Tecmo responds to Itagaki lawsuit

Tecmo has fired off a response to Tomonobu Itagaki‘s statement yesterday in which the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive creator announced his departure from the company. In the statement, Itagaki also accused Tecmo of not paying him a pre-agreed bonus for Dead or Alive 4 as well as causing him “significant emotional distress”. Tecmo’s response at the full article.

Yesterday, Ninja Gaiden creator Tomonobu Itagaki announced his resignation from Team Ninja‘s mother company, Tecmo. In the announcement, Itagaki also announced that he plans to sue Tecmo for damages.

In his statement, Itagaki mentioned unpaid bonuses that he was supposed to receive upon completion of Dead or Alive 4. According to Tecmo’s own response, this particular bonus was something between Itagaki and the company’s previous management.

Tecmo also expressed displeasure about Itagaki’s decision to make the whole issue public. The company labeled Itagaki’s statements against CEO Yoshimi Yasuda as “distortions” and accused Itagaki of talking about Team Ninja projects as if he developed them all by himself.

Tecmo also apologized to its customers and stock holders for any trouble the drama between the company and Itagaki may have caused. The company also noted that Team Ninja has already started working on new projects.