Tomonobu Itagaki leaves Team Ninja, sues Tecmo for damages

Team Ninja‘s Tomonobu Itagaki made a startling public announcement the night before the release of Ninja Gaiden 2. A statement forwarded by his aide Andrew Szymanski mentioned that Itagaki has official broken off from Team Ninja and will file a complaint against Tecmo Co., Ltd. Find out more about this in our full article after the jump.

With Team Ninja‘s highly anticipated Ninja Gaiden 2 making its North American debut today, a very unprecedented incident occurred between mother company Tecmo and the game’s creator, Tomonobu Itagaki. During a public statement forwarded by his aide Andrew Szymanski, Itagaki announced that he officially called it quits with Team Ninja and will file a complaint against Tecmo Co., Ltd.

Here’s an excerpt from the statement released by the iconic Japanese game master:

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.

Itagaki also apologized to all his fans, saying that Ninja Gaiden 2 will be the last title in the series that he will be creating. Unfortunately, this also meant that there will be no Dead or Alive 5 with his name on it. He regretted the circumstances that lead to his decision to leave the company and pointed a finger at Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda for not choosing to honor any promises with him.

The Ninja Gaiden creator expressed plans of making “a brand new action game” that will be as violent as Ninja Gaiden. Suffice to say, Itagaki’s next project will no longer be with Tecmo. However, this leaves us to wonder how this development will affect the release of the latest iteration to the said series.

We’ll make sure to keep an eye out for more updates regarding Itagaki’s move and the ensuing lawsuit to follow. Keep coming back to this spot for more updates regarding the matter.