Category Archive for ‘Videogame Industry’ at Neotokyo: Oscar Yasser Noriega’s Blog (Akira)

This is hot news in the videogame and I’m sure this is just the beginning of something awful and sad.

According to James Mielke from 1up.com and EGM, Tomonobu Itagaki is leaving Tecmo for good and suing them on top of everything. This is by far one of the most shocking news from 2008, and it’s bad news for Tecmo and fans around the world.

According to Itagaki san, he is leaving the company right away because his ex-company failed to pay him a great sum of money as a bonus payment from games he previously produced. In short, Tecmo’s president Yoshimi Yasuda, agreed to pay Itagaki san some bonuses before he started to work on Dead or Alive 4. Itagaki claims that the damages are 148 million yen, and that’s why he’s suing Tecmo’s ass.

I think this is very bad news for everyone. I had the opportunity to meet him many times and I think he’s a great videogame producer. I totally understand why he is leaving the company, and I hope he finds his way to make more games, either with his own company or somewhere else.

The worst thing for Tecmo, I think, is that Itagaki just announced this today, just days before the release of Ninja Gaiden 2.

The full original statement (issued today for all the press in Japan) from Itagaki san is here:

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.
To All Game Fans
I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. NINJA GAIDEN 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last NINJA GAIDEN I will create. I will also never be able to make DEAD OR ALIVE 5. I regret the circumstances that have forced me to leave Tecmo, where I had worked for so many years, and I regret the disappointment this will cause my fans.
However, I can no longer continue to work with President Yoshimi Yasuda, a man who chooses not to honor promises even when he is able to do so.
I truly hope that nothing like this happens again in the future.
Tecmo Co., Ltd. Creative Officer
Leader, Team NINJA
Tomonobu Itagaki

The other day I was reading this note in Kotaku where Sam Houser (President, co-founder and visionary behind he GTA franchise) said “Fuck Casual gamers”.

Grand Theft Auto is unquestionable a successful franchise, just look at the hype the game generated in traditional media, videogame outlets and so. Sam’s argument is interesting, but I guess it leaves more questions than answers. I’ll quote him “Yeah, fuck all this stuff about casual gaming. I think people still want games that are groundbreaking…We’re hopefully going to prove that there’s also a very big audience for people who want entertainment in another form, who think of games as being a narrative device that can challenge movies”.

He’s got a point in a way, but to be honest with you this comment is kinda scary coming from him, an individual whose power and influence in the videogame industry is huge.

To me, “a groundbraking title” doesn’t mean it has to be for hardcore gamers, nor that it has to have next gen graphics. Wii Fit, Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Flow are a bunch of cool games, groundbraking in many ways and without a label that reads “this game is only for casual gamers”. Casual Gamer: what is the meaning of that? how many hours do you have to play to be a casual gamer? or a hardcore gamer? IF you buy only one title per month, are you a casual gamer? GTA4 can’t be played by a casual gamer? Let’s say an “average joe” who plays Madden all day long decides he wants to play GTA4, does he becomes a hardcore gamer for that?.

I don’t get it, and I don’t know who is behind all this shit “creating” labels for gamers in this industry.

Games should be consider a an entertainment form like movies or television without all this crap. It’s clear that there are games for everyone and every taste, but to say that your game is only for hardcore gamers -nowadays-, it feels ridiculous and retarded.

All this makes me wonder something else, does game companies have to spend 100 million USD to build a game that CAN be considered “ground braking”?.

gtasomalia