You know the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all"? Well Tecmo's president Yasuda is going to learn that the hard way.

But first, a recap: A few months ago Itagaki and Team Ninja sued Tecmo over unpaid bonuses. In retaliation Tecmo slapped Itagaki with a gag-order and fired him before he could quit.

And here's where it gets interesting... In court Tecmo denied not paying the bonuses (amongst other things) but a secret video tape that was recorded by Ninja Gaiden II's producer Yoshifuru Okamoto at the start of the year proves that many things Tecmo said in court were lies.

The tape also shows how much of a jackass Tecmo's president Yasuda is, revealing that he constantly harassed and insulted his employees, including Itagaki and Okamoto. (another thing that he denied in court).

Itagaki plans to use this "secret tape" as evidence in court, as well as the contract that specifically states he is owed 6.66% of Dead or Alive 4's earnings.

On January 22nd of this year, Ninja Gaiden II producer Yoshifuru Okamoto taped a conversation with president Yasuda. Why was the producer of Ninja Gaiden II recording conversations with the president of Tecmo? According to Okamoto's affidavit, Yasuda had continually harassed him, calling him an "idiot", stating he was "no good" and saying that Okamoto "had no class." Okamoto claims that he asked for a meeting with Yasuda so that he could understand why he was so negative towards him. During this meeting, Okamoto secretly recorded their conversation. (Note: Okamoto has since left the company and had been contemplating doing so for some time.)

And during this meeting, current president Yasuda admits that the special bonus incentive had in fact been submitted and approved by the board of directors before he became president and while he was still section director. Yasuda says that the special incentive scheme had been discussed and a ringi (a type of Japanese corporate approval form) had been signed by the board of directors. This is in direct conflict with Yasuda's court claim that this "special incentives" proposal was made single-handedly by the former president and not approved by the Tecmo board. Therefore, it is invalid. The recording helps support Itagaki's claim that this special incentive bonus was approved by Tecmo's former president and the board of directors, and that the current president knows this.

Also, during the conversation, Yasuda called Itagaki a "money grubber" because of the developer's desire to be paid incentives that had been approved by Tecmo. Yet in court, Yasuda has denied calling Itagaki a "money grubber." In Itagaki's statement, the game designer says that this audio recording is only a small part of concrete evidence he has. "I am prepared to reveal this evidence as the need arises for the sake of greater justice," Itagaki states.

Miss Razz via kotaku.com »