While the videogame-designer-as-rock-star phenomenon is still a growing factor across the game development landscape, it’s had a recognizable poster boy for close to a decade. The be-sun-spectacled Tomonobu Itagaki is gaming’s very own Noel Gallagher, a mouthy, arrogant source of great quotes with a spotty creative track record, but who’s inarguably responsible for a couple of masterpieces. He’s also a magnet for controversy. Even beyond his inflammatory comments about rival game franchises, namely Tekken and Devil May Cry, Itagaki has been at the center of multiple legal entanglements with his former publisher, Tecmo. First, it was charges of sexual harassment. Then, this past June, Itagaki quit Tecmo after shipping Ninja Gaiden 2 and immediately sued the publisher for not delivering on promised pay bonuses.
This is the problem with the rock star designer phenomenon. In the aftermath of Itagaki’s departure from Tecmo, everyone in the industry was asking what’s next for Itagaki and what is his beleaguered publisher – Tecmo’s president resigned shortly after Itagaki left and they were nearly acquired by Square-Enix after that, before agreeing to merge with Koei – going to do without him. No one really asked what Team Ninja, the team that Itagaki founded, was going to do without their public face. How does a development team recover when their image, an identity that’s secured them a devoted audience more than the games they’ve made, has walked away?
Well, the verdict’s still out on that one. Gamasutra’s Christian Nutt sat down with Itagaki’s successors, Yosuke Hayashi – Hayashi directed the Playstation 3 port of Team Ninja’s first Ninja Gaiden, a game publicly panned by Itagaki – and Hitoshi Hasegawa, and Team Ninja’s future is still an unknown. Both Hayashi and Hasegawa put on a brave public face, discussing this console generations’ still-growing potential, the team’s satisfaction in their work, and their enthusiasm for those machines. But neither commit to specific, new projects, nor what they might be interested in doing with the new creative freedom that comes from an auteur’s departure.
I wonder if it even matters, really. Do people buy Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden games because of Team Ninja and Itagaki’s reputation or because of those brands? Considering the emphasis Microsoft has put on Itagaki and the team’s name since the Xbox 360’s launch, you have to think that it’s at least a factor. Personally, I think that Tecmo will continue to sell these franchise games with or without the Team Ninja name on them. But I’ve been wrong before.
What do you think, everyone? Is Team Ninja hurt by the loss of their rock star?
Related links:
Game Designers: Rockstars, Auteurs, Dweebs?
Where Will You Go, Tecmo? What Will Happen to Our Love?
The 61FPS Review: Ninja Gaiden 2
Where is Shuichi Sakurazaki, Creator of Ninja Gaiden?
Watcha Playing: Ninja Gaiden - Dragon Sword
Whatcha Playing: The New Adventures of the Nintendo DS