When a rock star developer like Itagaki ups and leaves his longtime employer you can bet it’s not in a huff. This is no tantrum from a disgruntled worker, but rather the end of the road following many aired grievances. Team Ninja’s leader has left Tecmo and now the rumor is that a great deal of the people who served next to Itagaki will follow him out the door. If true this will leave the company with only Tecmo Bowl as a viable property. Are any of us going to buy a DoA or Gaiden game when the people who created it are gone?

1Up is reporting that as many as three dozen Team Ninja members are getting ready to walk out. This will be followed by their own class action lawsuit for unpaid bonuses. It sounds like Tecmo is having some major problems in the way they handle employees and general business practices as well. You know, I have no real feeling on Tecmo as a publisher. If Itagaki can find a home with Team Ninja somewhere else – perhaps a new studio as a 2nd party developer to the 360 similar to MistWalker – then I hope they find success.

At the very least I’d like for the team to get together and fix the damn camera in Ninja Gaiden 2. It is absolutely inexcusable. Oh…and if you have stock in Tecmo you might want to think about bowing out.