Tomonobu Itagaki, the creator of the famed Dead or Alive franchise and the 2004 version of Ninja Gaiden, passed away at 58. The news of his passing was shared on his Facebook page alongside his last words.
The following is the English translation of his final message that was shared on his Facebook page:
Tomonobu Itagaki’s Legacy
Tomonobu Itagaki played a big role in revitalizing the Ninja Gaiden series in the early 2000s. Itagaki joined Tecmo in 1992 and was a part of it until 2008. After leaving Tecmo, Itagaki created Valhalla Game Studios.
Valhalla Game Studios primarily worked on a game titled Devil’s Third, which was released for the Wii U in 2015. Shortly after, Itagaki left the company and founded Itagaki Games in 2001. The details of any project that was being worked on by Itagaki Games are not available yet, and if there were any, they’ll likely remain unfinished.
Tekken Director, Katsuhiro Harada, also posted on Twitter/X about Tomonobu Itagaki’s passing. According to the post, Harada and Itagaki were quite close. Furthermore, Harada referred to the passing of Tomonobu Itagaki as “too soon.”
Gamers and directors from all over the world celebrate Itagaki’s legacy and have shared their sorrow on his death. Tomonobu Itagaki’s games focused on interactivity and responsiveness from the player, which is evident in the Ninja Gaiden games from the early 2000s.
Furthermore, Itagaki had also faced quite a few challenges in his life. In 2006, there was a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Tomonobu Itagaki by a Tecmo employee. The court found Itagaki innocent of the charges, but he was demoted at Tecmo, which led to him leaving the company shortly after and founding the Valhalla Game Studios.
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