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. 
{ Jun 5th 2008 at 4:25PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Vegnagun bwf @ Jun 5th 2008 4:38PM
Interesting read. The best part is Itagaki spewing off about Tekken, DMC, and Heavenly Sword.
bobeotm @ Jun 5th 2008 4:44PM
I agree with tecmo's assesement of the situation regarding his leaving. He is not making these games singlhandedly, and he is not god's gift to games. The games are ok (if you like everything in the environment covered in shiny sauce). His legacy in my opinion is that he was able to iterate on a couple of initial ideas. Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninga Gaiden Sigma are reiterations of the same game. DOA to DOA four isn't the best fighting games on earth despite his claims. So for me, his legacy is more of him being a prick and a console cheerleader than anything else. As for team ninja, they have made solid games, THEY are the people who get those products out the door and give people a reason to give a damn about him.
Martez @ Jun 5th 2008 5:19PM
Amen.
Buckshot @ Jun 5th 2008 4:50PM
Tina Rules!
Residentevil72501 @ Jun 5th 2008 4:55PM
Yeah i agree lol. I mean Tekken is better than DOA, and DMC is just badass. Im a huge Ninja Gaiden fan tho for sure. IM playing DMC4 atm Ninja Gaiden 2 better be damn good, cuz im digging DMC4. The only thing i didnt really like was the 20 minute install on my ps3 lol and the opera music that looped through the install (MUTE FTW!!!!).
Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 5th 2008 5:06PM
Anyone know who he's gonna work for now, or start his own company?
Will the DOA and NG series still be produced but by other staff at Tecmo? Hopefully this means these games can come to PS3 like Sigma did. You'll get a lot more exposure with your games in Japan, with your home audience at least. ; )
Martez @ Jun 5th 2008 5:21PM
Well, him leaving doesn't mean the team that made those games is leaving, does it? Especially after he badmouthed their port work. I'd guess they'll still work on the next versions while Itagaki stews for a few years telling himself he rocks.
samfish @ Jun 5th 2008 5:25PM
Microsoft released that press-release that was Corporate-ese for "You can come work for us, Itagaki!", so I wouldn't be surprised to see him start a new studio under MS.
Superstar90 @ Jun 5th 2008 5:33PM
Halo Gaiden confirmed! Really, that would be awesome, the main weapon would be those energy swords (or something).
Phil @ Jun 6th 2008 12:31AM
Who wants to read about some stupid whiny japanese man who think's he's jesus christ of video games?
Seriously, I would rather read a Cliffy B. autobiography over any sort of tribute to a guy from a company I couldn't care less about.
At least some of the 'big names' in terms of people who spout off about how games need to be made these days are pretty lax. Look at David Jaffe. People call him radical and do you see him whining and suing sony for 'damages' during the development of God of War?
Itagaki isn't some kind of gaming genius, he's a perverted (Yes, I'm calling him perverted because his idea for DOA:XBV was based around some ideal of having a game where the female characters of the series were the focus), elitist, stuck up man who has brought only one interesting game series to the industry and he's leaving after only the second game within the series.
Please, tell me why he's soooooooooo special.
I don't mean to be so hateful but... He just gets on my nerves. When I think about revolutionary gaming, I think of studios like Platinum Games (Okami and other Clover studios titles), Quantic Dream (Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain), Q! Entertainment (Meteos and the creator's former productions like Rez)... Not Tecmo.
Phil @ Jun 6th 2008 12:32AM
I would also like to clarify, The extreme beach volleyball series is about as much of a game as the crap popcap pumps out every few months, essentially borderline shovelware.