There's life after Itagaki. Tomonobu Itagaki">Team Ninja is still very much alive, even with Tomonobu Itagaki's departure. In fact, Tecmo's announced that they'll be bringing three new titles that are currently being worked on by Team Ninja to the TGS 2008 show floor! Will they be Ninja Gaiden or Dead or Alive titles, or new IPs? Who knows... TGS, here we come!

Tecmo's unquestionably in a bubbling tub of hot water the past couple of months, but could their luck be changing? Square Enix has revealed earlier that they have a proposal for a friendly takeover on the beleaguered developer.

Following numerous trials and tribulations (probably because of a certain rock star developer we might all know - cough*Itagaki*cough), Yoshimi Yasuda has now resigned from Tecmo. Details of his resignation weren't revealed, but the only thing we could get is that he's bidding farewell to the company for "personal reasons".

Tecmo's been under fire the past many days, and in an act to have damage control, they released a statement clearing which of the thing we're hearing are true, and which are false. The publishing/developing company also has a favor to ask of members of the media regarding the matter. See what's up at the full article.

Following the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 for the Microsoft Xbox 360, things have gone way South for the people over at Tecmo. As if the departure of iconic game maker Tomonobu Itagaki and some key Team Ninja members wasn't enough, a big lawsuit has been filed against the company for alleged violations of the labor laws in Japan. More details after the jump.

Tomonobu Itagaki, the creator of Ninja Gaiden 2, Dead or Alive 5, and other hit games has left Tecmo, and rumor has it that other members of Team Ninja will be following suit. To find out more about this, head on over to the full article.

As this month comes to a close, blockbuster titles make the cut to establish March 2008 as a great period in time for us gamers. Of course, we're talking about the launch of big hitters headlined by Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Ryu Hayabusa will draw his Dragon Sword on the DS in North America following its recent Japan release, while glaives are going to fly in Dark Sector for the PS3 and 360. To know more about this week's releases, hit that jump!

Let's play a little association game. When I say "men in video game development," whose names come first to mind? Kojima? Jaffe? Miyamoto? The list goes on. Now how about if I say "women in video games development?" You probably thought of Jade Raymond then... blank. Kind of imbalanced ain't it? That was the point of Emily Newton-Dunn, former producer of the Burnout series. She remarks that there is a gender imbalance in the industry and that there should be more women making games. Full story after the "read more" link below.

 Team Ninja's leading man, the guy with a few smiles and a thousand words, behind the Tecmo-published Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series deserves his own QuickJump Quicklist, so here's something dedicated to Tomonobu Itagaki and all his greatness. We've collected some lines from Itagaki that are either very amusing, or so badass fanboys would rather follow him around and wipe his sunglasses clean for a living.

Find all that at the full article!

Being the two current handhelds in the gaming industry, most people cannot help but pit the PSP and DS against each other. Some even go so far as to bash either Sony or Nintendo's handheld, while praising the other. However, Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki of Dead or Alive fame is convinced that this kind of thinking is flawed.

He explained that what Sony aimed to do with the PSP is providing "toned-down" console-quality games, on the go. On the other hand, Nintendo attempted to provide an entirely new level of interactivity between the gamer and the game, which makes both handhelds entirely different from each other.

However, Itagaki finds some beef at the current Nintendo DS game line up:

So now that we are in this market where there are a glut of relatively low-budget games that are filling up the marketplace, the market may be ready for a more serious, more refined experience...They may be tired of all the "training" games, and looking for something more substantial. Or maybe not.

Certainly some interesting interview with the vocal Itagaki, who doesn't hesitate to voice out his thoughts. The full transcript of the interview is coming up, so stay tuned!