Founding, Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden (1995–2009)
Team Ninja was formed by Tomonobu Itagaki from a group of game designers working at Tecmo specifically for the purpose of creating the home versions of the fighting game series Dead or Alive.[1] During the mid-1990s, Japanese gaming company Tecmo was in financial trouble. Seeing how popular Sega's Virtua Fighter series was in Japan at the time, the management asked Tomonobu Itagaki to create a game similar to Virtua Fighter.[2] In order to stand out from other fighting games, Team Ninja focused on making Dead or Alive provocative. Itagaki believed that violence and eroticism were needed for "true entertainment".[3]
In 1999, Team Ninja started work on a new Ninja Gaiden project, originally intended for arcades, later for the Dreamcast. Due to Sega exiting the console business, development was moved to the PlayStation 2.[4][5]
However, due to Itagaki being impressed by the technological capabilities of the new Xbox from Microsoft, development was moved to that platform. Ninja Gaiden would be released in 2004 to rave critical acclaim.[6][7][8]
In 2009, it was announced that Tecmo and Koei would be merging.[9] The newly founded Koei Tecmo would officially disband Tecmo in 2010.[10][11] A year later all of Tecmo's assets were absorbed into Koei Tecmo, including IP and its subsidiaries and divisions. Team Ninja would continue as subsidiary of Koei Tecmo.[12]
In 2013, following a reconstructing of Koei Tecmo, Team Ninja would cease to exist internally, being renamed Koei Tecmo Ichigaya, with Yosuke Hayashi subsequently becoming Head of the Ichigaya Development Group.[13] The developer was also split into two distinct development teams, one led by Ninja Gaiden Sigma director Yosuke Hayashi and one led by Fatal Frame producer Keisuke Kikuchi.[14] Further restructuring at Koei Tecmo in 2016 resulted in Team Tachyon, the developers behind Quantum Theory as well as Rygar: The Battle of Argus being shut down. A large amount of developers were moved to Team Ninja.[15]
In 2017, Team Ninja released their new action role-playing game Nioh to great critical response.[16][17]Nioh originally started development in 2004 at Koei, and was moved between multiple developers, such as Omega Force, before Koei approached Team Ninja after the merger in 2010 to help develop the game.[18] When first presented with the project by Koei, Team Ninja staff were skeptic about the game's concept, citing the western protagonist in Sengoku-era Japan, as well as various mechanics.[18] Despite these uncertainties, development was fully transferred to Team Ninja in 2012.[19][18][20] The title would go on to receive multiple awards,[21][22][23][24] and became Team Ninja's best-selling title.[25] They released Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order for the Nintendo Switch in 2019 as well as Dead or Alive 6. Team Ninja released the prequel to Nioh, Nioh 2, in March 2020. A compilation of Ninja Gaiden series, dubbed Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, released in June 2021. Team Ninja also developed Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, which released in 2022.[26]
As of 2022, Yosuke Hayashi had left Team Ninja to serve as the general manager of Koei Tecmo's entertainment division,[27] with Fumihiko Yasuda replacing him as president.[28]Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was announced the same year, being produced by Team Ninja lead Fumihiko Yasuda, who led the development on Nioh and Nioh 2, as well as Masaaki Yamagiwa. Yamagiwa, who joined Team Ninja in 2021 after the closure of Sony's Japan Studio, was previously producer on Bloodborne.[29][30] It released in 2023.
Tomonobu Itagaki was promoted to Tecmo Executive Officer in June 2004, as well as to General Manager in 2006, alongside his position as the head of Team Ninja. In 2007 due to a lawsuit regarding alleged sexual harassment, his manager roles would be revoked. Although he was later judged innocent by a Tokyo district court, the lawsuit permanently strained the relationship between Itagaki and Tecmo.[31] On June 3, 2008, Itagaki announced that he would be leaving Tecmo and Team Ninja on July 1, 2008, citing difficulties with the company. In the same statement announcing his resignation, he also announced that he was filing a lawsuit against Tecmo president, Yoshimi Yasuda, over unpaid bonuses for his work on Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. It was later reported that he was fired from Tecmo on June 18, 2008, in retaliation for his lawsuit.[32] Another lawsuit followed shortly after which was filed on 16 June by two plaintiffs on behalf of Tecmo's 300 employees for unpaid wages amounting to ¥8.3 million.[33] Many of his colleagues at Team Ninja quit as well to join him at his new game development team, Valhalla Game Studios. Some ex-Team Ninja members also helped with Ubisoft's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up.[34] The two parties would settle in February 2010 for an undisclosed amount.[35] After Itagaki's departure, Yosuke Hayashi would subsequently serve as the new lead at Team Ninja until his departure in 2022. Fumihiko Yasuda serves as the new president since.[27][28]
Controversies
Yuka Kuramochi, one of the idols present at Team Ninja's EVO 2019 stream
Depiction of Women
Team Ninja's provocative style, originally coined by Itagaki,[3] while often having been praised, with Dead or Alive's Kasumi being regarded as a modern-day sex symbol,[36][37] with MTV UK labeling her as one of the sexiest characters in video games,[38] has been criticised for objectifying women.[39][40] In a 2012 Interview with Kotaku, Yosuke Hayashi said that Team Ninja was "very misinterpreted" outside of Japan, and that there's no derogatory intention in their creation process. "We can't help if other cultures in other countries around the globe think that it's a bad representation", so Hayashi.[41] In 2016, Team Ninja garnered public attention after their decision to not release Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 in North America or Europe, reigniting a controversy within the video game industry about the sexualised portrayal of female characters within their games.[40][42][43]Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment at the time, said in a statement; "It's due to cultural differences. The West has its own thinking about how to depict women in games media which is different from Japan."[44]
Excessive Violence in Ninja Gaiden II
In 2008, the German Rating Board USK refused classification for Ninja Gaiden II, banning the game for sale in Germany, due to the title's excessive violence. The game's publisher, Microsoft, had no interest in releasing a compromised, cut version of the game.[45] This would later affect the development of the PlayStation 3 version, dubbed Sigma 2, as the game's violence was significantly toned down.[46]Sigma 2 received classification in Germany.[47]
Dead or Alive: Dimensions ban in Sweden and Australia
In 2011, Dead or Alive: Dimensions was banned in Sweden, due to the rating board determining that the characters appeared too young.[48] Due to Sweden's ban on the title, Australian politician Brendan O'Connor urged the Australian Classification Board to reexamine the title, resulting in the game getting its classification revoked and being removed from sale. Nintendo, the publisher of the game in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, stated that Dead or Alive Dimensions contained no objectionable content and resubmitted the game. The classification was reinstated shortly thereafter.[49][50]
EVO Japan 2019 shutdown
In 2019, Team Ninja gained controversy, due to a livestream of Dead or Alive 6 at Evo Japan 2019 featuring gravure idols. The livestream was forcibly shut-down by the Evolution Championship Series. The co-founder and CEO of EVO, Joey Cuellar, issued an apology saying that "the stream does not reflect the core values of EVO" and that they had to end to stream to "protect the integrity" of EVO. Mark Julio, head of global business at EVO, later appeared live during the tournament to issue an apology, saying that the content showcased by a partner of EVO wouldn't "reflect the content and intention" of the Esports organiser.[51][52][53][54]Evo 2020 would be cancelled and Cuellar removed as CEO, due to a history of sexual abuse towards minors coming to light.[55]
Development assisted by Sony XDEV Studio. Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.[58]
Cancelled games
Dead or Alive: Code Chronos - A prequel to the Dead or Alive series, which was going to focus on the backstory of Kasumi and Ayane, and reportedly was not going to be a fighting game. It was cancelled in November 2010.[59]
Project Progressive - A project that was originally planned for the Xbox, but its development moved to the Xbox 360. It was cancelled in November 2010.[59]
Ninja Gaiden 3DS - A Nintendo 3DS project announced by Team Ninja in 2011.[60] It was quietly cancelled at a later date.[61]
