Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive lead designer Tomonobu Itagaki is taking Team Ninja’s top brass with him as he leaves Tecmo.
According to 1Up, thirty-six staffers from Ninja Gaiden developer Team Ninja will possibly be following their leader, Tomonobu Itagaki, out Tecmo’s doors and to Japanese courts to file their own lawsuits. Each scorned team member will be filing a suit for unpaid bonuses owed for finished projects, complementing allegations Itagaki made upon his departure that he didn’t receive his “completion bonus” for Dead or Alive 4.
“Team Ninja, known for its top-selling and critically acclaimed Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises, is intact and, as a matter of fact, has several new projects already underway. Team Ninja is, more than ever, committed to producing compelling and cutting-edge games in order to maintain its reputation as a high-quality developer and to continue to receive the support of its loyal fans,” said Tecmo.
If Team Ninja members resign in rumored numbers and lawsuits are served to Tecmo, the developer will be forced by Japanese law to disclose these suits to shareholders, more than likely causing stock prices to plummet. How many members of Team Ninja will even remain after the flood of resignations is unknown.
