Today, game designer Tomonobu Itagaki has died following hospitalization from a severe illness.
As a veteran of Japan's video game industry, he began his work in 1992 at Tecmo and directed the development of the 3D fighting series Dead or Alive from 1996 to 2005, as well as authoring the reboot of the hack-and-slash Ninja Gaiden from 2004 to 2008. In 2009, IGN named him among the top 100 video game creators of all time.
After his passing was announced, his final goodbye was post-humously uploaded to his Facebook account:
Words I Leave Behind
The flame of my life is finally about to go out.
If this message has been posted, it means that the time has come. I am no longer in this world.
(This final post has been entrusted to someone dear to me.)
My life was a series of battles. And I kept on winning.
I know I caused trouble for many along the way.
But I followed my convictions and fought to the very end.
I have no regrets.
Only one thing weighs on me — I’m deeply sorry to all my fans that I couldn’t bring you a new work. I truly am.
That’s just how it is.
So it goes.
Industry peers such as Katsuhiro Harada of Bandai Namco's Tekken and Masahiro Sakurai of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. have expressed their condolences.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomonobu_Itagaki
