Kotaku: I got the chance to sit down with Dead or Alive creator and former Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki yesterday, ostensibly to talk about his studio's upcoming action game Devil's Third.
As part of a generation of "celebrity" Japanese developers, along with the likes of Miyamoto, Mizuguchi, Nagoshi and Sakaguchi, Itagaki has enjoyed relative rock star status in his native land, along with a degree of recognition overseas as well. He's seen as one of a group of men who were able to singlehandedly shape the way video games were made for nearly two decades.
Yet that's a list of names that's been fairly constant for over a decade. Since the turn of the milennium there have been very few, if any, younger Japanese developers rise to take their place (or at least join them). Part of that is the natural enlargement of development teams, of course (reducing the amount of influence one person can have), but another is that, according to Itagaki, there are less people willing to take risks, to be bold. There's a crisis of confidence. And it's about the worst thing ever.
"It is terrible", he says bluntly. "It is the worst thing possible".
Dead or Alive producer Tomonobu Itagaki has swapped cheesecake for NFTs in his new game Warrior, which contains all the Web3 nonsense you'd expect.
Ninja Gaiden director Tomonobu Itagaki has returned to game development with a newly-formed studio, he’s revealed.
I was wondering just yesterday what happened to this guy. Dead or Alive 3 and Ninja Gaiden were among my main reasons to get an Xbox back in the day (together with Halo of course). I would be very interested to see what his new project is like.
He did Devil’s Third on Wii U. Never played it and I thought it was canceled. I guess it’s good according to google reviews. I wouldn’t mind a cool new action game. I’m personally all ninja’d out but I would play a new Gaiden title.
I actually have Devil's Third. It's in seal though, I don't really plan on playing it. :P
Itagaki is one of the most talented Old gen Deveopers out there ..
.i wish he was on Playstation wagon from the start ..Ninja Gaiden 1and 2 were the Sekiros of that time- difficult , brutal and beautiful ..
i dont know if he has still the appetite or the interest to still deliver good games , as is known he had problems with alcooholism
I played the game. One of the first bosses was this dark muscular guy holding a massive chain gun of some sort. The game was terrible. Despite what Itagaki said about the game being made to be easier the whole design style made it harder.
Hopefully Ivan the Terrible (that is the name of the main character) never makes it in Smash Bros.
Definitely showed off the power of the machine. The graphics were stunning for their time and gameplay was so tight and spot on 👌🏼
a game like Ninja Gaiden i could totally enjoy right about now.
i would really like see what their new studio makes.
Good for him, bad for Microsoft if he continues to create bad games. This is his second studio already after he got booted from Tecmo Koei around 9 years ago.
Did he get fired, or did he quit? Itagaki had issues with the president of Koei Tecmo for many years, he stuck around with them until he had enough of their BS. I remember reading that he was screwed over by management many times over and left the company.
Tecmo lied to him and published an incomplete version of DOA 2 for PS2. This is why a re-release called DOA 2: Hardcore was later released, since that was the version he was trying to make in the first place. There's also the issue of unpaid bonuses that were promised he never received.
After he left Tecmo and signed up with THQ, it all went downhill for him once THQ shuttered, his company had no money, and then eventually Nintendo reluctantly published Devil's Third. Its well-known that the game had trouble development due to monetary issues outside of his control, but Nintendo (a company with endless cash) didn't make it any easier when they basically pushed an unpolished version out the door, with no marketing, and with a very late American release.
It was all just a mess. But Itagaki has plenty of potential, hopefully he'll get a fair chance to prove it with this next game.
Pretty sure I read he was really hard to work with. There was an article years ago say when they interviewed him and his team they were saying he kept all the bonus money that was supposed to go to his team while say they were useless and was verbally really abusive. Not sure if it's true but honestly I could believe it
*Back then, I asked him, ‘are you confident that you will beat PS2?’ and he said, ‘Yes. Xbox is called Project Midway and I’ll gain the supremacy with it.’*
That surely didn't work out. PS2 murdered Xbox that deserved defeat with that "midway" undertone. Like It was a war against the Japanese or something. It's videogames. 360 eventually lost to PS3. Itagaki got kicked out from Tecmo and his games have been lowered in quality since his absence with one turning into a full on micro transaction, clothing and hair simulator. Xbox One got hammered by PS4. It's early, but looks like everyone in the world wants a PS5.
Now that we are all caught up, "Honored" in this instance sounds more like, "willing to accept a check after the panning of Devil's Third." Hopefully, he's lost his arrogant personality as well. He's not a rockstar. Even in those shades he keeps wearing.
Interesting he still wants to work with MS after the failure in Japan and overall less consoles sales with X1.
They have good relationship with the company sure, But C'mon, they want that MS money. More than ever now considering he just opened up his new studio.
MS/Xbox is the best console for his studio to work with. He likes his uncensored violence, gore, and scantily clad voluptuous women in his games. Totally against Sony's ridiculous censorship. He didn't open up a new studio just to be bossed around and told what he can't have in his games
So where was this censorship in the last of us 2? I've had brains hit door frames and slowly slide down it into a puddle on the floor, seen body parts(including eyeballs flying) blown to pieces by mines, ives seen peoples blood drip from the ceilings, blood melts the ice lol...the actual violence in that game is done way better than anything I've ever played in my life, they also have a sex scene in the game. But cover up some questionably aged looking anime girls and suddenly all that don't exist? 🤣
I think he talking about those horn dog games, gore Sony allowed plenty of that. But games with sexual intent like DOA or Gal Gun will be a problem.
While I understand your point, the likes of dead or alive 6 and the volleyball game are still released, I dont think censoring the likes of younger looking characters is a problem at all and used as an excuse more than anything🤷♂️
@IRetrouk & RedDevils
Both of you think I'm referring to the anime girls that looked questionably underage. Totally NOT what I'm referring to. I'm referring to Sony's new policy driven by the #MeToo movement and whatever other reasoning they have. In Devil May Cry 5, the PS4 US & EU versions added a purple lens flare and haze over Trish's naked body from the back covering up a small piece of butt crack. Meanwhile, the PC, Japanese PS4 version, and Xbox version did not censor this. WTF was that sh*t?? It's not even frontal nudity. Keep in mind Trish is not even an anime looking character. In fact, she actually looks late 20s early 30s if you examine her face. The scene happens when Dante saves Trish by catching her body and placing her on the ground. Trish is naked, because she was incapsulated in the demon's body. (non-censored version) https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Meanwhile, the sex scene in the Last of US 2 is allowed, because it's considered "tasteful". I have no problem with the sex scene, but the double standards is ridiculous as hell.
You think I'm making this up? Here's a link from a legit website. https://www.businessinsider...
Quote from article: "Sony officials tell the Wall Street Journal that the gaming giant updated its policy for approving new PlayStation games worldwide, in response to the cultural shifts brought about by the #MeToo movement and the increased visibility of video game livestreaming.
Per the report, Sony wants to avoid promoting games that disparage and objectify women, or that contain sexual content. The company is particularly concerned about being associated with Japanese titles that feature sexualized images of underage girls."
I get the part about the underage girls. No issues there. The issue is their political stance on what they consider sexualizing and objectifying women. Ask yourself this...was the Devil May Cry 5 scene objectifying women? Sony is the new 90's Nintendo regarding censorship, except there's a twist to it. 90's Nintendo did it to be "family friendly" back when video games were primarily played by kids and teens, where as Sony has a more SJW stance. This is why Playstation is the worst company to work with for Itagaki.
Wanting to appeal to women and objectifing them less isn't a bad thing in my eyes, so they covered an arse crack, so what, did that make you enjoy the game any less? I'm not sure why it was done, but they did undo it in the American release🤷♂️
Its a case by case thing isn't it? Again the likes of dead or alive 6 and the volleyball game are on the console, plenty of arse in those if that's what you want to see🤷♂️
I dont see it being an issue for itagaki at all.
10 Years Ago This Month: Tecmo and its star developer hit the breaking point, Jack Thompson makes a bad situation worse, and Limbo of the Lost raises the bar for innovation in appropriation.
The games industry moves pretty fast, and there's a tendency for all involved to look constantly to what's next without so much worrying about what came before. That said, even an industry so entrenched in the now can learn from its past. So to refresh our collective memory and perhaps offer some perspective on our field's history, here's some highlight happenings in gaming from exactly a decade ago.
I hate this egomaniacal creep. He constantly bitches and complains about other games like his shit don't stink and his games are masterpieces, when they are middle-of-the-road at best and prurient incel wish fulfillment fodder at worse (remember "She kicks high"?). Not to mention he's a real-life sexual harasser. I'm glad he's been out of the spotlight, I can't stand the fucker.
@above(ok UCForce your comment convienced me that u r here only for comments---u r not gaming) ..... are u serious??? are u even gaming ....Itagaki is one hell of a talented developer/director that made Ninja Gaiden the legendary game it is today...His harcore authentic skill to make games with superb gamepaly and difficulty but fair is starting to fade off in gaming industry... ....very few devs out there even in Japan can match him ...his only con that stuck with lame Xbox and didnt relese the Ninja Gaiden Black and 2 on PS3 (with him directing personally not the lazy Team Ninja ports)
And Naruga is only here to hate Western games.
The guy was and likely still is an arrogant jerk. Talk to some people that worked with him not only at Team Ninja but also Valhalla. He was going through tons of money in adult clubs then writing it off as an expense. Not showing up at the office, disappearing for days.
What Itagaki wouldn't acknowledge was NG was good because he was surrounded by talent. When that one hit wonder went on his own he face planted. He reminds me of the star wars kid.
And to be a ronin you must have first been a samurai. He wasn't.
@naruga ..i agree part about Ninja Gaiden games..they are awesome..but dod you play his game on WiiU Devils Third .. even though some bits of game were good, bigger part was a pure crap
@Venox ...i dont own a Wii U ...but i saw the whole game walkthrough on youtube ....and its one of these games i would buy instantly ...it seems technical and difficult like Ninja G,and also has these super likable (for me)over the top cheesy characters -which are Itagakis signature ...if they werent these crappy FPS features in the game would be a far better product
Wow legit forgot about that makes me even more glad he's become so irrelevant now.
Lol this guy thought he was bigger than he was, when he voluntarily left Tecmo he thought his name and reputation would be enough to save him. Thankfully reality told him otherwise.
His crappy game told him otherwise... His company Valhalla studios dropped a fat Cleveland steamer by the name of...oh shit, I forgot... It's not even worth searching just to complete my thought...it was hyped out this world and and ended up flopping....devil's third.. That's the name..
Like him or hate him, this guy made DOA what it is today.. Ninja Gaiden on xbox too.. DOA 5 was a nice comeback for team ninja but theyve been dormant
Itagaki, a damn good dev who doesn't get the respect and recognition he deserves.
I always say.
Capcom "grew a pair", look what they did afterwards...
This guy is the clown shoes of gaming, always wearing glasses like he is something of grandur' your inside take them off.. clearly has issues. My dad once said your not a man unless you can look another man in the eye when speaking.
And his games.. he knocks GAMERS because of his own short comings when it comes to game development, learn to work a camera in your titles... clown shoes he has, and always will be. Blaming his own short comings on everyone but himself, and takes no personal responsibility in anything ill, but takes all the credit if anything good is said.
I guess he is telling Yosuke Hayashi to get some balls and put Ninja Gaiden 3 back on the drawing board.Yosuke is ruin the series with all the casual approach and from the walk of it DOA5 is next on the list to become crap.