Is there any chance that itgaki and tecmo could end up destroying each other? PLEASE!! Even though there hasnt been anything presented yet, just claims, it seems like itgaki is in the right based on half of tecmo claiming the same thing. Its just i really hate that asshole.

snakepliskin

"you don't have reasonable cause to fire me!" "YOU'RE SUING OUR ASSES AND TARNISHING OUR PUBLIC FACE!" "...I know you are but what am I? >.>" "....what?"

demonknightinuyasha

Terminated without a reasonable cause? what?

djricekcn

Itagaki SHOULD have been fired after using the same awful camera system in NG2. Terrible.

stradric

Tecmo sucks end of story pay the man his money and maybe he can get to doin better things such as buying out sega and giving us dreamcast 2...yup yup yup

Jnkzm4

In other news, Japanese Companies are acting like American Companies.

*SHOCK*

Captiosus

@Demonbird:
I believe it's only slander if it's untrue. If he wins the case, then that presumably means it is true, therefor not slander. Thus he wasn't slandering. Thus they had no cause to fire him. Thus he's entitled to that money as well. If he doesn't win the case, then that means it was slander, thus they had reason to fire him, thus he isn't entitled to that money.

Seems to me like you may as well include that money. (Most companies, incidentally, are smart enough NOT to fire somebody under these circumstances, as it typically makes them look guilty and generally lowers public opinion of them. Case in point.)

GnatB

@Jechticknight: Yes, he was sued, but he won the lawsuit against him. Just because a person accuses you of an action doesn't make it true.

Itagaki was the one who wanted to go to trial against Tecmo's wishes, probably because it was a personal affront, and his image is still suffering even after he was found innocent.

What is truly sad is the number of people who feel Itagaki is an asshole because he wears sunglasses indoors and doesn't release his games for their favorite platform. And for those petty reasons, they feel he should be treated poorly, he shouldn't be paid as he was told, and he should just have to find another was to FEED HIS FAMILY.

peacefuloutrage

@Demonbird:

They fired him before he announced the lawsuit, he worked for them for free? SO TECMO is the right. Skewed logic you have very skewed logic. So they fired him without any mention of him being fired? This is real life not Office Space.

So let me put this in your perspective. Tecmo is allowed to fire him at June the 18th to get out of paying out the bonuses and incentives then rehire him a couple day later so he can make games for them again. Then fire him again to when he releases them and the cycle continues, not right not right at all.

PirateMan

@Sinfwho:
Nah. If I'm reading that right, it was his summer/yearly bonus. Not just his salary for that month. Still a nice chunk of change though, but not indicitive of his actual salary. Seems odd to sue your company less than a month BEFORE you're scheduled to get your yearly bonus though...

@Aurvant: Nah, last I saw his evidence placed the blame squarely on the current pres. Tecmo/The Prez's defense is that the agreement was with the old prez, so they/he isn't bound by it. The old pres may have had every intent to fulfill the contract. New prez is the guy who (according to Itagaki) apparently decided to chuck out all the existing agreements.

GnatB

@juc: Which is exactly the reason that I'm glad a well-to-do, well-known person is heading up the cause. Unfortunately, if this weren't Itagaki or a similarly well-publicized character, it would not hold receive as much attention and could be swept under the rug in short time.

Tecmo is afforded their right to clear things up in the trial, and I'm willing to accept that Itagaki's charges may not be 100% truth. The upside is that this IS a problem in the industry and it IS getting much-needed attention for the people that fuel our hobby.

Omnimon

@kingmanic:

Again you allowed your personal judgement affect your hobby. You can pick up NG II for quite cheap if you look at a certain site.

IMHO you should actually play the NG Series they are really quite good. Don't let the Magazines tell you otherwise its a really fast pace, bloody game.

PirateMan

@Aurvant: "It took having NGS being made by Hayashi just to get a Tecmo game being released on the PS3. So, if Itagaki leaving means better chances of seeing more multi-platform games then I'm all for it."

That's like saying that it took having MGS2:Substance being developed by a different team (instead of Kojima Productions) to get the game released on Xbox. The decision have NGS on PS3 was amicable (Itagaki was tied up with NG2 at the time). As it was a strategy to get PS3 owners interested in the sequel (NG2) on 360. Team Ninja never develops for multiple consoles at a time, as it could make for a diluted end result in a product (ala a Ubisoft multiplat game). Itagaki's no more of a fanboy than Kojima is.

A company's future is possibly at stake and all of you can think of is their games coming out to your favorite console. Put your fanboy differences aside for once.

beem

@Demonbird: It's only trash talk if it is not true. Statement of fact, however, is another story.

If you call a sane person a raving lunatic, that's talking trash. If you call a raving lunatic a raving lunatic, that is fact.

peacefuloutrage

@excel_excel: Slow day at work, the presses for my newsletter are running at record rates. :/

Omnimon

@Aurvant: My understanding is that this sort of thing actually happens at a fair number of studios.
Generally people are afraid to do anything about it because they're afraid that no other companies will hire them (since again a lot of studios appear to do this sort of thing).

Winning labour cases against companies that are being underhanded with their employees and acting in a manner outside of the law, is a way in which things may start to change for the better.

Sadly studios don't seem to change unless something bad happens that forces them to change (like EA spouse for instance)

juc

@Omnimon: thats ok, your comments in this article are pretty damn interesting and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter!

excel_excel

Should team up with Romero and make Daikatana 2

Dits

@excel_excel: Sorry, inflection and the internet... bitter enemies since Al Gore booted up the web-bot. :p

Omnimon

@Aurvant: I really don't have an opinion one way or the other on Itagaki or Tecmo, from a personal opinion point of view. I do know that the evidence presented thus far looks like there's a large group of people over at Tecmo that were taking the proverbial pole on promised bonuses.

Having very close friends that work in development (and in other depts.), and knowing what they sacrifice and go through with the promise of a bonus IF certain metrics (usually sales) are met, it really gets me fired up to see that a company would allegedly reneg on their promise.

How would you feel about working 60-70 hour weeks, sometimes 7 days a week, on salary with no overtime, only the carrot of a bonus being put out there, releasing the game, meeting the metrics set for bonus, and then having it yanked away? it's not like these people are in sales and have variable compensation plans that are tied to the sale of product. Management will use bonuses as a carrot, and as soon as the terms are met and the bonus is not fulfilled, someone needs to be held accountable.

Omnimon

@Heliophage:
When he went and spoke to the press badmouthing Tecmo it became an issue of public slander. He harmed the company.
Want proof that he hurt Tecmo? Look at all the negative sentiment here and the earlier reports from a mostly one sided story.
You don't walk out and tell the public how bad your companies executives are and how they are liars. You get FIRED.

Demonbird

@PsycheE: I am generally unfazed by exaggerated drawings of people done by hack artists at county fairs.

He does appear to be a Caricature of a normal person though, with all the fake tan and chains.

zenpoet

The story doesn't interest me that much. I'm not much of a legal eagle-- always preferred the humanities, myself-- but I have to ask one question. Is that a baby-faced McWhertor out-Itagakiing Itagaki in the photo? Vista just opened up a User Account Control prompt asking me your current display settings cannot handle all the masculinity in this image, attempt to view in black and white? No wonder they always held E3 in such a large hall-- too much Itagaki in a small space would be like spray painting inside a locker. There'd be developers and journalists passing out all over the place.

wild homes works for the IRS, journalises games!

@Omnimon: er....I was joking?

excel_excel

@PsycheE: Actually, he was sued for sexual harassment by a worker IN Tecmo..So you know...thats not really ethical.

Jechticknight

I've never been a fan of Itagaki, mostly because of his attitude... but I hope he wins this. He's produced some games that I enjoyed, and a contract is a contract.

This man is going to get paid... and I hope he starts his own company with the newly acquired assets.

Tenth

@Aurvant: You can read about the other suit here on Kotaku. The another suit represents all 300 Tecmo employees, not just few people.

ara

The latest Itagaki post is down, but I'd just like to say - and I'm not sure why - but I'm in full support of Itagaki here.

Go on, sir!

sir_carrot

@skrame ☆: "There has been no proof of a contract. The guy has lied about quitting/ being fired."

He made the press announcement June 2nd and was planning to leave July 1st, but was fire June 18th, so at the time of making the announcement he had no idea he was about to get fired. And details about the contract are already posted as another article, though it seems to be broken at the moment.

ara

@Demonbird:

It's a lawsuit, not slander. You are right that we haven't seen how he was at work, though, but seeing as though he allegedly wasn't even given a reason as to why he was fired, I'm doubtful that he did anything worthy of termination while at work.

Heliophage

@Omnimon: Ah, that makes more sense.

Still, should everyone be screaming "down with Tecmo" though? If they own him and a few people money then they'll probably end up forking it over, but I don't wish that Tecmo should go out of business. Hell, if anything, I'm glad to see Itagaki go because a lot of his business was dealt solely on limiting it to one console.

It took having NGS being made by Hayashi just to get a Tecmo game being released on the PS3. So, if Itagaki leaving means better chances of seeing more multi-platform games then I'm all for it.

But still, Tecmo should pay him if they own him.

Aurvant

I would want him to win, if he deserved the money. He does not deserve the money, because new management came in, and did not pay him his bonuses. But they can do this, by law.

Stick34

If I wasn't convinced I'm tired due to medical reasons, this dispute would be enough to bring on the snores.

Anarchist_Gamer

but does tecmo still hold the creative rites to DOA?

Rage142

@skrame ☆: I haven't played an Itagaki game in... ages. My support is behind game devs and bringing attention to an industry-wide labor issue.

If you had followed the cases to this point, which you clearly have not, you would have already seen documents falsified by Tecmo, you would know who made commitments and to whom, and you would present a more intelligent opinion rather than using disparaging comments such as, "He's a degenerate who happens to work on decent games."

Omnimon

This again?

KM91

@Ashurahori:I didn't know his personal hobbies were weighed into his compensations.This man has done everything by the books, works professionally with ethics whilst working for Tecmo.

Once he leaves the building and becomes a smokin, wheelin-dealin-junkie; people should not care less. If his persona just right down turns you off and his products, as many are, that is fine too. But in this case, he delivered everything needed for the incentives and bonus that Itagaki and his crew deserves; as written on paper.

If wherever you work pays wages/dividends based solely on your character profile, then I should become a multi-billionare with my super friendly smile.

PsycheE

Screw Tecmo!I hope Itagaki san wins

cxplorer

@excel_excel: I LOL'ed!

MantisDragon

@Aurvant: If it were a personal matter, yes, but it's not - it's a legal matter.

The other side of this story, which isn't presented in the articles listed so far today, is the story of what was essentially a Tecmo internal workers' committee, who also got screwed on their bonuses. The background of that story explains the change in management and who made commitments, when they were made, and perhaps most importantly, to whom they were made.

My guess is that Itagaki's case is getting the coverage because media-types know it draws attention, and that his case is moving forward more quickly than the others. It will also have an affect on how the other cases are ruled.

Omnimon

@Omnimon: It looks more to me like everybody else here has their judgment clouded because they are a)anti-corporate or b)fans of "his" games.

Of course it is possible that he's getting screwed by Tecmo and he deserves all that loot with interest. But it's just as possible that he's in the wrong here. There has been no proof of a contract. The guy has lied about quitting/ being fired. He's playing the press like a fiddle.

He's a degenerate who happens to work on decent games. I hope he gets what he deserves, whether it's a severance package including a fat bonus with interest, or it's absolutely nothing.

Either way, I'm sure he'll land on his feet and keep making the games you love. So get off his nuts already.

skrame ☆

@excel_excel: You do understand that the lawsuit he brought upon Tecmo has implications on the case of the workers' committee against Tecmo, and they're 'fighting the same fight', right?

It seems that this is turning into a personal opinion of Itagaki comment thread, rather than a critical look at an industry that clearly has labor issues.

Omnimon

Remind me again why everyone here is mindlessly lining up behind Itagaki again? Also, doesn't Itagaki's evidence basically place the blame on the OLD pres of Tecmo? Wouldn't he be the one to have to fess up to this?

Aurvant

Regardless of if he was an asshole or not, if he had in writing that he should have been paid money for product delivered, then he should have been paid money. In this case, more power to him. If there were questionable terms about the pay/bonuses that can be argued whether or not he "earned" them, well, that's why its in court now, and they can sort it out.

BrennaCeDria

@Heliophage:
You sure as hell can fire an employee for publicly slandering your company name. Besides, we haven't even seen how he has acted at work during this time.

Demonbird

@thekoopatrooper: "those who question the great Itagaki....SHALL SUFFER"

excel_excel

@thekoopatrooper: I don't exactly see how providing a personal opinion on someone's presentation, and then conjecture of how you think they might act in a work environment is providing reasonable evidence and digging deeper into a topic.

Another way of looking at his image is that it brought a great amount of attention to him, and thus Tecmo and the games he was producing for them. This arguably generated a ton of free press and sales of Tecmo games.

There's more than one way to skin a cat, and if we're going to start with conjecture based upon a person's public image, I can play that game confidently.

Omnimon

It doesn't matter whose side you were on before. You can't fire someone for that. They just pissed on their own shoes, but I'm looking forward to see how they'll blame the dog.

Heliophage

Forget E3 2008! THIS is entertainment.

Kyolux

And thanks to tecmo, itagaki will never have to work another day in his life.

nikolaj

@excel_excel: Itagaki: "No, wait..." *pulls out dragon sword* "I'll do this myself"

thekoopatrooper

So if my math is right (and assuming no unpaid vacations, etc.), he was making ~$4 million a year. Not bad Mr. Itagaki, not bad.

vernichter

@Omnimon: I think /your/ personal opinion is clouding your judgment. Ashurahori was using reasonable evidence and dug into the topic deeper than the surface revealed. It might not be a completely fair or correct reasoning, but it brings a point to the table that was well established and not discussed before.

thekoopatrooper

@MantisDragon: Itagaki a bad person to work with? nah....

Itagaki:"I want bigger boobies on female ninja"
Programmer:"Itagaki sensei we've been here fourteen hours...we want to go home"
Itagaki:"YOU DARE QUESTION THE GREAT ITAGAKI!!"
Programmer:"No sir, its just that we haven't eaten in a long while and..."
Itagaki:"THOSE WHO QUESTION THE GREAT ITAGAKI MUST BE PUNISHED!! GUARDS! EXECUTE THIS PROGRAMMER IMMEDIATELY!"

excel_excel

@Xeros606:
Oh, I know that people love to whack "gate" on the end of a word to indicate a scandal. It just irks me because it's stupid.

TrjnRabbit

I'd call the trash talk and humiliating statements he made about Tecmo in June were more than grounds for termination.

Demonbird

Unlawful termination ftl Tecmo....ftl.

SpishackCola

@Covah:

True, but remember that they don't absolutely NEED him or the current Team Ninja around for the next 20 installments of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden. It'd probably be better if he was around, but they can hire more people on to do the job he isn't.

Also, I hope he gets any moneys he deserves.

Omatic

@TrjnRabbit:

Nice tongue twister.

Wahrheit

@TrjnRabbit:
well no, but when jeff gerstmann got fired from gamespot for "reasons unknown", people referred to the incident as gerstmanngate.

Xeros606

Wow. I just read is wikipedia thing and he sound sorta like an asshole. But Even they need their money.

AngelMayLaugh

@Ashurahori: I think your personal opinion of a man is clouding your reasonable judgement of a far-reaching topic.

Omnimon

I hate to say it but there are two sides to every story, and Itagaki doesn't seem like he is the easiest person to work with.

MantisDragon

@Xeros606:
There's an Itagakigate hotel that was involved in this now?

TrjnRabbit

While I never liked Itagaki much, and his games are only okay. I hope Tecmo get what they have coming to them.

Like others said, what else does Tecmo have besides DOA and NG?

terrydwj

so can we officially call it itagakigate?

Xeros606

Wow... He was making a lot of money, or I guess... not making. almost $200k in under a month?

Sinfwho

I don't like him very much, personally but I hope that he wins.

The worker deserves his wages.

RagingAvatar

Seems like he's suing for every penny he can get. It's a big screw you to tecmo but they deserve it for treating him so badly. I hope Itagaki gets the money and the company carries on releasing good games.

Llost

Well, I'm glad NGII was a very minor success. I'm be sure not to pick it up. Damned techmo. Itagaki is a really colorful character and sometimes he can be a real shit but he's the sole reason techmo has any business at all. When say techmo you think Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Both Itagaki franchises.

kingmanic

@PsycheE: IF he deserves it. Remember how he always appears drunk and getting into sexual harrassement suits? I'd imagine he's the kind of guy who simply says: "Make me a cool ninja game with boobies!". I might be wrong, however, but that's the image he gives out. Also, the console bashing and game bashing received from him didn't exactly put Tecmo in a good position. He keeps embarrassing the company, and I say this was probably justice for some employees who must've thought working with him was torture.

Ashurahori

dont know whose right whose wrong now....

jyuxxx

Silly company.. pissing off your bread and butter.

Lazz

Bad move on Tecmo's part. What does Tecmo have other than Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden? Tecmo Bowl DS? oh yeah, big money maker there.

Covah

I don't like the guy, but I hope he wins this one.

PlayingKarrde

Damn, Tecmo, that was just a dumb move. The PR is gonna be much worst.

Neo-Senku: The World's Finest Pervert

THE PLOT THICKENS!!!

excel_excel

hmmmm not a very nice play by Tecmo.

Crawl to China

I hope he wins (even if I don't like the guy).

AuthenticM

Even if your unfazed by that man's caricature; you still can't deny the money he deserves.

PsycheE

Tecmo...dont bite the hand that feeds.

Shinamano

Mmm..drama

screenfan

Down with Tecmo! Get the torches!

HaydenTenno

@Ashurahori: There is never justice in stealing from someone. If he had a contract, regardless of his social behavior, it is Tecmo's obligation to pay him. Period. That's really the end of the story.

Tecmo may attempt to obfuscate things, but he delivered on his end, so they need to pay.

jayntampa

Unfair labor practice is going to bite Tecmo in all sorts of places they don't want to get bitten--the Japan that might have ruled in their favor years ago has been steadily fading into obscurity--and it going to hurt bad.

Mr. Itagaki, go get'em!

American_N_Japan

unspecified reasons = he probably assaulted to many woman for the company to cover up anymore.
If your fired for disciplinary reasons you do not need to be paid out on your contract.

This man is not a nice person at all... he has a history that the company has covered up multiples of times before

[www.gamasutra.com]

[www.xbox360fanboy.com]

[kotaku.com]

He might of been cleared

[www.kotaku.com.au]

but for those who know the Japanese Legal system especially when it comes to cases like this - know this means absolutely nothing.

[www.soc.umn.edu]

[www.womensenews.org]

[muse.jhu.edu]

[caliber.ucpress.net]

JoelR

@ara & Omnimon: The contract article wasn't up yet when I wrote my comment. I retract that part of my statement!

@ Omnimon: I've been following it as much as the next guy on Kotaku. I haven't been reading Japanese newspapers or anything, but I think I know what's going on. Next time I'll look into the future and try to see the news break before I comment.

Also the "degenerate" comment wasn't meant to show that I lean one way or the other. I was just saying in one sentence that I can see why some people would be for him and some would be against him.

I couldn't care less either way, as I don't own any Tecmo stock and I haven't played any of their games since Tecmo Bowl. If they go out of business or if they continue to thrive, I won't be affected at all.

skrame ☆

It's odd, I love Tecmo, but can't stand Itagaki. That said, though, I hope he wins and gets every penny he deserves. You just don't fuck with a man's paycheck.

PissedPS3Fan

I guess we can expect a new "jiggly" fighter with new girls after this is settled. But, it seems like him and Team Ninja are really getting jiffed now. Working for empty promises....

arvelous

@skrame ☆:

Shane, you obviously didn't read the article. He has proof, a voice recording and in a past article they even showed a scan of the signed agreement (bonus). Get your facts straight cuz your looking like an idiot!

zzt711

you kind of missed the journalistic rule of giving the punch in the first paragraph there. No mention at all of the headline subject until paragraph 3? step up your game. I would really hope to see The headline and brief explanation pre-jump and then all the details post jump, which is normally the case (and the correct way).

weinerman

Good thing, Tecmo sucks anyway.

Yokai

Ninja Gaiden 3 for PS! just kidding! *dodges spears and rocks*

But all serious though, I don't think he would have a tough time finding a new job to replace the one in Tecmo. Hell, Microsoft might just hire him on to their team to keep him from producing games to help their rival. On the otherhand, Sony might do the same and try to snag him before Microsoft.

So yeah, Fuck Tecmo, Itagaki could do better~

manabu

@jayntampa:

breach of contract by behaviour is still breach of contract and payment can be withheld in that case.

JoelR

@Xeros606: Why not? I call the RE5 controversy "N'gaigate". lol

It would be cool if there was a controversy surrounding Bill Gates. We could call it "Gatesgate". Or the Bates Motel, for you purists, would be Batesgate.

I'm done now.

@peacefuloutrage: I know man, Corey Hart wore his sunglasses at night, and the worst they did was cut his security.

Ok, now I'm really done.

Billkwando

This is normal on corporate business. But I side with Itagaki and applaud him for making a stand. I hope Tecmo's management gets some jail time and Tecmo developers boycott the company altogether.

gencid

Tecmo is run by incompetent people. They can't see that Itakagi is their money maker? without itakagi, tecmo is nothing. Just pay him because he deserved it.

mcool93

Itagaki is the last rockstar developer, hope justice will be served.

retronaut

Wow, I haven't seen a game company get PR this bad since the Kane and Lynch fiasco that Eidoes had last year.

JAcK0R

I think you guys shouldn't take anyones side because as much as I can see there is more than meets the eye. Keep your rants for you until the truth rises!

Garo

Am I the only one that sees Itagaki as a Japanese version of the douchebag designer from Grandma's Boy? Seriously, just check that outfit and the scowl he's always wearing on his face. That's J.P. from Japan.

afrosheen

gogoogog itagaki. a winrar is u (soon i hope)

maraxusofk

I still wonder about one thing; how exactly are any of the games he's ever worked on good?

Shadowcast

Quite interesting. I find this a worthy cause for Itagaki. I do like him, just for being outspoken as he is. I have no idea what kind of person he is. I hope Tecmo falls hard and Itagaki ends up owning them. That would be awesome.

Ryodestined

14% interest? I can hardly believe that in a country which had 0% for more than a decade and where people consider 1% interest rate worth advertising ....

develin

I already knew Tecmo was garbage when it came to portrayal of females, but they truly lack moral fiber. A shame. )=

Lainface

Jesus, I had this exact same situation at one of the schools I dropped out of. Left and then recieved a letter of expulsion. Funny stuff.

Bernard McGraw

fuck itagaki he sucks his games are fuckin shit all he gives a fuck about is tits and he looks like fuckin two face but shitty all over im glad hes gone.

RAVNOS

Go Itagaki!!!! Win Team Ninja!!! Win Tecmo Employees! The only case where all 300 employees are suing the company...I hope they alll get every cent that " Money Grubber" of a president is holding back from them+ more!

aang001

Such a shame. I do believe Itagaki is right though, because he was the one that brought life to Tecmo, and then they decide to use him just like that, and throw him away. It's only biting them in the process.

StealthPanda

Out of all the people you could unfairly dismiss, why on earth would you pick a guy that is behind the creation of a series of artlessly violent beat-em-ups? Probably not the greatest person to pick a fight with, even if it is one fought from behind a desk. I'd personally opt for firing the janitor, but that's just me.

AlbenoEpiX

How harsh. Sucks to be Tecmo right now. What greedy twats tho, instead of just paying what was promised they had to FRIGGIN PAY IT ANYWAYS AND loose arguably one of the best and most relevant devs in the biz

well, to be seen neways...

cant wait for this one to wrap up.

Now if youll excuse me im gonna go re-discover DOA4

mufasa95