Oh well…

Fuck that they were working on a new Rygar and the new Project Zero. I could’nt give a shit about NG after how crappy the second game turned out. Now theres a chance that the company might fold and neither of those titles will see the light.

and then theres the gloating. Oh No Doomed! Tecmowned! AH HO HO HO

But his press release was on the day before the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 in the stores.

Now, I know it takes a few weeks to go from gold master to stock on the shelf. So I have to ask myself, if his grievance is so sever, why not air it immediately? Once the title has received manufacturer approval then the project as it stands would be complete – in other words he’d have known his position weeks before his press release, months possibly.

Yet Itagaki seemed to be fine up until the precise moment when all the industry press just happened to be talking about his new product.

That’s one hell of a whopper of coincidental timing, don’t you think? Or should I believe that, on that day, Itagaki woke up and suddenly felt aggreived enough to quit from his employer and also sue them??

I also don’t believe in baselessly slagging off people you work with (such as the Ninja Gaiden Sigma team) for the sake of promoting your newer title.

I’ve got ethics and morals. I respect the people I work with presently and in the past. From the way that this person has chosen to behave publicly, I don’t see any such undemanding traits of basic civility.

As I also just said, if this was Itagaki doing this for the greater good of his colleagues as well as himself then I’d have more respect for it. But it’s clearly not.

As I also said: I’d love to see the contracts Itagaki signed with Tecmo. If they’re remotely like a standard industry contract then, by his actions, he’s broken some pretty basic and fundamental terms and may be subject to penalty clauses that he would have agreed to.

I’m not saying any of this puts Tecmo in the right. But there’s this implication that this mess (which should never have become public fanboy fodder anyway) is potraying Itagaki as some innocent. His attitude, ethics and exposure of this suggests to me quite the opposite.

I mean, who the fuck makes a PRESS RELEASE that they’re quitting a company and suing them? Think about it.

I think mostly here you have a more general issue with Itagaki (for whatever reasons) because you’re blowing his actions out of all proportion.

I should add that I don’t give a shit for Tecmo. But I absolutely don’t give a shit to Itagaki and the way he’s playing this one out. There’s proper and professional ways of dealing with this without playing the internet popularity contest at the same time.

I wouldn’t keel over and die to protect my employer. But, as someone who considers themselves a professional, I’d not attempt to make this into a publicity event either. And I’ve been pretty heavily wronged by my previous employers AND had friends who write editorial for newspapers so I’ve had the chance if I’d wanted to take it.

Mud sticks. The way Itagaki talks about his collegues and employers doesn’t make me think anyone would want to employ him or work with him if they had the choice. I’d have more respect if he was taking this issue with Tecmo on behalf of all the employees affected. But he’s not – he’s looking out for himself.

I feel absolutely no sympathy for him whatsoever. And I don’t like this david-and-goliath play he’s running either.

If this is even vaguely true (and there’s documentary evidence) then there’s no way you can defend Tecmo.

You wouldn’t believe how many people that pissed off.

I don’t trust Itagaki because of the way he talks about his co workers and the strategic and manipulative announcement of his grievance. He took a private employee/employer issue and publicised it on the internet at precisely the time when he knew his plea would get the most exposure and sympathy from people that know absolutely nothing about the situation other than “oh, this guy is the name behind a videogame so I guess I’ll root for him.”

Nah. Sorry. I don’t feel sorry for him one little bit and I find his actions and methods lacking in both professional conduct and integrity.

Reapin’ and sowin’

As an employer, I wouldn’t piss on that guy if he was on fire.

Serious question.

/eyes suspiciously

http://kotaku.com/5017831/hard-proof-that-tecmo-japan-is-lying-this-seems-like-it