Tecmo denies Team Ninja exodus, extent of lawsuit [update]

Tecmo has issued a pair of press releases discounting certain "foreign media" reports (um, like, this one and that one), which allege that dozens of Team Ninja developers are leaving in the wake of Itagaki's resignation and that a lawsuit has been filed against the company on behalf of all employees. Tecmo called the rumors of a mass exodus "groundless" and claimed details about the lawsuit are "inaccurate." Tecmo pleaded with the media to be "fair" about the developing reports, as its employees have grown noticeably anxious. We'll keep you updated as we tiptoe toward a better understanding of the situation.

Update: Tecmo's sent along an English language version of the statement. Peep it after the break.

[Thanks Ittousai!]

Tecmo statement regarding recent lawsuits:

June 18, 2008

On and around June 15, 2008, various websites in the US reported a rumor about "dozens" of development staff members resigning and filing a lawsuit against Tecmo, LTD., following Tomonobu Itagaki's departure from the company. The rumors are false and no such action is taking place at the company.

On June 16, 2008, two employees filed a lawsuit against Tecmo, LTD. with accusations of withholding overtime pay. Although a lawsuit was filed by the two employees, on April 1, 2008, Tecmo, LTD. did notify all affected employees that they would be appropriately compensated and is currently in the process of resolving the matter. There are several inaccurate reports stating that all 300 company employees are named in the lawsuit and the company would like to clarify that only two employees are involved in the suit.

In addition, there were reports that Tecmo, LTD., a publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, withheld information from its shareholders regarding the lawsuit filed in May 2008 by Tomonobu Itagaki. The company has observed the provisions defined by the Exchange and has released information accordingly and in a timely manner.

It is unfortunate that false and inaccurate reporting of our organization and employees' actions have caused some unrest among our development staff members. Tecmo, LTD. would like to assure its partners and loyal fans that its teams continue to focus and work on several projects to be released and announced in the future. The company is committed to providing high quality, entertaining products for our fans around the world.

Your continued support of Tecmo, LTD. is appreciated and it is kindly asked that you handle news reports concerning the above matters with care.

Tecmo, LTD.

Reader Comments (20)

no not the employees cause well they are the ones suing I am thinking more on the lines of the shareholders

I must join my ninja brothers and ruin Tecmo's shit.

Shall I change my name to xFenixNinjax and assist you? Very intriguing...

If I change my PSN/XBL tag to xFenixNinjax can I play games with you :P

That.....would rule!!!

:P

Can anyone guess how fast their stock will fall ?

Faster than a sprite missing a tackle on B.Jackson on NES Tecmo Bowl, Ready, Down, Hut, Hut, Hut, Hut, Hut, Hut, Hut!

That's what I was thinking as well. True or not, all this bad word about Tecmo can't be good for their stock, to say nothing of what happened to it immediately after Itagaki's resignation...

Faster than going to jail due to jailbait (it was worth it)

Faster than warm diarrhea running due to laxative intake

Faster than a 16 year old fapping after being promised a date with his online girlfriend (aka Roy the pedo)

Faster than you think you are on LSD (you can fly too)

Not as fast as a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick

Awww... I like Tecmo... :(

Why tiptoe anymore than normal?

This dispute's basically about money, right? They don't want to pay overtime and bonuses is the claim.

Well, what would a bunch of tightwads care the most about? Probably a hit to their bottom line and their stock prices.

If they let their one superstar walk away and then do NOT take a hit to their stock prices, it's just going to send the message that nobody cared about Itagaki and their employees' complaints.

The best thing that can possibly happen is that the shareholders sell and Tecmo is forced to realize that the Beancounter Way of making games is not going to fly.

As of the end of today/yesterday's trading they're down 12%.

http://advance.quote.nomura.co.jp/meigara/nomura2/quote.cgi?F=english/equote&QCODE=9650&MKTN=T

Which explains why that "please don't create what we think is much ado about nothing" press release came out today.

looks like Tecmo damage control team is going to be working some long hours for a while

It too bad for them that Tecmo doesn't like to pay overtime....

well Tecmo sounds like you made your bed, now sleep in it

I read the headline as 'Tecmo denies Ninja exodus' and though: THANK GOD

Nice. So Tecmo:

1) Won't issue any public comment about what's going on

2) Is suing to have Itagaki muzzled so he can't talk publically about what's going on

3) Is begging everyone to ignore any news reports about what's going on

Doesn't exactly sound like the facts are on Tecmo's side here.

+1 Copa you beat me to it.

Tecmo saw Itagaki leave and probably thought he is a crazy bastard nobody would take seriously, but his action probably caused others to act and now they want him to shut up. While he is quiet they will probably bully others while having their legal team give out press releases.

I just read about the Salaryman's plight in Japan.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/11/business/11suits.php

Yea "foreign Media" outlets my ass, they know damn well what they were doing. They are trying to profit on the idea that they believe most of us don't read any news but or own.

1) In litigation, these kinds of things DON'T often become very public. Take, for example, Silicon Knights vs. Epic. Notice how Dennis Dyack essentially mentioned what he was doing and why and pretty much shut up. Meanwhile, Epic publicly apologized to any companies that are getting caught up in the lawsuit. Tecmo keeping it's mouth shut during this isn't exactly out of character. After all, we aren't getting daily updates between Nyko and Nintendo over the wireless nunchuck.

2) Gag orders are, once again, nothing new. Especially since Itagaki has thus far lost Tecmo a ton of face by getting involved in scandal after scandal and publically bashing a game Tecmo was currently selling. Now consider the Lucasarts exodus where several people who got laid off pretty much publically exposed Lucasarts secrets (and also pretty much ensured they would never be hired by a game company in the process). Most of the gag order reflects shutting Itagaki up about company secrets and making the lawsuit a scandalous and public affair. In other words, like Jack Thompson, Itagaki is being slapped with a gage order because of jackassery.

3) Begging everyone to ignore RUMORS. Big difference between what we've heard and what is official. Notice how most of the news revolving around this is clearly marked RUMOR. Tecmo is saying "treat rumors as rumors.

I'm not picking sides on this but let's face it. Itagaki leaving and suing is the ONLY confirmed fact on this case.

What Tecmo are asking for is simple - if Idiotagaki wants to press charges, let him prove it in court.
And who the hell does he think he is? Creator of DoA, a totally third-rate fighting game series, the only decent game he made was Ninja Gaiden. Thats if you ignore the camera and insane difficulty, which somehow is seen as a positive.
And NG2 actually scored 6 points lower than NG Sigma (ironic, after Idiotakagi's comments about the Sigma dveeloper). And he was one of the people gung-ho about the XBOX - and then sold just 350,000. So what bonuses is he talking about? For creating a game that probably lost money for Tecmo?
Kojima was the same way with the PS3 and being exclusive - but at least he was able to deliver game that probably sold 5 times as many in the 1st week, despite a smaller install base.

Heh, like I can believe Tecmo now since they didn't disclose to stockholders that they were being sued.

Tecmo, or should I say the president of Tecmo, you already got flagged for being shady, why don't you commit seppaku or hang yourself in the closet.

Tecmo denies Team Ninja exodus, extent of lawsuit [update]

Reader Comments (20)

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:11PM Ballistic3188 said

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:12PM (Unverified) said

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Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:35PM RyogaVee said

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:57PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 4:35PM NO DOUBT GET LOUD said

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Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:27PM Pojomofo said

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Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:28PM arrrgh said

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:31PM JimeneX said

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 3:32PM copa said

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 4:27PM zsavior said

Posted: Jun 18th 2008 4:54PM SheppyReturns said

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