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Apparently there has been a long winded dispute between Tomonobu Itagi, creative officer at Tecmo, and Tecmo President Yoshimi Yasuda. It appears that it was agreed that Tomonobu Itagi would receive a bonus after the completion of Dead or Alive 4. After never receiving one he became distressed, however Yasuda stood by his decision to go back on his word and told Itagi that he could either quit or sue them. Itagi chose to do both.

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

When this debate comes up I notice hard headed advocates on both sides. I usually find that very little critical reason or thought goes along with their opinions. So I decided to examine my own opinion further, and try to come about the complexities of the topic. It certainly is a debate that is ever-changing, just as the graphics in the video game industry increases. The violence for the most part remains steady. Games from years in the past featured brutally killing each other and such, but now it looks more real. Is concern over this correlation valid?

Firstly, the advocates that say it is no problem at all cite that as adults, they see a clear separation of video games and real life. While they may chainsaw someone in Gears of War they assure us those same impulses are silenced when they are chopping wood at their construction site. An interesting topic to examine is why we enjoy killing someone in a game. Why we enjoy running away from cops in Grand Theft Auto IV, or even killing them. Perhaps we will not like the results of such a study, but such an examination is crucial. Maybe it excites some inner desire in us, some exotic foreign evil desire that is chained and netted by society. Perhaps it is helpful that these restricted desires find some harmless release. Nevertheless, the advocates of video game violence cite that they can tell the difference. This is an obvious fact, for the vast majority of the people that play violent video games live everyday family oriented lives. The social conservatives lashing out for restrictions would not even be able to recognize those they are against.

However, I see the debate growing in complexity when the distinction the advocates for video game violence cite diminishes. I mean this by the increase in the graphical capacity we have seen in video games as of late. Certainly, the realism is not there yet as we clearly see characters that are not up to par with even 1995 CGI standards. However, let’s take a step in the future for a second. What if, just as CGI has grown, video game graphics grow to the point where we can’t see the difference between it and real life? How does the distinction between the game and real life change then? Would an advocate of video game violence be fine blasting off the head of an all too real innocent civilian? The complexity grows. You may cite the violence in movies (real looking gore) that already exist today and perhaps do not show a problem. The difference is we are observers of that violence and receive correlating emotions; it does not excite the same drives as doing the violence.

I think it’s obvious as the graphics continue to increase in video games the complexity of the debate will grow as the distinction between video games and real life will diminish. As an avid video game, I of course enjoy games such as Gears of War and the soon Gears of War 2. I just hope that my fellow gamers will relinquish their hard headed opinions and think about the complexities of the debate.

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Cumulative sales of Nintendo’s Wii have overtaken those of the Xbox 360, making it the world’s best-selling next-generation games console in spite of having been on the market a year less than Microsoft’s machine.

The move puts Nintendo, a quirky Kyoto-based company dwarfed in size by Microsoft, back squarely at the top of the console market, a position it last held 17 years ago with the Nintendo and Super Nintendo consoles.

After more than a decade of dominance by Sony’s PlayStation consoles, Nintendo has turned the tables on its rivals with the easy-to-use Wii, which has captured the hearts and wallets of many consumers who have never before bought a games console.

Analysts said the Wii was boosted by steady sales through the summer while sales of the Xbox and the PlayStation3 lagged behind due to a dearth of new software titles.

According to sales data from each console’s launch through to the end of July (or the end of August in Japan), consumers have bought 9m Wiis, 8.9m Xbox units and 3.7m PS3s.

The data is based on sales figures from Enterbrain in Japan, NPD Group of the US and GfK of Germany, which tracks European sales.

After failing miserably with its GameCube console, which was positioned directly against the PS2 and the Xbox, Nintendo shifted gears and aimed at casual gamers with the Wii.

Nintendo’s reclaimed supremacy was underlined in July when it leapfrogged consumer electronics giant Sony in market capitalisation for the first time. “The fact of the matter is that, despite the Xbox’s earlier launch in November 2005, it only sells in two markets – Europe and the US,” said one analyst in Tokyo. “Japan is home turf to Sony and Nintendo, so the Xbox is not a player at all. In contrast, Nintendo has been selling well in all three major markets.”

source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/51df0c84-6154-11dc-bf25-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

so perhaps my incoherent ramblings about the Wii currently falling into a small niche market were ignorant. Nevertheless, I still believe it is inevitable despite the clear horizons Nintendo now sees. One thing is for sure - the competition is fierce this round which will certainly benefit the consumer.