Secret Tecmo tape supports Itagaki’s claims: give it a listen
Tomonobu Itagaki believes Tecmo owes him “special incentive” wages for the completion of DOA 4, but Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda vehemently denies that he’s required to pay Itagaki. Itagaki was fired over the whole ordeal, but now we have a tape provided by Kotaku that makes a pretty strong case for Itagaki’s claims.
The tape was recorded by Ninja Gaiden II producer Yoshifuru Okamoto – without Yasuda’s knowledge – and consists of a conversation between Yasuda and Okamoto. At one point, Yasuda says of the “special incentives” payment that, “The board of directors approved it and signed the ringi (a type of Japanese corporate approval form),” which essentially means that Yasuda is required to pony up.
If all of this is true, it seems Itagaki was in the right when he sued Tecmo. The tape has been submitted as evidence in court, so we’ll see.
For the full tape as well as a translation of its contents, check out the link.