Speaking at the annual DICE Summit today, Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden creator, Tomonobu Itagaki, reveals that Tecmo (now Tecmo Koei) released Dead or Alive 2 for the PlayStation 2 while it was still in an unfinished state without his knowledge.
Following its release in arcades, Dead or Alive 2 was released in 2000 for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, but was later re-released with further updates on both platforms. Itagaki shared the story of how that turn of events came about.
As the deadline for the PlayStation 2 version of the game came closer, Itagaki was visited by Tecmo’s general manager of sales, according to a report at Wired magazine blog GameLife. “Can I borrow a copy of this so I can play it a little?” Itagaki recalls the manager having asked him at the time.
Itagaki casually gave his approval and handed over a disc of the in-development game, not knowing that disc wasn’t going to be played, it was going to be sent off to factory for mass production.
“I thought I would quit making games,” Itagaki recalls, adding that he began to stay home, drinking from morning to night, and crying as he watched the Bruce Willis movie, Armageddon, with his daughter, and listening to its theme song, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith.
Eventually, Itagaki recovered, and got back to work, intent on releasing Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, which would deliver the experience he had originally envisioned. He credits Aerosmith and Armageddon for saving his life, his company and his family.
Itagaki is presently employed at Valhalla Studios, a company he founded, where he’s developing a shooter, Devil’s Third, which will be published by THQ.
