Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki, 58 passes away

Summary

Former Tecmo game director Tomonobu Itagaki has passed away at age 58.Word of the veteran developer's passing comes from a statement shared by his family on his Facebook page with one last message from the veteran developer. Itagaki was best known for creating and directing Tecmo's Dead or Alive series starting in 1996, and reviving Ninja Gaidan franchise with the 2004 game Ninja Gaidan."The light of my life is about to run out," Itagaki wrote in his final post (translated from Japanese via Google Translate). He called his life a "series of battles" that he kept winning, and that despite the trials he stayed by his beliefs and has "no regrets." He expressed remorse for not being able to share his "new work" with fans.He concluded his last message with a phrase in English: "so it goes."Itagaki's peers from across the video game industry have shared messages mourning his loss. Tekken series director and producer Katsuhiro Harada called his passing "too soon" in a post on X. "Didn't you say you were going to defeat me someday? Didn't you come to my wedding, wearing your usual black leather jacket and sunglasses, and call me your comrade-in-arms? Didn't you tell me to come to you whenever I was in trouble?""I never even got the chance to consult you about anything." Related:The secrets of Dead Cells' smart constraints - Unlocking the Vault #3Itagaki's was a raucous—and sometimes inappropriate creativeAs noted by many game industry professionals celebrating Itagaki's legacy, the famed game director and producer was a big personally known for his trademark leather jacket and sunglasses. Contemporaneous coverage of his career shows that he had a habit of showing up inebriated to industry events and sometimes making inappropriate comments about the (often sexualized, sometimes underage) characters in his games.Itagaki began his career at Tecmo in 1992 as a graphics programmer on the Super Famicon version of Tecmo Super Bowl, and would spend another 16 years at the company, ...