Team Ninja
 | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1995 |
Key people |
Tomonobu Itagaki (1995-2008) Yosuke Hayashi (since 2008)[1] |
| Products |
Dead or Alive series Ninja Gaiden series Metroid: Other M Hyrule Warriors |
| Owner | Koei Tecmo |
Team Ninja (Japanese: チームニンジャ) is a Japanese video game development studio of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995. It was formerly led by Tomonobu Itagaki and is best known for the Ninja Gaiden action-adventure game series and the Dead or Alive fighting game series.
History
Team Ninja was originally formed by Itagaki from game designers working at Tecmo, specifically for the purpose of creating the home versions of the fighting game Dead or Alive and its sequel, Dead or Alive 2.[2] In 2008, the action-adventure game Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360 was published by Microsoft Game Studios, making it the first game created by Team Ninja to not be published by Tecmo; Tecmo Koei later released an enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden II on the PlayStation 3 as Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
On June 3, 2008, Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu 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 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.[3] 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.[4]
In 2010, Team Ninja co-developed a new Metroid action-adventure game for Nintendo's Wii console, titled Metroid: Other M. 2012's Dead or Alive 5 was the first time in over a decade that they have made a multi-platform game.[5] Team Ninja also co-developed Hyrule Warriors, a fighting game set in The Legend of Zelda universe, for Nintendo in 2014, and Dissidia Final Fantasy, a fighting game in the Final Fantasy series, for Square Enix in 2015.
Games
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Note | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Dead or Alive | Arcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation | ||||||||
| 1999 | Dead or Alive 2 | Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 | ||||||||
| 2001 | Dead or Alive 3 | Xbox | ||||||||
| 2004 | ■ Dead or Alive Ultimate | Xbox | By "Team Kunoichi" | |||||||
| 2003 | Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball | Xbox | By "Team Kunoichi" | |||||||
| 2004 | Ninja Gaiden | Xbox | By "Team Kunai" | |||||||
| 2005 | ■ Ninja Gaiden Black | Xbox | By "Team Kunai" | |||||||
| 2005 | Dead or Alive 4 | Xbox 360 | ||||||||
| 2006 | Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 | Xbox 360 | By "Team Kunoichi" | |||||||
| 2007 | ■ Ninja Gaiden Sigma | PlayStation 3 | By "Team Sigma" | |||||||
| 2008 | Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword | Nintendo DS | By "Team Kunoichi" | |||||||
| 2008 | Ninja Gaiden II | Xbox 360 | By "Team Kunai" | |||||||
| 2009 | ■ Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 | PlayStation 3 | ||||||||
| 2010 | Metroid: Other M | Wii | Co-developed with Nintendo SPD | |||||||
| 2011 | Dead or Alive: Dimensions[6] | Nintendo 3DS | ||||||||
| 2012 | ■ Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus | PlayStation Vita | ||||||||
| 2012 | Ninja Gaiden 3 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | ||||||||
| 2012 | ■ Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge[7] | Wii U, PlayStation 3 (2013), Xbox 360 (2013) | ||||||||
| 2012 | Dead or Alive 5 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | ||||||||
| 2013 | ■ Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus[8] | PlayStation Vita | ||||||||
| 2013 | ■ Dead or Alive 5 Plus[9] | PlayStation Vita | ||||||||
| 2013 | ■ Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | ||||||||
| 2013 | Toukiden: The Age of Demons | PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable | Co-developed with Omega Force | |||||||
| 2013 | ■ Toukiden: Kiwami | PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 4 (2015) | Co-developed with Omega Force | |||||||
| 2014 | Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS | Co-developed with Spark Unlimited | |||||||
| 2014 | Hyrule Warriors | Wii U | Co-developed with Omega Force | |||||||
| 2015 | ■ Dead or Alive 5 Last Round | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows | ||||||||
| 2015 | Dissidia Final Fantasy | Arcade | ||||||||
| 2016 | ■ Hyrule Warriors Legends | Nintendo 3DS | Co-developed with Omega Force | |||||||
| 2016 | Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 | PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita | ||||||||
| 2016 | Nioh | PlayStation 4 | ||||||||
| Canceled | Dead or Alive: Code Chronos | Xbox 360 | ||||||||
| Notes:
■ Ports and/or upgraded versions | ||||||||||
References
- ↑ "Yosuke Hayashi: Team Ninja is about to go...". GamesRadar.
- ↑ Icons: Dead or Alive
- ↑ Ashcroft, Brian (2008-06-23). "Itagaki Didn't Leave Tecmo, He Was Fired". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ↑ "Hands On: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up" (News). The Escapist.
- ↑ Deam, Jordan (2009-06-02). "Nintendo, Team Ninja Collaborate on Metroid: Other M". The Escapist. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ↑ "Dead Or Alive: Dimensions High Kicking To Nintendo 3DS". Siliconera.
- ↑ "Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge". Amazon.com.
- ↑ "Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus". Amazon.co.jp.
- ↑ "Dead or Alive 5 Coming to PlayStation Vita". IGN.
External links
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