Shortly before the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 on the Xbox 360 last summer, it was revealed game designer Tomonobu Itagaki would be leaving Tecmo and would have no further part in the development of the franchise he re-imagined. It was also announced he would be suing the company for withholding bonus pay on some of his previous work, for both himself and other employees in his team.
Flash forward almost a year and news breaks of a new studio headed by the former Team Ninja boss, along with ex producers and directors of the Tecmo team who are all credited with working on the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive games (around 44 altogether), who are at work on a new exclusive game for the Xbox 360. The name of the studio will be announced shortly.
1UP interviewed Itagaki where he announced he will be attending E3 next week, but when asked if he will be showing the game, he replied that it was far too soon to show off publicly.
"I feel it's my duty to make the best game possible to deliver to my fans. So I don't intend to stay out of the game for too long. To any of my fans reading this, if you see me at E3, feel free to say hi."
Unfortunately Itagaki didn't reveal any details on the new game, but when asked if the title would be exclusive to the Xbox 360 he revealed that he still believes the console has a lot to offer him and with his close connections with the Microsoft team, it creates the best working environment.
Itagaki has gone on record before dismissing his interest on the PS3 and even going as far as removing himself from production of the PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
Both Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive are now part of the new partnership Koei Tecmo Holdings, with a port of Ninja Gaiden 2 coming to the PS3. No date has been announced yet.
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