Tomonobu Itagaki

Tomonobu Itagaki
板垣 伴信
Tomonobu Itagaki in 2004
Born (1967-04-01) April 1, 1967 (age 57)
Tokyo, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materWaseda University
OccupationVideo game designer
Years active1992–present

Tomonobu Itagaki (板垣 伴信, Itagaki Tomonobu) (born April 1, 1967) is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the Dead or Alive series and also reviving the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.[1]

Joining Tecmo in 1992, Itagaki produced two video game franchises that were commercial successes and earned him several promotions; he headed Tecmo's development team, Team Ninja, and sat on the executive board. He left the company after 16 years of service, filing a lawsuit against it for withholding bonus pay. He formed a new company Valhalla Game Studios with several Team Ninja members and released Devil's Third.[2] The company dissolved in December 2021 and he has now formed a new one called Itagaki Games.

  1. ^ "IGN - 76. Tomonobu Itagaki". IGN. Archived from the original on 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  2. ^ Mielke, James. "Interview with 1UP". Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-08-20.