Tomonobo Itakagi has caused a stir in the game industry because of his recent decision to not only leave Tecmo, but also for filing suit against them for not fully paying his bonuses. This will effect the possible quality of the next Ninja Gaidens and Dead or Alives that Tecmo will inevitably make, but there is also something more significant, symbolic to all of this. This news represents the inability for the industry in Japan to keep up with the West.

Theres an old Japanese proverb, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered out". The Japanese still for the most part have this salaryman business culture. The Japanese industry does not respect outspoken individualism unlike their American counterparts. While in America there is constant debate and communication over the direction and creation of the game, in many Japanese companies employees work on their project diligently, but with little to no communication and discussion. This disrespect for the average worker is reflective in their pay as well. A beginning programmer at companies such as Sega and Sony will make about $26,000 a year while a top programmer makes a maximum of $52,000.

Questioning or even appearing to be defying authority in anyway is strictly forbidden. It is taboo in Japan to leave work until everyone higher up in the company ladder has left. This keeps people in work much longer hours doing nothing just waiting for their superiors to leave.

All of this brings to light why Itakagi left Tecmo. Itakagi was not the typical subservient employee. He was outspoken in many senses of the word, was very much a 'rock and roll star' of the game industry, and with that attracted a lot of attention. The only thing that kept him at the company for so long was the financial success he brought the company. But while investors were happy, the bosses were not.

The higher ups had to tolerate him because after all theyre still a business, and he was making them lots of money. It wasnt until the recent sex scandal that gave Tecmo an excuse to start cutting him off.

Essentially its a cultural problem. The Japanese are going to have to abandon some of their traditions and attitudes or Itakagi wont be the last great developer to leave the land of the rising sun.