The gaming world was shaken by the news that legendary Japanese designer Tomonobu Itagaki has passed away at the age of 58 years. He will be best remembered as the founder of Team Ninja, the creator of the Dead or Alive series, and the man who breathed new life into the Ninja Gaiden series.
Itagaki joined Tecmo in the early 1990s and was the producer of the first four Dead or Alive games, as well as Dead or Alive Ultimate and the spin-off title Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
Regarding Ninja Gaiden, he was responsible for the producer role on Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black, and Ninja Gaiden 2.
He left his last message on Facebook, in which he wrote: "The light of my life is finally going out. The fact that this message is posted means my time has come. I am no longer in this world (my loved ones wrote this message on my behalf). My life has been full of battles, some I won, but I also created many problems. I am proud to say that I followed my beliefs and fought until the end. I have no regrets! However, I regret that I will not deliver anything new to my fans. I guess things just go that way."
Team Ninja published a heartfelt message via their X profile, and condolences were also expressed by Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada, with whom Itagaki had a long rivalry, but they buried the hatchet in 2008.
