Itagaki Leaving Team Ninja, Suing Tecmo
Ninja Gaiden mastermind quits on the eve of new game's release.
By Philip Kollar, 06/02/2008
Last month, Team Ninja head and Ninja Gaiden director Tomonobu Itagaki suggested in an interview that he would be done with the franchise after the upcoming release of Ninja Gaiden 2. On Monday night we received a clearer picture of just what he meant with the announcement that Itagaki is leaving Team Ninja and suing Tecmo.
1UP received the following confirmation of this news from Itagaki aide Andrew Szymanski:
"At approximately 2:30 PM Japan Standard Time today, June 3 2008, an official statement from Tomonobu Itagaki was sent by fax to major Japanese news outlets. In the interest of fair and expedient reporting of this story throughout the English-speaking world, I have been asked by Itagaki to convey this statement to you. Herein find attached Itagaki's official statement, in English, for the benefit of your readers.
"...You will likely have questions regarding the content of the statement, or about Itagaki's future plans. I am afraid that I will be unable to answer such questions for the time being; however, rest assured that more information will be forthcoming as soon as it is deemed appropriate to do so."
The full text of the letter from Itagaki follows:
"
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."
In addition to the allegations made in the letter, we've heard rumblings that Itagaki believes that Yasuda has focused too much on making a profit without a regard for quality. While Itagaki's official announcement does not point to any specific releases, recent Tecmo ports such as Rygar for the
Wii and Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the
PS3 are possible targets of Itagaki's anger, which would also explain recent interviews where Itagaki has been especially negative toward Sigma and has said that a
PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden 2 would not be good. We've even heard rumors that Yasuda wanted to port Ninja Gaiden Sigma (a
PS3 port of a rerelease of an Xbox title) to the Xbox 360 before he was talked out of it by Itagaki and others at Tecmo.
In the same interview we linked to above, Itagaki mentions that he intends for his next game to be "a brand new action game" that will be violent like Ninja Gaiden. It's safe to assume that this game will not be with Tecmo and probably that Itagaki knew that already when he started discussing it. We cannot speculate further as to what Itagaki might be up to next, but considering the timing, there's clearly some very bad blood between Itagaki and Tecmo. The outspoken game maker waited until the evening before Ninja Gaiden 2's release to make this announcement, which is sure to leave a slightly bitter taste in the mouths of many fans picking up their next dose of blood-soaked action.
We'll update with further details on Itagaki's departure and lawsuit as they are uncovered.
转自：1UP
我来简单翻译一下这封信：
我，坂垣伴信，在这里声明：08年5月14日，我向东京地方法院递交了一份起诉书，书中状告Tecom Co.,Ltd拒付分红，以及Tecom主席Yoshimi Yasuda对我毫无诚意和无理的对待。在这里我要求1.48亿日圆的赔偿，我还要补充的是这封信在同年的5月22日，也递交给了被告方。在此情况下，我今天向Tecom递交了辞呈。7月1日我将正式离职。
在开发DOA 4的时候，Tecom同意为此游戏向我支付一笔花红，可支付期到了后，Tecom否定了之前的协议。主席Yoshimi Yasuda不仅违反了协议，还大言不惭的说：“如果你不满意我们的决议（就是不给钱的决定），你可以选择走人或上诉。”他（Yoshimi Yasuda）这种让我在下属和同事面前丢脸的行为，造成了我明显的精神痛苦，以及严重影响了我的个人关系和工作环境。因此我别无选择，只能离开Tecom。
Blah,Blah,Blah............我已经阐明了我要离开的理由了！
给所有的“粉丝”：
”我很抱歉！NG2将是我制作的最后一款NG游戏了，DOA 5我也不会去制作了。我很遗憾我不得不离开这个我工作多年的Tecom，我很遗憾我让你们（Fans）失望了。可我无法再和Tecom主席Yoshimi Yasuda共事了，这个人即使有能力履行他的诺言也不会去做的。我希望将来不会再有同样的事情发生。“
看起来很好吃的哦！
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本帖最后由 zhyxd 于 2008-6-3 23:40 编辑 ]
