Overview
- The Guardian reports the influential designer died last week at age 58.
- He had been hospitalized for roughly three months before his death, and doctors identified the source of his ailments only after it was too late.
- Earlier in 2025 he set out to make a new game at Itagaki Games and later lamented not being able to deliver it.
- He joined Tecmo in 1992, led the creation of Dead or Alive in 1996, and oversaw a celebrated 2004 Ninja Gaiden reinvention during Team Ninja’s prolific run.
- He departed Tecmo in 2008 with a loyal core team, later founded Valhalla Game Studios, and last shipped Devil’s Third on Wii U nearly a decade ago.