Tomonobu Itagaki

Infobox Person
name = Tomonobu Itagaki
(板垣 伴信)


image_size = 180px
caption = Itagaki giving a thumbs-up at TGS 2004
birth_date = 1967
birth_place =
nationality = Japanese
employer =
occupation = Video game designer
title =
spouse =
parents =
children = 1 daughter

nihongo|Tomonobu Itagaki|板垣 伴信 is a Japanese video game designer who created the "Dead or Alive" fighting games and the "Ninja Gaiden" 3D titles. He also has a reputation for making frank comments, negative and positive, on other developers and video games. Joining Tecmo in 1992, Itagaki produced two video game franchises that were commercial successes and earned him several promotions; he headed Tecmo's development team, Team Ninja, and sat on the executive board. He left the company after 16 years of service, filing a lawsuit against it for withholding bonus pay.

Personal life

Born in 1967, Tomonobu Itagaki graduated from Waseda University Senior High School on March 1985. Following that, he entered Waseda University and graduated from its School of Law on March 1992.cite press release | title = 2006 41st week business report | publisher = Tecmo | date = 2006 | format = PDF | language = Japanese | url = http://www.tecmo.co.jp/company/pdf/4100breport.pdf | accessdate = 2007-10-13]

He is married, and has a daughter, born in 1997,cite journal | author = Xbox Nation staff | title = Paradise Lost | journal = Xbox Nation | publisher = Ziff Davis | issn = 1538-9723 | year = 2002 | month = Winter | url = http://bellsouthpwp.net/r/a/racerg/itagaki-xbn-winter2002.html | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] whom he has mentioned as one of the primary influences on his projects,cite web | author = Craig Harris | title = Itagaki on Ninja Gaiden DS | publisher = IGN | date = 2007-05-31 | url = http://ds.ign.com/articles/793/793072p1.html | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] including developing "Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword" for the Nintendo DS,cite web | author = Kevin Kelly | title = Joystiq interview: DOA creator Tomonobu Itagaki, "Tekken sucks" | publisher = Joystiq | date = 2007-08-01 | url = http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/01/joystiq-interview-doa-creator-tomonobu-itagaki-tekken-sucks/ | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] and a constant gaming partner in games like the "Halo" series.cite web | author = James Mielke | title = Previews: Dead or Alive 4 | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2005-11-17 | url = http://1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=0&cId=3145772 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] Itagaki has in his office a set of katanas his father made for him,cite web | author = Adam Doree | title = Itagaki: The Kikizo Interview 2005 | publisher = Kikizo | date = 2005-02-15 | url = http://games.kikizo.com/features/itagaki_interview_feb05_p1.asp?f=itagaki_interview_feb05_p1.asp | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] which he tends to take out to show to his visitors. As he wishes to stop people from reading his expressions during gambling-type games, he is always seen wearing sunglasses, a habit that has become his trademark in the video game community.

Career

Tomonobu Itagaki joined Tecmo in 1992 as a graphics programmer, and initially worked on the Super Famicom version of the American football video game, "Tecmo Bowl". His career breakthrough came in 1996 with his first "Dead or Alive" game - a game based on "Virtua Fighter" created in response to Tecmo management's request. He was mentored by Yoshiaki Inose (of "Solomon's Key"'s, "Bomb Jack"'s, "Rygar"'s and the Nintendo Entertainment System "Ninja Gaiden"'s fame) and Akihiko Shimoji (of "Tecmo Bowl"'s fame) in his early years at Tecmo, and was impressed by them to include fun as a necessary component in his projects.cite web | author = Steven Kent | title = GameSpy Presents: E3 2003 -- Complete Coverage | publisher = GameSpy | date = 2003-05-20 | url = http://www.gamespy.com/e32003/interview/xbox/1002965/ | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ]

His rise through the company has been steady since then. He was appointed as the head of the third creative department in April 2001. He then assumed the post of Team Ninja Leader in July 2001. [cite web | author = Anoop Gantayat | title = Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki Is Sad | publisher = IGN | date = 2003-05-20 | url = http://xbox.ign.com/articles/609/609713p1.html | quote = There's no question about it, Team Ninja Leader (that's his actual position) Tomonobu Itagaki loves to talk. | accessdate = 2007-10-13 ] Tecmo appointed him as an Executive Officer in June, 2004. He later assumed the position of General Manager of the high-end production department in February, 2006. His Executive Officer position was however taken away in August the same year, due to his involvement in a sexual harassment scandal.

The release of "Dead or Alive 2" had greatly increased the series popularity, as well as Itagaki's. He had sought to create fighting games with details he felt were lacking in other games. In the later iterations, Itagaki has built the story of the games around themes of family - Kasumi and Ayane in "Dead or Alive 3", and Helena in "Dead or Alive 4".cite web | author = Adam Doree | title = Tomonobu Itagaki: Interview Summer 05 | publisher = Kikizo | date = 2005-08-01 | url = http://games.kikizo.com/features/itagaki_interview_aug05_p1.asp | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] To date, the series has gone through four iterations with various enhanced editions. A fifth iteration has also been announced to be in the works.

In the "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball" series, Itagaki brought together the girls of "Dead or Alive" onto an island. The player is to foster good relationship between the girls to create a harmonius winning beach volleyball duo. In the second iteration of the series, the focus is shifted by expanding the number of activities the player can have the girls take part in. He explains the core of the game as a paradise where the player can watch the girls they 'love' enjoy simple activities.cite web | author = Douglas C. Perry | title = E3 2006: The Itagaki Interview | publisher = IGN | date = 2006-05-11 | url = http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/707/707859p1.html | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ]

"Ninja Gaiden" is Itagaki's efforts to develop a game centered on violent gameplay, [cite news | last = Nutt | first = Christian | title = Tomonobu Itagaki on Ninja Gaiden | publisher = GameSpy | date = 2003-08-23 | url = http://archive.gamespy.com/interviews/august03/itagaki/ | accessdate = 2007-08-21 ] with super ninja Ryu Hayabusa as the protagonist. Capitalizing on the brand name of the earlier NES series, Itagaki developed a critically acclaimed action-adventure game for the Xbox which also had an international online tournament held for it. He continued work on it to release "Ninja Gaiden Black" as the opus of his "Ninja Gaiden" work. He is continuing the series on the Nintendo DS as "Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword", partly due to a promise made to his daughter. At the same time, he is bringing the series' next chapter onto the Xbox 360 as "Ninja Gaiden II".

Itagaki claims to be one of the very few in the Japanese video game industry to establish communications with the Western world.cite web | author = Dale Nardozzi | title = Tomonobu Itagaki Exclusive Interview | publisher = TeamXbox | date = 2004-08-02 | url = http://interviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/857/Tomonobu-Itagaki-Exclusive-Interview/p1/ | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] He suggests other Japanese developers should do like-wise and be aware of the gaming tastes outside of Japan, so as to be able to reverse the Japanese gaming industry slump of 2005.

On June 2, 2008, just before the release of "Ninja Gaiden II" for the Xbox 360, Itagaki announced that he was resigning from Tecmo and was suing the company for withholding a bonus promised for his previous works. He was also suing Tecmo's president Yoshimi Yasuda for damages based on "unreasonable and statements" made in front of Itagaki's colleagues. [cite news | author = Philip Kollar | coauthors = James Mielke | title = Itagaki Leaving Team Ninja, Suing Tecmo | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2008-06-02 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168056 | accessdate = 2008-06-03 ]

Mindset on game design and industry

Game design philosophy

Itagaki believes a good game should be an integrated product of good graphics, interactivity, and playability.cite web | author = James Mielke | title = Itagaki's Hit List | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2005-09-29 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3144194 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] He also places a high priority on ensuring his games are interactive with the player's actions and respond quickly to the player's inputs.cite web | author = James Mielke | title = Previews: Ninja Gaiden: DS | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2007-03-30 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3158404 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] It is this opinion which led to his derogatory statements on "Heavenly Sword". [cite web | author = Rob Purchese | title = Heavenly Sword is "half-assed" | publisher = Eurogamer | date = 2007-08-06 | url = http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=80872 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] He finds the payoff for the game's button-prompting sequences to be less fulfilling than that of ''s (whose sequences he calls dumb, but entertaining).cite web | author = James Mielke | title = Interview: Itagaki's Defense of DOAX2 news from 1UP.com | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2007-01-22 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3156625 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] Likewise, he cited ' and "Final Fantasy X" as games lacking the interactivity appealing to him.

Itagaki professes a liking for simplicity of inputs, he states too many inputs would result in the loss of the gaming experience.cite web | author = EGM staff | title = Not-so Silent Assassin | publisher = "Electronic Gaming Monthly" | date = 2006-10-10 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3154326 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] As such, he respects Sega-AM2 for their work on "Virtua Fighter 4". Likewise, he deplores implementing scenarios to show off technology just for the sake of it, sarcastically asking what is the point of cutting down "thousand heads of cabbages on screen."cite web | author = Jeff Cork | title = Team Ninja's Itagaki Speaks His Mind | publisher = "Game Informer" | date = 2007-05-31 | url = http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200705/N07.0531.1640.29312.htm | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] In his integration mindset, everything (graphics, controllers, interactiveness, responsiveness, etc) has its place, even CG pre-rendered cutscenes which he says can deliver a better cinematic experience of some scenes than doing them in real-time.cite web | author = James Mielke | title = Team Ninja's Itagaki Interviewed | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2006-10-20 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154580 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ]

Opinions on hardware

As a game developer, Itagaki has defined his philosophy as being able to extract the strengths of a game machine, and integrate them together to develop games to a level no one else can reach. He defines a game developer's satisfaction with a game machine as dependent upon these criteria. [cite web | author = Xbox.com staff | title = Itagaki on the Tourney, Online Gaming, & More | publisher = Xbox.com | date = n.d. | url = http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/d/deadoraliveultimate/DOAUTourney-20050311.htm | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] With this philosophy, he continually expresses happiness in developing on the Xbox 360, proclaiming it to be more 'software friendly' than the architecturally 'too complex' PlayStation 3.cite web | author = Cory J. Herndon | title = Dev Interview: Tecmo w/Itagaki-san | publisher = Xbox.com | date = 2005-05-23 | url = http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/d/deadoralive4/20050523-tecmo.htm | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] cite web | author = Billy Berghammer | title = Tomonobu Itagaki Talks Dead Or Alive 4 | publisher = "Game Informer" | date = 2005-09-23 | url = http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200509/N05.0923.1500.24632.htm | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] Furthermore, he admires the Nintendo Wii's dedication to innovation, which he holds in high regard for the spirit of gaming. Itagaki claimed that he wanted to develop his games for what he viewed as the most powerful console on the market at the time of design.

Itagaki has also spoken of his handheld philosophy which goes for responsiveness and physical interaction, instead of raw hardware power.cite web | author = James Mielke | title = Previews: Ninja Gaiden: DS | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2007-03-30 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3158404 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] As such, Itagaki refuses to make a handheld game for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), stating it goes against the design philosophy of being a handheld device. He says a game created, based on the specifications of the PSP, would be more suited for a true home console.cite web | author = DaveMayCry | title = EXCLUSIVE: Team Ninja's Itagaki on the future of Ninja Gaiden, the PSP, and the Wii | publisher = GamePro | date = 2007-05-18 | url = http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=112491 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] This view is reflected in his statements on why "Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword" as a handheld game has to be designed to take advantage of the Nintendo DS' touchpad rather than conventional inputs which would have rendered it a typical game.

Pet projects

Itagaki classifies his projects into core projects (for business and technical excellence purposes), and those purely for self-fulfillment. The "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball" series and "" fall into the latter. The "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball" games are just meant for simple fun, and to fulfill a 'love' for the female characters, letting the player nurture and watch the girls partaking in simple joys. Even though he admits to there being sexual content in the game, Itagaki refuses to create scenarios which he feels are vulgar for his 'daughters', a term he uses to call the female characters. "Code Chronos" falls into the same category of development, developed as Itagaki's hobby for style.

Work ethics

Itagaki is thorough with his games, working on them from start to release, and even post release to correct what he feels are deficiencies, and polish them up to their full potential. He has shown this in his project developments, such as pushing back the release of "Dead or Alive 4" just to polish the game based on feedback of top Japanese "Dead or Alive" players recruited to test it out. For "Ninja Gaiden", he wanted to leave the best and the ultimate action game on the Xbox before moving on to the Xbox 360, thus he reworked the game and integrated the additional downloadable content to produce "Ninja Gaiden Black". With "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball", he chose to patch an easy-cash exploit rather than leaving it alone and ruminating over the consequences.

Itagaki creates his game characters by immersing himself in their roles and the games. This is a reason why he objects to the suggestion of Kasumi in the "Ninja Gaiden" universe, saying her 'soft' nature is conflicting with the 'hard-edged' nature of the game whereas Ayane perfectly fits in. It is this role immersion which helps him to develop and exclude guns from the moveset of the Spartan, Nicole in "Dead or Alive 4". However, immersing himself in the games' atmosphere has also failed him at times. The Butt Battle, and Tug-of-War of "Dead or Alive Xtreme 2" were heavily panned on the basis of minigame design. However, Itagaki defended those games as nostalgia comedic pieces, meant to make the player remember the celebrity games played on Japanese television.

Frank personality

Itagaki values frank and "to the point" attitudes, believing anything else would allow "quibbles and sectionalists" to come in and derail the train of thought. His frank attitude is also in line with his admitted aggression, taking criticisms as challenges to overcome instead of something to mope over. This relates to his desire for challenges, producing games like "Ninja Gaiden" which are acknowledged as 'hard' by the gaming industry, and to push himself to produce games which can contend as the best games of the genre.cite news | last = Nagoshi | first = Toshihiro | title = Expert Opinion | publisher = "Electronic Gaming Monthly" | date = August, 2004 | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zdegm/is_200408/ai_n7182800 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] He openly claims to be the sole creative force behind his projects, as well as being able to convey his plan clearly for the team to understand. He bemoans that the Japanese are starting to forget the basic concepts, closing off their minds to outside criticisms.

Itagaki has consistently given harsh opinions on Namco's "Tekken" games, mainly due to his grudge against the company for its insulting radio commercial on his "Dead or Alive" game. He has stated he never forgets an insult to his family, and will retaliate with "nuclear missiles more than 100 times for that". This along with what he views as "Tekken"'s stagnation in the fighting game genre (starting from "Tekken 4"), led him to comdemn the "Tekken" series, placing it as his top five hated games, in spite of him stating "Tekken", "Tekken 2", and "Tekken 3" were good games which his family enjoyed.

exual harassment scandal

On November 7, 2006, various gaming sites reported a female former Tecmo employee filing a sexual harassment suit against Itagaki. [cite news | last = Sinclair | first = Brendan | title = DOA producer slapped with sex suit | publisher = GameSpot | date = 2006-11-07 | url = http://www.gamespot.com/news/6161240.html | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] [cite news | last = Seff | first = Micah | title = Itagaki Accused of Sexual Harassment | publisher = IGN | date = 2006-11-07 | url = http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/744/744564p1.html | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] [cite news | last = Boyer | first = Brandon | title = Tecmo's Itagaki Gets Sexual Harassment Allegation | publisher = Gamasutra | date = 2006-11-07 | url = http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11603 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] She claimed Itagaki has made several unwanted sexual advances on her ever since September 2003. While Itagaki has admitted to kissing her, he said whatever has gone between them was consensual. This stance is backed up by Tecmo which claimed its one month investigation has revealed the accusations were solely the venting of the female employee's frustrations over her personal affairs. [cite news | last = Boyes | first = Emma | title = Tecmo rebuffs sex harassment claims | publisher = GameSpot | date = 2006-11-24 | url = http://www.gamespot.com/news/6161240.html | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] [cite news | last = Martin | first = Matt | title = Tecmo responds to sexual harassment allegations | publisher = GamesIndustry.biz | date = 2006-11-23 | url = http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=21251 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] [cite news | last = Klepek | first = Patrick | title = Tecmo Responds to Itagaki Lawsuit | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2006-11-21 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3155402 | accessdate = 2007-09-23 ] Tecmo has also demoted Itagaki and the accuser for their mingling of "personal affairs with their corporate responsibilities". Meanwhile, the court has found Itagaki innocent of the charges. [cite news | last = Klepek | first = Patrick | title = Itagaki Sexual Harassment Case Settled, Charges Dismissed | publisher = 1UP.com | date = 2007-12-05 | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164751 | accessdate = 2008-04-19 ]

References

External links

*moby developer |id=40760 |name=Tomonobu Itagaki's profile
* [http://stars.ign.com/objects/963/963454_biography.html Tomonobu Itagaki's profile] at IGN
* [http://www.giantbomb.com/tomonobu-itagaki/72-38770/ Tomonobu Itagaki's profile] at GiantBomb