Is Team Ninja Crafting Yet Another Blade For Microsoft To Plunge Into Sony's Heart?

For those of you that don't know, in many interviews, former Head of Team Ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki, has mentioned that a deal between Tecmo and Microsoft has been struck. The deal involved releasing 5 exclusive titles throughout the life span of the 360. All 5 titles were to be developed by Team Ninja.

[panasonic23]

wow i can't wait for E3 man i want to see what team ninja got up their thanks hiphopgamer please post more information.

[gambare]

yeah, I want to see what's the new flop

[II Necroplasm II]

The only thing that is a flop is you and your predictable fanboy comments.

Makes you feel so smart don't it just to sit there behind a computer and be a fanboy

[lord_of_balrogs]

Even though this is a pro-360 headline which I support, this is still a flamebait title and should be changed.

Lets face it MS has some good exclusives waiting in the wings for us. It's gonna be a good 09.

"Project Progressive is what people need to get excited about. And the reason is this, it is a new action adventure title from Team Ninja"

Hmm, could this be one of the two new ip's MS is set to announce sometime this quarter?

[Why dis]

Its strange people forget what you said every year.

The two new IP's could be anything they could have been mentioned because MSFT has faith in them meaning I doubt those are the only ones.

[cryymoar]

is crafting yet another Blades of Chaos for Sony to plunge into Microsoft's heart

[Why dis]

I don't get it? is this a "me too" knee-jerk reaction?

At least HHG pays attention.

[GCO Gamer]

Your right

[sonarus]

lol since when has any team ninja game ever reached the kind of success that warrants a glance by sony?
LMFAO at plunge in the heart

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Lol @ Ninja Gaiden 2. One of the most disappointing games of 2008. Team Ninja is done for, especially now that Itagaki is gone. When did they ever create a memorable game by the way? Can't seem to remember because well, they never did.

And I love how Hip Hop Gamer has now become a 360 fanboy website. Good, I thought they were absolute morons to begin with. Brainless retards unite!

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

Team Ninja has never crafted such game in the first place.

[barom]

Here's one quite interesting interview with the current Team Ninja
http://www.gamasutra.com/vi...

They didn't sound like they were making a X360 exclusive game at all from that interview. In fact it sounded more like they were more enthusiastic about the PS3. That's just what I felt when I read it though.

[Rock Bottom]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't team ninja working on that "Gears of War wanna be" PS3 exclusive?

[Sarcasm]

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't team ninja working on that "Gears of War wanna be" PS3 exclusive? "

That's Tecmo, the publisher for Team Ninja.

[Foxgod]

Il correct you, No Team ninja isnt working on that gears wannabe for the ps3.
That game is being done by Tecmo, Team ninja is not Tecmo, they just have a deal with Tecmo to have their games published by them.

The the next exclusives for the 360 will probably Dead or Alive 5 and Ninja Gaiden 3.

[SaiyanFury]

Back in June of 2007, Yousuke Hayashi had an interview with Sony saying that there were many possibilities for the future and that Ninja Gaiden Sigma was the future for the series. That lends some credence to a PS3 "Sigma" version of Ninja Gaiden 2. Just a personal interpretation, but that doesn't rule out the possibility.

[AAACE5]

But you and your group are already united! Oh I get it, that was your cry for the rest of your buddies to unite with you. Sorry!

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

@sayanfury:

I love NG2 and don't mind it coming to the PS3. In fact, I hope so because we might get extra and new content. However, that is unlikely since the game is published by MS.

NG2 was the best game released for me last year, next to Gears of War 2. I just bought the DLC last night for 30% off for gold members too!!!

[Eddie20101]

Ninja Gaiden 2 didn't do that well, you can get it on sale for ten bucks now, even though I bought it full price and enjoyed it. I don' t think any of the Tecmo games have been huge sellers on the Xbox 360.

This guy is a attention hore and is probably submitting these articles himself, not sure if he is writing them himself. His writing has changed quite a bit in the last couple of months, less grammatical errors and better written, even if the stories are nonsense.

My advice just read the comments and don't go to the actual site to give him a hit.

I think the Xbox 360 fanboys and the PS3 fanboys would like to see this site and guy go away.

[red5ive]

yeah, as much as the title screams of pathetic flame bait, you've gotta love it! guy who thought of the title is a moron and a comedic genius at the same time!! LMAO!

[red5ive]

it's HHG?! oh god... that guy feeds off this console war crap.

[shutupandplay]

"lol since when has any team ninja game ever reached the kind of success that warrants a glance by sony?"

HAHA I remember seeing an add for Ninja Gaiden sigma in a magazine a while ago...there was a quote from some sony site saying "the real reason you bought a ps3."
HAHAHA

[ThanatosDMC]

They're trying to make it sound like those "exclusives" are actually worth something... like Halo Wars for example. Played the demo... it's best to use a mouse but cant use a mouse. I do hope it comes on PCs though... preferably on Steam.

Also, not every 360 owner would pay attention to this type of game. Tried it... didnt like it. I'm more inclined to DMC... i didnt even like God of War because for me, it's a rip off of DMC.

Though i still played both GoW I & 2. I like the big sword in the first than the blades of chaos. Artemis sword???

[The gaming GOD]

ah the joy of the hypocrite nature that is N4G :). And one of them is already here posting. I'll mention no names. He'll make himself known because we both know he'll reply to me either here or by PM with some crybaby action :)

[Omegasyde]

I agree. I am tired of the BS, I bet HipHopGamer is creating stories to win the money on N4g for highest degrees.

HipHopGamer, You have been called out.

NEXT WEEK'S HEADLINE:

NAMCO & SONY CREATE ULTIMATE TEAM: Cellius TO TAKE ON NINTENDO.

http://www.bloomberg.com/ap...

Now he rakes in hits from the Xbox fans, whom have denounced him...

[DelbertGrady]

I think he pollutes N4G regardless of what side he tries to cater to. He just takes information that has already been posted by real journalists and makes flamebait headlines from it. He only contributes to more fanboyism.

[Omegasyde]

He might as well as have his own tab in the sections above.

[ All / PS3 / Xbox 360 / Wii / PC / Hiphopgamer Flamebait / industry/

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

You know I used to like HHG, but I can now see that he is truly unprofessional. It seems that he's trying to win the hearts of both sides of the camp by making the most fanboyish flamebait article headlines. We as gamers, should vote him off the site for good.

[The gaming GOD]

his titles have been like this ever since that planetxbox forum dude called him out for being a "sony fanboy". The moment that happened, his site started popping up with more "pro MS" stuff

[Sarcasm]

"You know I used to like HHG"

I think that speaks for a lot of people. Now he just posts flamebait articles left and right.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

lol, or now he just posts articles that doesn't jive well with the Sony fanboys on this site.

Besides, I think a lot of people (including me) got confused. There are different people posting on that site, not just one. The pro Sony articles and pro MS isn't from the same person I think.... At least now it is a little more balanced.

[Mozilla89]

his headlines are all wrong. They're just designed to get both sides fighting against each other and or draw hits to his website.

[Strife Lives]

I'd like another DOA game. . .,I like beat em ups,and while Tekken has always been my fav,its followed by DOA and then VF.my opinion.

[Blackcanary]

Thats the main reason why i have a 360 for dead or alive and it seems like the new tekken is trying to be like it in away with being able to smash people trough the floor and end up in another level.

[chidori666]

Like a game of tecmo will kill the ps3 ... ms of the poor thing ...

[infekt]

Lol. I was thinking the same thing. Its like a dirty snake trying to bite a rock. Please...

[dericb11]

Well HipHop I have click "Go to Source" for the last time on you.
Site is blocked and you won't get a hit from me ever again.
The reason I think ( I mean "Me".) he does it is for ad support. I noticed that there is not a single ad or supporter. If he gets enough
hits, companies might see this as a site to support. Nothing wrong with that. Problem is that tricking people and lying is pathetic. Good articles will get hits. If he does that maybe he will have a legit site.

[Blackcanary]

How do u bloke website?

[N4PS3G]

ugh...Could you stop being so dramatic with your titles?

[Game13a13y]

exactly what i think. a blade to Sony's heart... just an idea for his next title: "Will Microsoft break into Sony's house and rob all his belongings and rape his kids on his way out?"

[red5ive]

L O L !!!!

[name]

-_- @ your titles. I like you, but jesus you're the biggest flamebaiter.. ever. I'm not even exagurating, I have never seen such frequent flamebaiting in my entire life.

[II Necroplasm II]

HHG is like the crack dealer and the sad fanboys are the crackheads pretty much.

[DelbertGrady]

Report him. "Bad Editing: Misleading headline."

[Zeus Lee]

Let's see how great Ninja Gaiden is without Itagaki.

[II Necroplasm II]

That is kinda scary for a Ninja Gaiden fan I think about that myself

[DelbertGrady]

About as good as Quantum Theory lol!

[ZuperAmazingCooKie]

Ninja Gaiden Black was fine without Itagaki, in fact it was the best version and it even beat NG2.

[Arnon]

Ninja Gaiden Black sold more than Ninja Gaiden 2.. but it was in no way, better. The story was better written, but gameplay wise, Ninja Gaiden 2 is the king. And the only reason it had low scores was because they said it wasn't innovative enough or the fact that the camera was bad or it was too hard.

The controls are tighter. The combo system is ramped up to have like twice the amount of content that NGB had, and the game can support like 60 enemies on-screen at once while still being as challenging as it is. And of course, graphics were sharper.

Though, I guess this is all subjective. But in my opinion, Ninja Gaiden 2 is the best action adventure game made to date. Only thing that it needed was a better story.

[Harry190]

A cross between Dynasty Warriors and Ninja Gaiden to exploit the full potential of the Xbox360. It should look like a painting made by a 3 year old, who, of course, must be more intelligent than me.

[Johnny Rotten]

Hiphopgamer is the Access Hollywood of gaming... very little substance with a big provocative headline.

[DelbertGrady]

The difference being that the people at Access Hollywood actually know how to read and write (and talk).

[Queers of War]

"yet another blade"?

more like "yet another flop"

[creatchee]

Just as long as we don't get a Team Ninja-developed Tecmo Bowl. I mean, throwing stars are one thing - throwing hail marys is another...

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

Us PS3, 360, PC, Wii, and other gamers should vote HHG off N4G for good. He is nothing but unprofessional and unreliable. Let's get this thing going.

I mean why do we get banned on N4G for making some fanboyish comments when HHG is making fanboyish HEADLINES and getting away with it? I really hope the moderators do something about this.

[Handsome_Devil]

I totally agree with you, and I'm all for it.

now my Question is, how we vote to banned him ?

[DelbertGrady]

There are threads in the forum about it. For some reason the mods do their best to protect him, even though his articles continually go against the guidelines for posting.

[Sarcasm]

Agreed. All this "leave your fanboyism at the door please" doesn't apply to the articles. It's ridiculous.

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

HHG is a joke in the video game industry. There, I said it.

[rogimusprime]

Ninja Gaiden 2 was a good game in its own right, better than most action games out there on the 360. Obliterations were badazz.

But when you compare it against ninja gaiden sigma, or ninja gaiden black, it lacks the polish of the first title. Those fiend bosses were also pretty damn cheap too.

Didn't Itakagi leave tecmo and then sue them for unpaid bonuses?

[DevilsJoker]

What? What blades have been plunged into sonys heart at all, come to think of it, what Blades have ever been 'Plunged into the hearts' of any console. Its a bit dramatic saying all he's on about is a disk that will work in one box, a different box, or both. Oh the Humanity.

[INDIGO_CYCLOPS]

HHG won't get very far with his poor grammar and blatant parasitic flamebait journalism. Good luck with that TV show.

Let's face it, Team Ninja is done. Gotta love the guys but without Itagaki they'll fit right in with the teams Koei has brought to the table.

[Asurastrike]

I really dislike the hiphopgamershow. The entire site is speculative, flamebait garbage.

[FantasyStar]

That title was simply off the hook!

[Gun_Senshi]

Dead Or Alive: Boob Impants
Dead Or Alive: Jiggling Karts
Dead Or Alive: Dress 'em up
Dead Or Alive: Pleasure

Come on its just a stupid studio that makes games for pervert teens. DoA is not even a fighter its a button masher, and NG is EASY even on hardest difficulty. Just learn the moves of your enemy and you can pass it easy.

Tell me when you pass original Ghoul 'n Goblins.

Also Shinobi on PS2 makes NG difficultly child's play.

[Foxgod]

Ugh, they are just as much button mashers as Tekken and Soul Calibur.
Street Figher is where you can find the real fighting skills.

Still DOA is on the level of Soul Calibur and Tekken.

[Gun_Senshi]

Actually SF is the most button masher of them all. I can run spamming hadukens and shurkoens online.

Tekken takes most skill. 1 Character has more combos then all SF characters combos have together. You need to block and dodge. button mashing gets you killed.

Try button mashing against some Japanese Tekken Pro. He will get you perfect kill with 1 counter.

[Foxgod]

hwo does pulling off special moves relate to button mashing ?
Button mashing means spamming combo's by randomly pressing buttons.

You cant do that in street fighter, you have to know what your doing.

[Gun_Senshi]

wiggle stick and pressing 1 punch button is so hard -.-

[Foxgod]

its still not a button mash :)

[jack_burt0n]

Would be financial suicide the next DOA will be multi platform. HHG for the ban.

[Blackcanary]

news why has he put this in the PS3 section 360 section.

[Scruffy_K]

Are they crafting another blade? more like another butter knife, and not just any butter knife, a butter knife with boob physics. Seriously? Ninja Gaiden and DOA? Who cares?

[PirateThom]

I wasn't aware they'd crafted a first blade...

[Reibooi]

While in theory there could be two more games coming from Team Ninja to 360 that may not be the case anymore seeing as Itagaki-san left. Also even if the deal isn't affected from his departure the quaility of the games may have suffered. Yes I know the article says that he would have been there for the majority of these games development so let me explain.

Ninja Gaiden II while great failed to live up to the first game in alot of ways. Alot of people believe the reason for this is because the tension and controversy that caused Itagaki-san to leave and sue Tecmo was brewing for quite a while. So he may not have been as focused on Ninja Gaiden II's development as he should have been which would explain why the game did not turn out how alot of people expected it would. Now I'm not saying this is indeed the cause it is just a possibility. But if something like that did go down it would be no stretch to imagine that the other games in development would have suffered from the same lack of attention.

That said Sigma was damn good and Itagaki-san was little involved in that. However what many people need to understand about Sigma is that it was simply a adaptation of a game already made and completed by Itagaki-san so it was relatively easy to port the game over to PS3 and polish it up.

[Depressed Mode]

You make some very good points and you are spot on with the NG Sigma situation. I find it funny that people confuse Sigma as a completely new game.

>:D

[jlemdon]

I just hope they make NG3 2 Disc long.:) I sure hope TEAM NINJA USE a NEW Engine from the ground up using all 3 cores.

[Arnon]

Ninja Gaiden 2 was built from the ground up on the 360. It says it right on the box.

[DFresh]

Question:
How are they killing Sony when they're already starting to make exclusives for Sony?
Hint:
Quantum Theory
(Call it a Gears of War rip off if you want but it's still an exclusive from Tecmo.)

But whatever I wonder what they'll cook up at Microsoft.
Guesses?
-Dead or Alive 5 (2009)
-Ninja Gaiden 3 (2010)
3 other unknown titles.

[Master Samo]

It looks like you didn't even read the article. My suggestion, go read it, then comment. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I hope you enjoy it.

[Master Samo]

To everyone that gave comments so far, I thank you. I respect all the opinions above; even the ones that were unreasonably aggressive. But anyway, i think i need to clarify a few misconceptions. First, the 5 title exclusive deal is a fact; and i think i made it clear why it will most likely stand despite Itagaki’s departure. Second, my conclusions are based on a logical analysis of the facts available so far; nothing more and nothing less. All the facts indicate that an announcement is coming soon. So all we have to do is wait and see. Third, Project Progressive has nothing to do with Ninja Gaiden. Its a new IP that resembles the level of intensity that Ninja Gaiden 2 has. Fourth, the only reason why i implied that the PS3 port would be filled with technical issues is because it is a known fact that games that are ported to the PS3 are usually plagued with tech issues. And i think that the last 3 years are filled with games that prove that. That is the main reason why the PS3 is now the main platform to develop for. It creates a better PS3 version and at the same time, the quality would be identical to the 360 version, if not better. My words were not meant to attack the PS3. I am well aware that its a Powerhouse. So to all the offended Sony fanboys, relax. Finally, to anyone that violently opposed Ninja Gaiden 2, all i can say is that you are either a God of War fan or a Sony fan. Either way, most of you didn’t play the game; as for the ones that did, you didn’t play it enough to really understand its level of depth; and its difficulty probably intimidated you. So try to give it another chance, if you have a 360 that is :). If you do that with no bias, i promise you it will be one of your favorite games of all time. By the way, God of War is one of my favorite games of all time. And my suggestion, to everyone that judged this article simply by judging the title, is this, read the full article. You will not be disappointed.
God bless you all.

Master Samo

[Mad_Rhetoric]

Since Itagaki left there really no hope for tecmo or team ninja
NG1 was the best action game ever made. NG sigma is the only AAA action game this gen, NG2 disappointed.

[nycredude]

Team Ninja are some badass developers!! 5 AAA titles confirmed in the next 2 years!!!!

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Sure...

Bring on more Ninja Gaiden. Kratos has to wipe his arse just like the rest of us.

[Snatcher]

Ninja Gaiden is a great series. God Of War might be better, but there is no need to post a comment like that. It just shows how much of a fanboy you really are.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

I think Itagaki deserves it. He claimed it was better than both Devil May Cry and God of War. He says these things all the time. He also claimed that Dead or Alive was better than Tekken and Street Fighter.

Ninja Gaiden is a great game. It's not a system seller though...and some people need to know that.

The same could be said of any PS3 exclusive of the same status. It seems as though people here still think I'm biased.

[FReeDoM4ALL]

Writes idiotic titles that knows will gets hits... turning a possible x360 project by a dev team which should be enjoyed as an experience into a 'blade plunging into Sony's heart'... WTF.

What ties those two together? It's not like a dev team who makes ninja games will suddenly rise out of no where with such a ground breaking, earth shattering experience that it causes Sony to chuck the towel in and give up... LOL.

What a disgarce to gaming journalism... what am I talking about, nowadays, there is no such thing as grace existing for gaming journalism.

Why can't we leave it at what it is, or what it possibly could be... a good gaming experience to feed our hobbies.

[Dpa]

Because Ninja Gaiden 2 was so good. Rofl, that was a poor excuse for a game, even the non-biased reviewers agreed.

[HolyOrangeCows]

A fanboy title to a relatively simple story about a contract deal. That's just AWESOME.

[dash--]

Please this game looks like Ninja Gaiden. Just one game in the PS3 arsenal will counter this game.

[jlemdon]

well they need to make it 2 disc then I didn't like how they cramed everything into 1 disc. and it's only like 560P or something like it.:(

make it 2 disc so we get the whole 720P experience alonge with better texturing.

[Arnon]

Ninja Gaiden 2 runs at native 720p =P

[GEESE]

And is that not what you 360 fanboys are all about? Stats, sales, attach ratios etc...not just playing a good game.
No one cares.

[XLiveGamer]

Ok dude calm down its not our fault that you can't handle Ninja Gaiden Difficulty or any other Itagaki's masterpiece just like MASTER SAMO said: "Either way, most of you didn’t play the game; as for the ones that did, you didn’t play it enough to really understand its level of depth; and its difficulty probably intimidated you. <<< And that my boy is the most common case.

My humble opinion is this: "when you like a game so much you don't care how many copies have been sold or if half of the world like it too, what all matter its that you like the game and its your game"

I LOVE Ninja Gaiden Series and difficulty since Arcade days. That's my game.

@ LeonSKennedy4Life 19.2
That's because like you show in the image of your avatar "We like the Blood of our enemies in our hands". But hey that depend on the difficulty you play the game. Which level did you play it ACOLYTE?

The more the difficulty and challenge for me the better.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Because Ninja Gaiden is SO HARD!

I'm a huge action fan...and I love Ninja Gaiden. However, it's not really that hard...especially when compared to Devil May Cry 3.

To be honest with you, I died more times in Crysis and Resistance 2 than Ninja Gaiden 2.

[XLiveGamer]

Can this be a Open World RPG Game? Wow if that end up been a Ninja theme RPG its going to be awesome. Who knows but all i know its that the last picture she looks damn hot.
http://media.xbox360.ign.co...