Ninja Gaiden II director Itagaki quits Tecmo

@wargraymon your an idiot, MS publishing the game does make it exclusive. MS doesn't publish for sony!

what will the ninjas do without their leader! what about those new IP's in developement? i guess those would go too. this sucks, tecmos stock will drop or somethin. still let us hope the master may make more games.

Dawg 9000 you just made me laugh out loud dude

I played Ninja Gaiden II at my cousin's house and wow Tomonobu Itagaki did it again but it's too much difficult then the first Ninja Gaiden. Believe me in one moment you are having fun and in second you are dead. Based on what I played, Ninja Gaiden II is really a great game but in term of camera angle, difficulty and story I think Devil May Cry 4 is better. Anyway still it's a bad new that he quit. He really disappoint many funs.

Well, tecmo is ****ed on this one. I think Itagaki is going to split to either Microsoft (He's basically a MS fanboy, really, no joek :|) or go and make his own studio, which will be interesting to say the least. Can you imagine what this guy would do with no dictator, no ruler that watches over him? We could very well see a third breast based fighting game :P SC4, DOA5, and Itagaki Super Video Game Babe Fight 5000.

WHAT THE F$@# NO D.O.A.5 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TECMO WILL BURN 4 THIS ONE

That's like Bill Gates leaving Microsoft before the Xbox 720 comes out. lol

that's crazy!

just because microsoft published ng2 doesn't mean tecmo can't port it to the ps3, it's not an exclusive title.

Horrible news, this is basically Tecmo's death sentence! I hope Itagaki is picked soon, a guy like him can't be without a job for too long.

What a blow hard. There are plenty of fans of his games, but recent iterations (DOA4, NG2) have been showing their age and lack of innovation. His leaving will hopefully pull Tecmo out of a slump by injecting some fresh ideas...

It doesn't matter if Tecmo puts out games on the PS3 or not anymore. What matters is the quality of those games. Ninja Gaiden Sigma was just a remake of Ninja Gaiden Black with extras. The question is what would a New Ninja Gaiden or DOA be like with someone else overseeing its development? These two franchises are what really sparked many of our interest in Tecmo after it's great 2D era. I really don't see any other games that it has put out in the past 5 years that have gained any fan base following. Also, DOA 2 Hardcore didn't do as well on the PS2 as the other DOA games did on the Dreamcast and Xbox/Xbox360 systems, as Sony is mainly a Namco Fan machine and therefore Namco was always center stage. The truth is Tecmo would just get lost in the mix on the PS3. Even the Ninja Gaiden Sigma hype didn't last as long as Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black. My worry is more about quality and game play. The fact is the games always looked fantastic and there appeared to be few if any compromises made in game play, visuals, or enjoyment factor.

Worst way to give an idea, Tecmo.

that blows balls. I was hoping a trilogy.

Thats what he gets for being a pervert of the c*** teasing kind.

Wow... this is extremely bad news for Tecmo. As far as gamers are concerned, Team Ninja WAS Tecmo. He'll be missed.

Talk about the wrath of the ninja.

Whom ever picks up this guy will do great! Get this guy Microsoft before Sony does!!

No more Dead or Alive games? *sad* DOA4 and DOAX2 were the main reason I first bought my 360.

Itagaki will be missed. If it wasn't for him Ninja Gaiden would have went the way of Shinobi. Hopefully he will join a new company and make Tecmo wish they payed him the money he's due. If you make a deal you should honor it or pay for it. Good Luck Itagaki!

@ khai411 and t37nguye It's no use talking about Tecmo porting NG2 to the PS3 - it won't happen. Microsoft published the title and I doubt they would allow a PS3 version.

Well, it's not so bad. This guy is amazing and I'd love to see him do an original franchise. I really think that this is a blessing in disguise. Can't wait to see what he does next! Ninja Gaiden 2 is going to be mind blowing!!!

I'm sure this isn't the whole story, but the way it's presented here... Why didn't Itagaki quit after DoA4? The problems mentioned here stem from unpaid DoA4 bonuses. Why did he wait so long to quit? Like I said, there has to be more to the story.

Does this mean Ninja Gaiden II is coming to PS3? This guy is always a big anti-PS3 person in Tecmo so with him leaving, it could be possible.

One thing is for sure is that he wasn't the face of Tecmo... O_o

Psychogenicscc - you have several "eh" comments and are obviously a hater. I guess I can't really blame you though, Itagaki-san was cocky and full of himself, but rightfully so with such well designed games and products. I loved and played games he designed and oversaw, the ninja gaiden series being my favorite from his old camp..... hopefully he continues with fresh ideas and continues to make great games for the industry.

@shinspikes "Hey Itagaki, u can make exclusive ps3 games now" actually Tecmo can now port games over to the PS3 without Itagaki b***hing about it.

Tecmo will only benefit from him leaving.....

im sure he will find work somewhere.. some company would be glad to have him on their team.. tho, i admit, he does seem to bring a bit of an ego with him wherever he goes..

Hey Itagaki, u can make exclusive ps3 games now.

Oh well, always thought he was an average developer who was quite a d-bag since he acted like he was a rockstar and not a video game developer. Good riddance.

Id be pissed if I were stiffed on a 1.4M bonus too.

Totally lame!j This dude is one of my favorite game developers out there, he has a colorful personality and has always delivered a fun product. Sure, it isn't just him, but he oversaw some of the best in gaming. I'm sure he'll continue to make some sweetass games for another company (maybe even MS if his support of the Xbox brand has been any indication). It sucks that this might affect Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden (though he did say he doesn't plan on making a new Gaiden anyway), but hey, hopefully we'll see some more sick games from him in the future. Last I checked, Sakaguchi left a pretty huge company behind to start making his own, too.

That means I just bought the last team ninja game he'll ever make. On one hand that sucks, but it's somehow cool.

That's a shame, though I'm sure his next games will be equally as good!

56thebomb489 it doesn't mean we won't see those games ever again it just means he won't be involved in making them. and while this is disappointing i'd like to see what some fresh minds can do with the ninja gaiden series working off what he has already done.

well, i hope he can still continue to make great games like ninja gaiden

Microsoft should pick him up

I never liked Itagaski hes always **** about something....hey his games were never Great just good enough...Sigma for the PS3 looked pretty but played like an old game which sucked .Anyways I hope this backfires on him and leave him begging MS for a job. I hope he doesn't go to Sony because then it would be the fall of Sony. Him and MS think alike pocket thieves.

Its a shame he was a great man and we will never see DOA5 or Ninja Gaiden 3 for that matter

I can't believe this, Itagaki is one of the best game designers ever and now he's leaving Tecmo and he's suing to top it all. this man is one the main reasons Tecmo is in the business today whether you like him or not.,I wish him the best,I'm pretty sure someone will hire this talented game designer wow,I still can't believe this.

I guess i should of known this was coming, since everything he has been saying this year as been talkin bad about NG2. But I won't cry a tear for him, I know he will find work elsewhere.

Itagaki was kind of a bi#$h anyway ever since he refused to develop games for Sony. Lets face it multi console Games like GTA4 are the way to make a company money! Other people will continue those franchises anyway! Maybe Sony fans will get lucky with a port on NG2 now that he's not there to cry about it! At least the Xbox fans got a good game out of him before he became a cry baby!

Love him or hate him but without him Tecmo won't have jack. Tecmo can try carrying on the franchises but they will not have the "flair" that Itagaki gave them. Sorry to see you go Itagaki.

Dammit I did not expect this news. Shame will never see DOA5 :(

itagaki is full of himself.

Smooth Tecmo, +!$$ off the one guy in your studio who is behind the few franchises that sell extremely well.