tomonobu itagaki

Bayonetta Designer Concedes He Is Bald, But Not Gay

6:00PM Brian Ashcraft | M’kay… We’re not sure why it matters how much hair covers his head and where he dips his candlestick, but Bayonetta designer Hideki Kamiya brought his hairless noggin and heterosexuality into a recent interview — among other things. More »

Itagaki Talks Missiles, Tecmo And Sixaxis Bounce

2:00AM Brian Ashcraft | The Tokyo Game Show is days away and just before it kicked off, we had a chance to catch up with former Team Ninja lead ninja Tomonobu Itagaki — designer of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. More »

Itagaki Bayonetta Creator Hate May Provide Game Clues

10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki has left Tecmo’s Team Ninja. He’s been away, but has returned with a new start-up, Tokyo Vikings. More »

Ex-Team Ninja Lead Itagaki Speaks About What’s Next

12:00PM Michael McWhertor | Former Team Ninja lead Tomonobu Itagaki is in the catbird’s seat, having moved on from Tecmo and on to things not Ninja Gaiden or Dead Or Alive related. It’s even better for us. More »

Can We Expect More Ninja Gaiden Games? Can We?

1:00PM Brian Ashcraft | When game designer Tomonobu Itagaki headed up Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden franchise, he stated that Ninja Gaiden II was the last title in the series. But the franchise isn’t his anymore. More »

Former Troubled Tecmo Exec Can Find Work (Can You?)

7:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Last summer, we broke that former Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda was at the centre of not one Tecmo employee brouhaha, but two. The president eventually resigned, but he’s found another job. Good for him. More »

Yosuke Hayashi Mans Up, Moves Out Of Itagaki’s Shadow

11:00AM AJ Glasser | Tecmo’s redundant announcement of Ninja Gaiden Σ 2 was more than just a chance to talk about online co-op; it was Producer Yosuke Hayashi’s chance to come out of his ex-boss’s shadow. More »

DMC, Okami Creator So Not Interested in Ninja Gaiden

9:30PM Luke Plunkett | Ex-Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki drinks. And never sees sunlight. Which explains the vitriol, because when he’s not taking swings at Tekken, he’s taking swings at Devil May Cry and Okami creator Hideki Kamiya. The Tekken things, that’s just a spirited expression of personal taste, but the Kamiya thing…dude may have a point, because he was only responding to these comments by the ex-Capcom man: 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] More »

Troubled Tecmo President Resigns!

7:30PM Brian Ashcraft | Today, Tecmo Co. Ltd. announced that Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda will resign. The Board of Directors accepted Yasuda’s resignation — which was for “personal reasons”. Starting September 1st, Chairman of the Board Yasuharu Kakihara will assume the position of Tecmo’s president. Yasuda has been at the centre 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.’”