We caught up with Tomonobu Itagaki at the recent Championship Gaming Series North American World Series Final (try printing that on a hat) in Manhattan Beach recently, and we asked him a few questions. Although he'd had a few beers, we didn't get him to pin down a date or a console for Ninja Gaiden 2, curse you weak American beer!

Yes, he was wearing his patent black leather jacket and sunglasses, and no he didn't take them off. Even when it got dark. They might be permanently welded to his face at this point. While he's known for being outspoken and critical to the extreme (especially if your game has the word Tekken in the title), when we asked him about Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, he actually handed over his DS to us and let us play through an early build of the game, more on that soon.

After what seems like a lifetime in development, direct-to-DVD speculation and a dismal 18th place opening last weekend, we thought things couldn't get much worse for the Dead or Alive movie. But we were wrong. Dead wrong, if you will.

This weekend's box office numbers show earnings for the movie dropping off an incredible 91.9 percent to just over $21,000. Total. For the whole country. For reference, top-earner Evan Almighty made that much off just three of its 3,604 opening screens. The 54th-most popular movie for the weekend, DoA was shown in just 98 theaters, earning an average $214 per screen. For even more context, action flick 300 was shown in 140 theaters and averaged $737 per showing despite being four months old.

Granted, DoA was a low-budget popcorn flick with no big names attached and next to no advertising. Still, what does this unmitigated flop say about the prospects of other upcoming, game-based movies like Prince of Persia or Spy Hunter ... or Metal Gear Solid or Diablo ... or City of Heroes or The Sims? They can't all be Tomb Raider, after all.

[Via 1up]

Recently spared from a straight-to-DVD release, the Dead or Alive movie limped into theaters this weekend without anyone much noticing or caring. The film earned $232,200 from 505 screens, finishing the weekend behind months-old thriller Disturbia and art house favorite La Vie en Rose. It's a sad day for our country when audiences would rather watch a subtitled French love story than see girls in bikinis kicking each other.

Given the reviews, it's not that surprising that audiences stayed away in droves. Rotten Tomatoes' rating page, which gives the movie a score of 46 percent, is punctuated with quotes like "unquestionably brain dead" and "a genuinely terrible film." And those are from some of the good reviews.

[Thanks Anthony]

Microsoft is ushering in the (Lunar) New Year with a pair of discounted Xbox 360 game packs. One set includes Project Gotham Racing 3 and Ridge Racer 6; the other, Dead or Alive 4 and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. The 'Year of the Boar' branded bundles are being sold in Taiwan, where Xbox 360 launched last March. At $1,490 TWD (about $45 USD) a pop, the festive fun-packs aren't screaming "buy me" -- at least from our perspective. We're looking at three launch titles that have since been bargain-binned and a virtual peep show. This the best Microsoft could scoop outta the over-manufactured heap? Or do these hit the "target"?

The flurry of legal blows between Dead or Alive designer, Tomonobu Itagaki, and the alleged target of his devastating groping attacks continue this week with demotions being handed out and countersuits being considered. Earlier this month, Itagaki fell into the dubious spotlight after a woman, previously working under him at Tecmo, filed charges of sexual harassment. Though it was somewhat unclear at the time, it was implied that Itagaki had been demoted and that his employers wanted nothing more than to sweep the whole affair under the rug.

A Gamespot report details Tecmo's official response, which is firmly on the side of the eccentric (and occasionally drunk) developer. "The alleged sexual harassment of the former employee by Itagaki never took place, and Tecmo did not issue an unjustified notice of dismissal to the former employee." The company insists that the female employee left of her own volition following an internal investigation.

Their own conclusion was that her actions stemmed from personal problems, despite the fact that she and Itagaki "mingled personal affairs with their corporate responsibilities." They were both demoted and had their salaries chopped down. Meanwhile, Itagaki is planning to launch a countersuit in order to avenge his pristine and generally likeable reputation.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

A fifth Dead or Alive is in development -- no surprise. That DOA creator, on-the-job drinker, and overly-friendly coworker Tomonobu Itagaki made the announcement at the DOA 10th anniversary party among a throng of supporters made us giddy. After all, after the sexual harassment charges we weren't sure whether he had been demoted or somehow shuffled in the background. But there he was, wine glass and sunglasses in tow.

Not much was revealed, except that Itagaki has a few ideas circling in his head, he's planning on axing the Tag Team system, and he already knows how the opening cinematic will begin. No console was mentioned, but we're placing our bets on another Xbox 360 iteration. After five of the most recent DOA titles (including two softcore simulators) have been Microsoft exclusives, we think the odds are in our favor.

"Hey baby, can I buy you a drink?"
"I don't think so."
"You just performed a ten-hit combo ... on my heart."
"Oh dear lord."
"I wanna put you in a counter hold of love."
"Physical violence. I'm strongly considering it."
"Do you kick high?"

The lead developer of the Dead or Alive series and the forthcoming ball jostling, highbrow-raising epic, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, has been charged with sexual harassment. This one practically writes itself. In the interest of readability and undeniably smug tone, however, rest assured that a human being (more or less) has written all the text that follows. As if drinking on the job and speaking ill of competitors wasn't enough to convince you that Tomonobu Itagaki was a complete failure at being a Japanese stereotype, you may now append "allegedly harasses female ex-employees" to the list (and then note how much better that is than "harasses ex-female employees").

According to Japan's ZakZak and Gamebrink, the Dead or Alive mastermind has been slapped with a 10 million yen ($85,000) sexual harassment charge by a woman claiming to have endured and dodged his wily hands for the duration of her employment between 2003 and September 2006. Itagaki has admitted to having the relationship (much to the chagrin of his wife and kids, no doubt) but insists that the supposed mammary molestation was completely consensual. The reports also imply that Itagaki has been demoted within Team Ninja, a move which could be interpreted as a slap on the wrist or a swift shove out of the spotlight.

It looks like the latter tactic hasn't been very effective thus far.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Are you the type who lounges around, waiting for new demos to drop on Xbox Live Marketplace and then, when they do, you scream bloody murder if they're not for the latest and greatest? Yeah? Well, have we got one for you. Major Nelson has put up a post on his complaint repository heralding the arrival of a new demo for the now seven month-old Dead or Alive 4. I know, like, can you believe this guy?

Patient as always (with the help of some really good therapy we presume), Major reminded the throngs of ungrateful monkeys, "Remember guys, you all have probably had your Xbox 360 since November ... but thousands are being sold every month, so that means a lot of new people are coming on to Xbox Live and the Marketplace that may not have the game, or even heard of that game. So in that regard, this is new content for a LOT of new people."

Yeah, so there. She weighs in at around 680MB so get downloadin'.

He's been called an eccentric, a rock star, a hypocrite and once, even a game designer. Tecmo's Tomonobu Itagaki has been called a lot of things and, following on from an interview conducted by Kinkyzoo Kakalukeia Kikizo, we suspect that "drunkard" may be the next label appended to the already impressive list. When queried about how he gets his ideas, Itagaki calmly claims that he often sees them at the bottom of a bottle of whisky.

"Of course, there are ups and downs, waves, of how I drink in terms of the amount, but it's a long period of time. In the last ten years - not that you asked this question - I think I had better ideas when I was drinking whisky. When I am drinking shochu, that's a conservative drink, so the ideas are not that great. Beer is just like water to me, so it just helps me and everyone else loosen up a little bit, it doesn't really contribute to coming up with ideas." The interview mostly stays on the topic of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (a game which Itagaki says he's developing as a hobby), but does reveal that Ninja Gaiden 2 is currently in its planning stages.

If alcohol is a vital ingredient in games like Ninja Gaiden, we say let Itagaki and his team have a drink and loosen up. Heck, we encourage him to drink himself into a stupor -- we're sure a couple of vomit-encrusted keyboards are worth receiving another refreshingly difficult ninja kill-em-up. The man's outspoken for certain (don't forget his 5 most hated games, Tekkens 1 through 5), but he usually does a good job of sticking to his promises. That's one trait that many game designers could do well to adopt. Well, that and raging alcoholism.

[tHaNKsh enbob89! Hic.]