometimes it feels like I could run a business better than these clowns.

jihadjoe343

@suya123: >>::((

scotty

Yowch. That hurts. A lot. Thinking about it now, it seems perfectly logical. I always associated Itagaki with Tecmo. No Itagaki = ... what the hell is Tecmo?

September

@suya123: Virgin? Or just haven't been laid in a while..

GOLD5

@Does Not Equal:

On can only hope.

Mikaze

WHAT!? PEOPLE ARE SELLING THEIR TECMO STOCK??

wow... I NEED ONE!!!

Ichidou

@Raziel Dune: If that happens goodbye exclusive NG and DOA

PogiJet

Haha, wow. Poor Tecmo. As long as they survive, then it's all good. :X

MetaKz

So this announcement has cost Tecmo around 220,000,000 Yen. That's about US$ 220,000 right?
I wonder how much the bonus would have cost them.

sander_dutch

Sweet! Let's see Gallop Racer keep the company afloat!

dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased

@Green-clad Gamer Dude:

I think it's fairly obvious that he knows "hate" is a strong word. The purpose of having strong words is to convey strong emotions. Considering he said he hated Itagaki and all he stands for, I would generally assume that he hates Itagaki and all Itagaki stands for. Just saying.

tzaketh

Put Team Deception team back into the spotlight, maybe?

Does Not Equal

everyone jump ship before it sinks!

bigman88zz

I have a lot faith in Tecmo. Once Team Ninja shows that they can make powerful games with Itagaki all will be right again. Right Mr. Ashcraft?

Sailorcancer

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko: nah his face just looks like a oatmeal cookie and he doesn't like oatmeal cookies.

Raziel Dune

Sorry all, but I seriously hate this guy's guts. He's everything I despise in a developer neatly tucked away in a single box. As well as his games.

suya123

@suya123: To much trolling?

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

Not surprising.

First thing I thought when I heard Itagaki was leaving was, that if I were an investor, I'd sell then and there.

Seeing their line-up, I doubt they'll ever meet stock prices they had with Itagaki.

GDW1017

@Mohrdikai:

Also, Ninja Gaiden 2 is AMAZING. What a swan song. Cept that camera...

akashhhhh

I am laughing.

Way to go Tecmo.

MarioMan2.0

Ninjas are silent assassins. Anger them and your stock will go down.

swirldude

"Shuriken to the stock market," man, I love Kotaku.

akashhhhh

@suya123: Woah, "hate" is a strong word you know.

Green-clad Gamer Dude

Wow. He may be a bit of a rockstar nutcase, but he's a rockstar nutcase with financial pull.

Mohrdikai

@suya123:

>:(

scotty

GOD DAMN someone stop this before EA buys them to!

Raziel Dune

Tsk tsk.
Up in the corporate world...nothing good comes out of breaking contracts.
Much less from being a jerk about it.

Coquiton

God I hate that man and I hate his games.

suya123

Itagaki is
Tecmo. Anyone surprised?
I'd sell my stock too.

Dorphat the Insomniac

So who didn't see this coming?

Jeff Paine

I'm sure it will go down even more when their first shitty game sans-Itegaki comes out.

GOLD5

Is it strange that it bothers me when people get personal when it comes to games? You want Itagaki to die homeless and be urinated upon, REALLY? What exactly has he, or any other developer for that matter, done to you? Except maybe pour their entire heart and soul into a game that they think is great, even if in actuality, the game always isn't.

In case you're wondering, the people you guys so casually shit on do read these comments...and they are human.

akashhhhh

the only games I have that are from Tecmo is the Fatal Frame Trilogy for PS2.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

@riffleraffle: If by his own team you mean some other people who also work at the company.

zPhreak

This is a bummer for all the non-rockstars working at Tecmo who put hard work into these games.

I don't quite know how to feel about Itagaki, but the guy can rub me the wrong way sometimes.

phinehas

Excuse me, i have to go and buy some Tecmo stock right now.

clifftrapremover

@UmeShoryu:

I mean, that's fine or whatever. But like, for example, the other day some dude on the Harmonix boards said he wished the Harmonix guys had avatars in GTA4 so he could blow their heads off. All because he didn't like the DLC.

I think we take fanboyism too far sometimes, is all.

akashhhhh

@akashhhhh: How can you be surprised by this? It's the fanboy phenomenon. Look up fanboy/gamer/otaku on Encyclopedia Dramatica and everything will be explained to you.

UmeShoryu

o_O

10%? That's huge impact. Itagaki must be laughing his arse off somewhere. I guess Japan isn't used to see employees suing companies in public like this? Let's see how much further the stock drops in next few days after this hitting financial news.

ara

Bullshit to most of you. In the long run they'll be far better off without him.
Now they can actually start selling these franchises to their core audience and make some real money off of them.
360 was never the place for hardcore fighters, quirky japanese games and super hardcore 3D beatemups.

I'd love to see the next DOA Xtreme hit the Wii.
DOA needs to hit up PS3 where the d-pad is useable.
And Ninja Gaiden shall be sacrificed to the gods of whoring out your flagship IP.

Bastard11

I don't know how much Tecmo is worth, but I'm assuming the 10% in value will by a very large margin exceed whatever "completion bonus" they refused to pay Itagaki.

Also, what notable franchises, not counting Tecmo Bowl and the Team Ninja games, does Tecmo actually own and produce?

And don't jump on Wiki or GameFAQs do copy/paste/answer my question, because I'm asking you as a gamer for franchises that matter.

Blue_Six

@Jashin: I'm familiar with all of those titles, and no offense, but they don't sell for dick in the States. Rygar is an also-ran, and Monster Rancher is a dead property in most parts of the world. Kagero is really niche, and the last one had really limited scope-- what's the market for middling dungeon deathtrap design sims, anyway? And Fatal Frame is their marquee non-Itagaki title? That's a dim financial outlook-- come on, admit it. When it comes to sales, Itagaki leaving is going to kick Tecmo in the fucking nuts.

wild homes

@wild homes: You're probably correct in your assessment, but personally I really liked most of those games as do many others in the small group that actually know about them. Kagero II: Dark Illusion (aka Trapt) was cheesy as anything, but is still one of the few PS2 games I've had any desire to replay and I've been hanging out for another one. Fatal Frame (aka Project Zero) is a bit better known and to be is one of the better series in that genre. I do with Tecmo would end their exclusive Xbox 360 releases though.

MattB

@Bastard11:

lol yeah. doa xtreme on wii. not sure a system that most parents know and would buy for their kids would accept a game as "stacked" as the doa series.

good job tecmo. if i was itagaki id force tecmo to pay me that 10% in stock price drop as a settlement just to stick it to the lame ceo cuz we all know that the 10% isnt going to be the end of this. not by a long shot.

maraxusofk

@Jashin: Good series maybe, none of them great sellers.

interstate78

Oh yeah, on the Tecmo Bowl side of things. Yeah it's their property, but it has been dead in the water for sometime. The new version for the DS is from a western developer, and it seems that the idea was pitched to them externally... As in some dude from a small development house approached Tecmo and said we'd like to make a new version of Tecmo Bowl for the DS, savvy? I remember this from some dev interview on gametrailers and some other article. I may be wrong though.

zzt

@Bastard11: Was he the only reason those games were 360 exclusive? It'd be nice to see some of DOA come to PS3. I've never really played much of it (since DOA tag team or whatever on PS2) and only really hear about the boobies and nothing else.

everybest

Team Ninja needs to split from Tecmo entirely

TheNocturnalSun

Geez, some of the people posting comments here just don't get it, bashing the guy on a personal basis.

Regardless if Itadaki's a dick, prima-donna or rockstar - put yourself in his shoes. Now talk to the president after completing a game you have put your heart and soul into, ask why you still haven't received a previous bonus for DOA4 (given the fact that you have developed 3 games already since it was released)... Now here's the kicker, the president says no (when it's well within his power), belittles you, talks shit about you in front of your co-workers and subordinates, then smugly states if you really want it, sue me.

Um, if I was in Itadaki's shoes, hell yes I would. How would anyone want to work for a company that treats you like that.

On another note, thinking about the timing on how this all went about. I wonder if the president may have made promises or even suggested to talk about the DOA4 bonus when Itadaki completes NG2. Wouldn't be hard to believe, if true, I'd think Itadaki has even more right to be upset. Notice that much of the hatred in Itadaki's statement is directed at the president, not Tecmo itself.

I doubt the president of Tecmo thought hard enough about his decision to treat Itadaki how he did. Actually, I don't think the executive branch thinks things through either, with that public statement of their's where they admit that they made a promise of a bonus, talk about digging your own grave. Dumb!

zzt

It looks like it dropped about 120-140 yen or so. Thats only about 1.25-1.50 drop per share. Not exactly catastrophic. ;)

PrivateJ0ker

Itagaki as a person is not someone I would ever want in my company under any circumstances.

Itagaki as a figure in the gaming news, however, is a delightful source of near-constant drama and excitement. I hope he stays in the industry, simply because it's so fun to read about his antics and the ripple effects they sometimes cause.

For those in his immediate peripheral, though.... OUCH.

ParanoidIndividual

@MattB: I'm not trying to dismiss any of those titles as being bad. Far from it. I enjoy both Monster Rancher and Kagero, and I respect Fatal Frame quite a bit even if it creeps me out too much to actually enjoy playing it. Rygar I could take or leave, but as an IP I will always remember the old-school versions fondly. I was merely pointing out to what's-his-face that from a sales standpoint, Itagaki IS Tecmo.

wild homes

@sander_dutch:
no dumbass it's 2.1 million...and itagakis bonus was 1.2 million.

vig0r

I wish I could say that I read this headline as "After Itagaki denouement, The World's Balls Drop" without looking like a fat liar.

108

Rygar. Seem to remember it was an old sidescrolling platform/beat'em up with a guy who threw his shield. Had it for the Lynx or gamegear, if I remember. My Dad used to buy a couple of games for whatever platform he was gonna be working on to see what other people had done on it. Good think I didn't have to pay, it sucked.

Kogoro's deception... wasn't that the oddball game where you're a princess setting up traps in a castle or something for the ps1 (or was it ps2?)? Nrver played it because it just sounded stupid. If I want to set traps I'll go play Dungeon Keeper 1 or 2.

Monster rancher and fatal frame? Meh. Never bought a version of either.

All that being said, Just because one producer is leaving doesnt' mean they're gonna lose the series' he's worked on. Odds are they'll still keep putting out NG's and DOA's. And most buyers probably won't even notice (or care) he's gone. If anything I'd say this drop in price is more a reaction to the apparently bad business practices of Tecmo. Seriously, admitting here was an agreement but not paying because it was made by previous administration? huh? I'd sell any stock I had in a company run by that person too.

GnatB

[www.gamefaqs.com]

I won't bother looking myself, but how well have Tecmo's other franchises done within the same time frame as Itagaki's works, and relatively (and as a whole) to Itagaki's?

Even if Tecmo's other stuff is good, apparently it's not even well known enough, or just really dead like Monster Rancher.

Plan303e

@wild homes: Sure, and I agree with you. I guess it just saddens me a little that Tecmo's other good work gets largely overlooked by the public at large. I say that taking nothing away from Itagaki though, he's probably my favourite industry figure even if I don't always agree with what he says.

MattB

@vig0r:

The stock price represents the companies value on the secondary market (probably traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange). Tecmo doesn't actually lose an amount equivalent to its decrease in market capitalization (the amount all of the stocks that are publically issues are worth cummulatively). It can effect individual stock holders, and may also effect some people on the inside of the company. It doesn't actually make Tecmo lose any money at all, unless they were holding stock internally and planned to sell it very soon (or had too).

PrivateJ0ker

Tecmo's dead. They'll join Atari.

Even if he's brash and egotistic, the market's spoken and acknowledges Itagaki as Tecmo's driving force as of late.

Plan303e

Hey Tecmo have Monster Rancher too right

...I like Monster Rancher

Especially the 2

... Come on Tecmo

MonsterKingRen

Graphic is a little dramatic, but it was a major drop nonetheless.
You know, it was 10%... some 120 points dropping it little bellow 1000.
But still.
I dunno about this... maybe Tecmo can pull the games out without Itagaki. Who really knows what part was he playing on the actual development?

One thing the Yoshimi guy said that is really truth is that Itagaki wasn't making the game by himself... he had a whole team behind him.

I really don't like this new age of giving some developers the status of celebrities while ignoring the team behind them.. but them again, I really don't like celebrities, pop stars, and all that idolatrazing culture shit.

Only problem is, since Team Ninja and Tecmo MADE the guy their image, there's no way they could escabe intact from this.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

Y'know, this whole incident has probably got Tecmo's shareholders and associates thinking- if the company head blatantly broke contract and screwed over his star developer, who knows what else he could do?

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.

Buy Tecmo.

jsf49

This just shows how much itagaki meant to to Tecmo and Team ninja. Im not saying he was the only person making Ng and DOA but he was a major part in creating those games.

Haber

@riffleraffle: Well said.

electricmine

Ouch, that's a pretty big drop.

D-Sovereignty

What itagaki stands for that so many people here claim to hate? A japanese man that behaves like a western one? Weeaboo much people?

He's in his own right to sue Tecmo, this is business.. not love.

TheurerDiciple

Holy crap. Itagaki really showed them hows it's done. Hes genius cannot be faulted, just look how in a few days he turned Tecmo from games publisher/designer into soap opera drama queen. Good stuff!

Anyway, I love Tecmos, all the way back to Silkworm and Gemini wing, in the Amiga 500. theyve been along my videogame player life since the beggining, I do wish them the best and hope this thing gets settled before any more harm is done to their public and market image.

Shiryu

you get what you give eh Tecmo ?

BaloniMan

@wild homes:
Oh hell... Monster Rancher! That game was weeks-worth of fun! One of my favorites from the PS1. Forgot that was a Tecmo game... oh noes.

Highlander Wolf

@riffleraffle:

The 10% drop only affects people who sell the stock or any contracts secured with the stock value. Just because the stock price went down one day doesn't mean Tecmo no longer has the cashflow to pay bills and remain in normal operation. I, for one, think that the stock equity of a company should never be counted on the books as part of its value. The market is already manipulated, and when you look at companies that had high stock prices and hadn't turned a profit in several years (like the dot com boom) it's easy to see why I feel that way.

peacefuloutrage

Mark my words if Itagaki doesn't start up his own studio in the near future(and likely take many team Ninja with him), theere'll be a bidding war from the many studios that'll want him in their stable.

Sugaray

(¥1102-¥908) = ¥194 (per share)

¥194 * 24,900,000 = ¥4,830,600,000 (Total Loss)

¥4,830,600,000 = $45,663,661.80

Sorwah

This is what happens when you have a lack of creative diversity...having a guy who acts like a rock star is good for publicity apparently, but when you invest so much of the company's image in one person, then you piss that person off and they leave in a very public manner, things like this are bound to happen. I can't say which side is right, but Tecmo better keep the rest of Team Ninja happy. I'm not really fond of Itagaki's games, but he is entertaining. It will be interesting to see if the Team succeeds without him.

ShadowMoses

awesome news. i hope they continue to suffer until they honor their agreements.

AgainstOne

Gosh... So what else are you meant to do when your boss steps on you? Do you really expect to sit around and sulk while you continue to get slaved and owned?

Ultrasinc

@stargateheaven: Exactly, that's the way to think. If Tecmo made the original Ninja Gaiden games without him on the NES, before he joined in 1992, they can pull it off now. Without Tecmo, there wouldn't be a Ninja Gaiden series.

electricmine

I'm glad he's gone, he made okay games, but the whole company make better ones!

stargateheaven

@suya123: Totally agree. How can you like an ego driven bastard who bashes on every single other good game that's not his, games made by his goddamn own colleagues, and basically has a "my games rock, every other game sucks" mentality? Someone can only go so far.

I mean, both of his main franchises are pretty subpar in their genre. DOA is just a boob-fest, mediocre fighter, IMO. Ninja Gaiden is a game that's stupidly hard because of it's control scheme, and stupid placement of save points.

I guess he got his panties in a bunch cause the maximum he's ever scored making a game is 94 in Gamerankings, while GTA4 made a whopping 98.

Also, fuck Tecmo's president. Because of his stupid decision, a lot of people that had nothing to do with this will be losing jobs. Greedy bastard.

FlameEye

The only way Tecmo can get their stock up is announce new DOA: Petz for DS and Ninja Gaiden Party for Wii.

gencid

Employees are always the ones to get burned. Very rarely do we ever see it happen to the employer.

Stick it to'em Itagaki, stick it to'em!

Tecmo, unless the come up with something real quick, is going to be wishing they had paid the man his due.

...wonder how much lower Tecmo's stock will drop should he quickly get picked up by someone else or make his own company????

American_N_Japan

Itadaki is a self-obsessed, self-concerned bastard and everyone knows it.
Still, if he was indeed promised some bonuses, but got dissed by the CEO(or whatever) instead, it his right to sue the company.

neojam

@Jashin:Monster Rancher? lol, it's dead, it hasn't been worth a darn thing in years and the sales reflect it. So do the games because there's been a huge sucking sound in the MR game series for -years-

Rygar and Deception are just as dead and their sales, even the redone Rygar were nothing special.

Fatal Frame is likely the only game out of that list making any real money. You may sneer, but for the last number of years, Tecmo has pretty much stood on the heads of Itagaki and Team Ninja's results alone. They made the games that sold to more then a group of nerds and now that their leader is leaving and publicly kicking over the table while leaving, shit's hitting the fan.

Foxstar Sixtail

@stargateheaven:
Too bad nobody plays these "better ones."

@electricmine:
Itagaki's Ninja Gaiden by any other name would still rock as hard. cue wailing guitar

Izkariot

Of course he went public to either panic them with social pressure or crash their stocks. So, is it better to stick to principles and not pay him company money the company promised, or just dish it and keep the company going?

@Jashin:
Yes. All quite old now. I heard Fatal Frame was fun for a small subset of survival horror fans? But Monster Rancher and Kagero - meh. Monster Rancher was kind of Barcode Battler with graphics. Kagero was... not fun. Rygar? Not that notable, and I think 22 years is a bit out of range.

Sorry, but like him or not, without Itagaki, Tecmo's just another Jaleco.

fuchikoma

Having posted this very request for stock info in the original thread (with Itagaki's announcement letter; I was somewhere on page 3, in the 200s), I'm glad to see someone on Kotaku's staff agreed and shared this with us. Thanks!

I think a 10% drop hurts, but it could have been a lot worse, and I don't anticipate that it's going to keep falling because for each investor who panics and sells his shares there's going to be one just like a lot of you who thinks, "Man! Now's the time to buy while all these fools are panicking!"

Looking forward to next week when I anticipate we will be hearing something along the lines of "board votes to oust CEO and reimburse Itagaki; charges dropped". As many have already said, the investors dropping out probably has more to do with lost trust in the CEO's business ethics than in Itagaki leaving. The money's not following Itagaki, so to speak: it's running from Yasuda.

ryohazuki

When do you stand up to something even when it's going to cost you more than if you had paid it off? Techmo will lose more than the bonus.

karateka

Itagaki did it right. He put himself into a position where he became a name brand himself. Once you get to that point, you become almost invincible in a way. Employers try not to let this happen to much because they don't want an employee that they feel they cannot do without.

Knoxximus (360/PSN)

Expected.

@FlameEye: Itagaki has been quoted on liking lots of games, including GTA, God of War, Virtua Fighter, EDF, and Zone of Enders. If he thinks a game sucks, he'll say so. If he likes a game, he'll say so. And he'll say why, too.

There are just certain people who love to focus on the negative and only the negative. AKA the press and fanboys. But that's the name of the game... fame.

Xiedo

@Xiedo: Ahhh, seems I was only getting half of the truth, then. Well, I don't really read much outside of Kotaku, so I didn't know that.

My opinion still stands, though, as talking like that of one of your "subordinates" is just messed up, especially since "his" Team Ninja was also behind it, and the game didn't really do that bad either (and actually scored better than his latest NG II). There's no "i" in team, and he should be reminded that.

FlameEye

Without Itagaki, I don't think Tecmo has much left

mcool93