Statement

"

I, Tomonobu Itagaki, hereby announce that on the 14th of May 2008 I filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court against Tecmo Co., Ltd. for unpaid completion bonuses, and against the President of Tecmo, Yoshimi Yasuda, for such unlawful acts as unreasonable and disingenuous statements made towards me, claiming damages in total of 148 million yen. I also announce that this complaint was delivered to the defendants on May 22nd of the same year.

In addition, I hereby announce that I have today submitted a letter of resignation to Tecmo Co., Ltd. stating that I will resign as of the 1st of July, 2008.

Before the start of development on DEAD OR ALIVE 4, Tecmo Co., Ltd. had agreed to pay a completion bonus to me for this Xbox 360 title, which I produced. However, when the time came for the actual payment, Tecmo Co., Ltd. went against its previous agreement and refused payment. 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." In addition, he made demeaning remarks about me to my subordinates and colleagues, causing me significant emotional distress and worsening my personal relationships and work environment. Thus, I have no choice but to resign from Tecmo Co., Ltd.

The conduct of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its president Yoshimi Yasuda towards me has been unbefitting of a publicly-listed company.

I have filed this lawsuit with a strong intent to question the social responsibility of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its President Yoshimi Yasuda, as well as condemning them for their unjust acts. Today, in addition to announcing the reasons for this lawsuit, I make clear my reasons for resigning.

To All Game Fans

I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. NINJA GAIDEN 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last NINJA GAIDEN I will create. I will also never be able to make DEAD OR ALIVE 5. I regret the circumstances that have forced me to leave Tecmo, where I had worked for so many years, and I regret the disappointment this will cause my fans.

However, I can no longer continue to work with President Yoshimi Yasuda, a man who chooses not to honor promises even when he is able to do so.

I truly hope that nothing like this happens again in the future.


Tecmo Co., Ltd. Creative Officer
Leader, Team NINJA

Tomonobu Itagaki

"

Dear Tomonobu Itagaki San,

I have been your fan before I knew it, and I realized it, on the first time I watched an interview of yours.

I respect you position as a fan (and only as such), therefore, I am with you, and always will be as long as you maintain your dedication and effectiveness at what you do best. In my opinion, you made the best fighting game of the last generation, DoA2U, and the best action adventure game of all time, NGB.

I trust your skills, and I know that a talent like yours will only have a hard time deciding your next venture, because they are probably already so many doors opened for you.

I hope Tecmo, treats well these two franchises that are very dear to me, thanks to you, and that you create even more bad-ass projects like Ninja Gaiden.

We love you, you will always be the video games rock-star, baby!

I hope MSFT maintains a great relationship with Tecmo, and Itagaki, or even possibly ends up working closely with Itagaki San, just like they are doing with Peter Molyneux and, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Imagine that, another tour de force from one of the very best minds of the industry, working with MSFT--which could actually buy Tecmo, or the DoA and NG franchises.

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STORY UPDATE:

(extracts from Magrino's article, GS)

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Tecmo affirms Itagaki departure

While Tecmo was initially mum over the situation, the Japanese publisher today dispersed to the media a written statement in English, acknowledging Itagaki's departure. "On June 3, 2008, Tomonobu Itagaki, executive producer of Tecmo-owned development studio Team Ninja, submitted his resignation," reads the statement. "Due to the fact that he had recently filed a legal complaint against Tecmo, there was no choice but to accept his resignation."

Tecmo's statement also addressed Itagaki's lawsuit. "The legal complaint is in regards to a claim to an incentive bonus linked to a past project," said Tecmo. "The parties could not reach an amicable resolution to this matter and Itagaki chose to seek a legal remedy. Tecmo will let the court decide the outcome of this case and will seek a true, fair, and quick resolution."

"Most importantly, Tecmo would like to assure its loyal fans that Team Ninja, known for its top selling and critically acclaimed Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises, is intact and, as a matter of fact, have several new projects already underway," said Tecmo. "Team Ninja is, more than ever, committed to producing compelling and cutting edge games in order to maintain its reputation as a high quality developer and to continue to receive the support of its loyal fans."

"

While I'm on Itagaki's side simply because the last thing developers are known for is materialistic greed, besides, DoA saved saved Tecmo in the 90's just like FF1 (& arguably FF2) saved Square. He shouldn't even be in this position of having to petition for his bonuses. He should be receiving the same treatment that Myamoto gets on Nintendo, Will Wright on EA, Peter Molyneux gets on MSFT, and so many other great producers like that guy from GT5.

However, I do love the the DoA and Ninja Gaiden franchises, I believe that Team Ninja is more than competent to lead its next generation of games without Itagaki, because they've been working with him for so long, and maybe they may even come up with a new twist to the series that may surprise a lot of people.

I think of games like DMC, RE, SF, God of War, Halo, MK, FF, and others franchises who didn't maintain their original project leaders but turned out just fine; studios like SCEA SM, Rare, Bungie, and others have proved just that--an I believe that Team Ninja is not any less competent.

I wish the best for both parties. Let's just hope that Tecmo keeps their franchises on the X360, or better yet, make them multiplatform without sacrificing quality so they can attain even more commercial acclaim.

I just hope fans won't boycott great games just because of this mess.