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.
The concept is simple: a four-piece band recreates the soundtrack to the original Ninja Gaiden for NES while one skilled player runs through the game with little effort. You may have heard about this before when they previously performed as Contraband (Contra, natch), Megaband (Mega Man II) and Zeldaband (the first two dungeons of Legend of Zelda).
On Friday, Joystiq attended the Ninja Gaiden Band concert, playing at the Caledonia Lounge as part of Athens, Georgia's annual music festival Athfest (the night prior, Contraband won Cover Band of the Year at the awards show). The band, comprised of the members of Cinemechanica and deft gamer Noah McCarthy, is now a two-year project of splicing classic gaming with musical performance.
Work on the Ninja Gaiden Band began about a month ago, said guitarist Bryant Williamson, speaking to us before the concert. During practice, McCarthy had never had to use a continue, though Williamson said they were prepared in case he had to start over.
McCarthy played on stage using via television while the signal was simultaneously projected onto a screen for the audience to watch. At 1:07 a.m. to a packed crowd, the console was turned on, the title screen came up, and the band counted in.
Team Ninja's Yosuke "Itsygaki" Hayashi, director of Ninja GaidenSigma, told Pro-G that the development studio is not averse to developing a title for Wii, pending the title utilized Nintendo's more unique features. "We would make something for the Wii if we came up with something unique that would only work on the Wii," he said.
Given Ninja Gaiden's upcoming DS release and its unique control scheme, we can only imagine how Itagaki and co. would go about utilizing the Wii remote's pointer capabilities. Our curiosity turns into discomfort, however, when we think of Team Ninja making a Wii version of DOAX.
Hayashi further went on to describe the console preference demographic of the studio: "There are several groups within Team Ninja. The PS3 group, the Xbox 360 group, and there are Wii fans in Team Ninja." We've gone ahead and made a Venn diagram to help visualize the possible trichotomy.
The developers in Tecmo's Team Ninja don't much care for subtlety, not in their games and certainly not in their comments to the press. Ninja Gaiden Sigma director, Yosuke Hayashi, is fast on his way to becoming a miniature Itagaki (an Itsygaki, if you will) after speaking to Eurogamer in London yesterday. When the topic of developers noting difficulty in creating games for the PlayStation 3 comes up, Hayashi suggests, "if they think it's difficult, they should get out of the ring."
Hayashi explains that in being a creator of games and in position to receive money from players, Team Ninja "shouldn't complain about the difficulty." Outspoken he may be, but the man at least implies that he'll stick to his guns as well as the PlayStation 3. "As I said, people who complain about the difficulty of creating games for PS3 should get out, right? While I'm saying that kind of thing, if I get out myself, then what I say doesn't mean anything! So, I should stay - right?"
You be the judge of that when Ninja Gaiden Sigma gets out in a few weeks.
CEO and founder of Gas Powered GamesChris Taylor (Supreme Commander, Dungeon Siege) wants to retire the old-school game design philosophies of punishing gamers. In an essay on GameDaily BIZ, Taylor notes an observed trend towards games that now reward players.
It started with casual games, says Taylor, when The Sims and Railroad Tycoon were selling millions and bringing women gamers on board. He compares the old punishment system to Carnival games -- you get three lives, a few options for more, but if you die then you start all the way over. Taylor uses Grand Theft Auto as an example where, if you screw up, you simply walk out of jail or the hospital. "The punishment is quite small, and perfectly integrated into the gameplay. Hats off to Rockstar," he said.
Much of his essay is muddled, however, in defining the line between making a game universally accessible and dumbing it down in difficulty. "Games shouldn't punish the player, but rather reward them. Oh, and it should be a whole lot easier to win," he said, followed by "Duh! Can I say duh?" You can, but a game like Ninja Gaidenserves as an opposing example to that argument, where toning down the difficulty would likely result in a less satisfying and indeed, less rewarding experience.
The upcoming Ninja GaidenSigma for PlayStation 3 will reward players with Yellow Essence, the game's currency, based on the amount of time you played the demo, currently available via the PlayStation Network.
With just under a month to go before Sigma sneaks onto North American PS3s (and even less for Japan and European gamers), Team Ninja is giving you a reason to play through the demo over and over again. The series has in all its iterations has attempted to up the ante in difficulty, so starting out with a bit of extra money for health potions couldn't hurt.
Team Ninja founder Tomonobu Itagaki has always been known for commentary and behavior that, relative to most of the world, is pretty out there. His latest outlandish claim comes from an interview with GamePro where he explains why we'll likely not see a Sony PSP version of Ninja Gaiden.
Itagaki said that the design philosophy for the PSP is akin to that of a home console as opposed to, for example, the Nintendo DS' design as a portable platform. In that mindset, he said, the PSP's goal would be to replicate the home experience. The clincher: "I think if I were to develop this game [Dragon Sword for DS] on the PSP, most of my fans would be upset."
Using his same logic, consumers who buy the PSP want games that replicate the home console experience for play wherever they go. So no, we don't think fans would be upset if Itagaki gave them a Ninja Gaiden title that felt and played like its home console brethren -- it's exactly what they would want, in fact.
Dragon Sword, with its stylus-driven control scheme, is due out this Autumn.
The first ninja turns to his partner in decapitation and says, "You know, I could sneak in and out of this place like a ghost." The second ninja rolls his eyes and replies, "I could sneak in and out of this place like the ghost of a ghost." Pac-Man looks up, shakes his head and says, "WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA!"
Guess you had to be there.
With the ice now thoroughly broken, we're free to tell you about this week's American Virtual Console releases:
Ninja Gaiden (NES, 500 Wii Points) -- Accompany one Ryu Hayabusa in the quest to avenge his father's death. A deadly blade and a handful of shurikens await those that oppose the Tecmo ninja's will.
Ninja Spirit (TG-16, 600 Wii Points) -- Accompany one Moonlight in the quest to, well, avenge his father's death. His adventure imparts significant advice to those hoping to father a ninja of their own.
Pac-Man (NES, 500 Wii Points) -- Not having a father to be avenged, Pac-Man fills the emotional void with delicious pellets.
Captured at Tecmo's recent "Night Out '07" event in Japan, the above video delves into the control scheme of the upcoming stylish and stylus-driven Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. In what could either be a profoundly intuitive adventure or a fundamentally awkward disaster, series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa is controlled entirely by taps and slashes on the DS touch screen, with blocking being handled by any one of the neglected buttons. The demonstration makes jumping, attacking and flipping out seem pretty simple in the face of multiple enemies, but it's impossible to tell just how accurate and responsive stylus strokes really are.
Though it's graphically quite a departure from the Xbox and forthcoming PS3 iterations, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword still manages some impressive character models, no doubt enhanced by the use of scrolling, prerendered backgrounds. Static backdrops open up the (trap)door to camera issues and off-screen attacks, but the angles don't seem to be too obtrusive in the demonstration. Outspoken designer Tomonobu Itagaki's appearance at the end of the clip is at least comforting -- we know he's somewhat of an expert at touching hostile targets.
Awesome Ninja Gaiden cosplay from Tokyo Game Show 2006, as seen by kev:kev. He's missing his trusty Dragon Sword, and there's a good chance he has no martial arts training whatsoever, but we still wouldn't risk messing with him. Check out the highlights for the weekend:
Without warning, like the shadowy figures known only through whispers in the night, Ninja GaidenSigma has made its presence known on the PlayStation Store. The demo will be available today in the US, one day prior to its Japanese release, alongside a demo for Virtua Tennis.
Also coming out today are trailers for Gauntlet II, The Wheelman, John Woo's Stranglehold and The Godfather. The full version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma is set for a June release (on disc).
You've got motorcycles, ninjas, swords, and funky magic lightning-like powers. What more do you need? Ninja Gaiden Sigma manages to roll up things everyone likes into one game.
Now, if they could work pirates into the game somehow, they might really have something. Especially if they were all on fire.
It seems those eager to sever limbs and engage in increasingly violent stylus shenanigans still have a fair bit of waiting ahead of them. Speaking to CVG, outspoken and occasionally bonkers designer, Tomonobu Itagaki, has said that he hopes to have Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword done sometime in Autumn. With the DS platform targeting everyone and their grandmother, perhaps solace can be taken in the fact that this most touchy-feely entry in the series is also set to be the easiest. "Relax; I don't planning [sic] on making Ninja Gaiden DS as difficult as the Xbox variants," assures Itagaki. "My first priority is giving everyone the chance to try this innovative new control scheme and enjoy how great it feels to manipulate Hayabusa."
When asked if there would be a connection between the portable adventure and the proper console sequel, Ninja Gaiden 2, Itagaki explains that you "may be able to extrapolate some similarities between the two, yes, and not just in the area of story." We'll leave you to extrapolate (hint: both feature a ninja killing things) while we fantasize about how great it feels to manipulate Hayabusa. Before he comes out. In the game.
Are you in the mood to run on walls, acrobatically decapitate your enemies and wear skintight leather, but all too aware that these activities are generally frowned upon by the greater part of society? If you answered "yes" or managed to emit any sort of monosyllabic response, then Ninja Gaiden Sigma is a game that just might appeal to you. If, like this blogger, you're slightly stunned by your preparation to buy the once Xbox classic for a third time, you'd do well to note the April 27 release of a demo on the Japanese PlayStation Network store.
With no confirmation of an American or European demo just yet, you might choose to wait until Ninja Gaiden Sigma's June release. Then again, there are other tactics you might use in gaining access to Ryu's PS3 debut.
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.
