Tomonobu Itagaki, author of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, leaves us at the age of 58
The circumstances of his departure are unclear, but it seems that he was already very ill, since he had prepared the following farewell message asking to spread it after his death (translated from Japanese):
Last words
The flame of my life is finally going out.
The fact that this message has been published means that the time has finally come. I'm no longer in this world.
(This last post was entrusted to a person dear to me).
My life has been a sequence of battles. I kept winning.
I also caused a lot of problems.
I am proud to have fought to the end, true to my convictions.
I have no regrets.
Only, I am filled with sadness that I was unable to deliver my new work to all my fans. I'm sorry.
That's life.
So it goes.
Itagaki Tomonobu
The news saddens us not only because we lose a great, albeit controversial, figure of the gaming scene, but also because Itagaki San occupies a special place in the hearts of long-time boxers, given that his best works were released in collaboration with Microsoft, as exclusives of the first Xbox.
We hug his loved ones in remembering him. Rest in peace, Master Ninja!