My Fellow Gamers;

Sometimes fame can be a fleeting want, or a never-ending curse, depending on who you may be. Sometimes success can be detrimental to the creativity that flows naturally from some people. Because sometimes success breeds envy. And jealousy. And even ego. But sometimes the story we’re told about someone isn’t the whole truth. Sometimes it’s simply a slanted view of that person’s life. A very public life. A very controversial life. Yet never a boring one. So what does someone do when faced with half-truths and shadowy misconceptions of your life? Simple.

You set the record straight and do your own thing.

Fight with me, for a little while, and find out whatever happened to…

The Beach Ninja Effect – Tomonobu Itagaki: Lead Producer of the Dead or Alive franchise and Ninja Gaiden series reboot / Current founder of Valhalla Studios

First officially listed work: Graphics programmer, Tecmo Bowl (Super Famicom version, 1992).

Other noted games/franchises: Dead or Alive (lead designer), Ninja Gaiden (2004) (co-director and lead producer), Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball (lead designer)

Last seen working on: Devil’s Third

After graduating from the Waseda University in Japan from its School of Law in 1992, Tomonobu Itagaki joined Tecmo as a graphics programmer with his first official work being the Super Famicom version of its popular Tecmo Bowl title. It wasn’t until his breakout hit Dead or Alive, based on the Sega Model 2 code used in Virtua Fighter, released in 1996 that his meteoric rise through the Tecmo ranks secured his position as the go-to creator for the developer.

Mr. Itagaki is something of an enigmatic (and quite frank) person compared to the current cultural politeness of Japanese society. He was once known for expressing his fondness for the western-built Xbox 360 over the “less software-friendly” Playstation 3. He even shared the opinion that Japanese companies were falling behind their western counterparts when it came to game design and appeal, and this “close-minded attitude towards outside criticism” was one of the major faults for the slump in Japanese-centric gaming titles.

He’s also been a harsh and outspoken critic of Namco Bandi’s Tekken series mainly due, according to him, to the company’s insulting radio ads during the original Dead or Alive release title. He also views Tekken’s (starting with 4) “stagnating” decline in the fighting genre due to its lack of evolution and lasting appeal.

In 2000, Dead or Alive 2 greatly increased the series’ popularity, and helped secure Itagaki’s position as head of Team Ninja in July of 2001. By 2004, after releasing a string of hits; the Ninja Gaiden reboot, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and Dead or Alive 3, Itagaki was appointed Executive Officer at Tecmo and continued to release subsequent entries in Dead or Alive series as well as a sequel to Xtreme Beach Volleyball in 2006. By then, Itagaki had assumed the position of General Manager of high-end production by February of 2006.

However, by August of the same year, Itagaki was hit with a sexual harassment case made against him by a now former Tecmo employee. While Itagaki admitted that, while he did kiss her, it had been a consensual engagement. After a year of legal struggles, the matter was settled by the Tokyo District Court with the verdict that Tomonobu was innocent of all charges. Tecmo then demoted Itagaki for, according to them, “mingling personal affairs with corporate responsibilities.”

In 2008, shortly before the release of Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360, Itagaki resigned from his position at Tecmo and sought legal council against his former employer for withholding bonus payouts promised to him for his previous works, notably after completing Dead or Alive 4. Itagaki also listed Tecmo’s President Yoshimi Yasuda for making “unreasonable and disparaging” remarks about him to his former Team Ninja associates.

On February 26th, 2010, Tecmo settled out of court with Itagaki for an undisclosed amount.

Where is he now: Not a man to rest on his laurels, Itagaki (along with more than a few disenfranchised Team Ninja members), formed Valhalla Game Studios in 2009. Currently he and his team are working on their first release, Devil’s Third, which was originally set to debut on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2014. However, since the closure of THQ (Valhalla’s Publisher at the time) in 2013, and after a change of gaming engines, Devil’s Third is currently being worked on exclusively for the Nintendo Wii U for an undetermined 2015 release.

Probability of Success: The Devil’s Cut.