Passionate about working with Xbox again
Looks like there is a new weapon in town. Charismatic producer Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of fighting franchise Dead or alive and the head honcho behind the modern Ninja Gaiden titles, has announced that he has founded his own studio – Itagaki Games.
The news was revealed in an excerpt from a recent interview between Itagaki and Bloomberg that focused on Xbox’s 20th anniversary. Itagaki Games will exist as its own company and is not affiliated with studios such as Koei Tecmo, Valhalla or Team Ninja, with which Itagaki has been closely associated in the past.
In the interview (which you can watch on Facebook), Itagaki noted how comfortable he felt working alongside Microsoft / Xbox in the early 2000s, particularly on the Xbox launch title. Dead or alive 3. In the interview, Itagaki also welcomed the opportunity to re-partner with the industry giant.
“The entire Xbox team, including Seamus Blackley, Ed Fries, Kevin Bachus, their leader Robbie Bach and George Peckham who often played golf with me, gave me full support,” Itagaki recalls. “I visited Redmond once every two months and they introduced me a lot of tools and support that would help speed up game development […] If they contact me, it is an honor for me. “
Left to its own devices, it will be interesting to see what Itagaki and his team have in store for the next generation of gaming. Now at the wheel, Itagaki fans could see a string of releases that rival the producer’s past successes, such as Dead or alive 4 or Ninja Gaiden Black. So fingers crossed so we don’t forget The Devil’s Third also exists.
Tomonobu Itagaki establishes Itagaki Games [Gematsu / Facebook]
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