Tomonobu Itagaki (creative brains behind Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden) has never been one to shy away from confrontation.
So when Hideki Kamiya remarked to the press that he felt the action genre had been asleep for the last 8 years since he created Devil May Cry, obviously this is something that rubbed Itagaki the wrong way.
Considering Itagaki has devoted most of the last 8 years to the production of action games, he decided to fire back in the latest issue of EGM.
"Was he asleep for eight years? …There are two types of people out there who like to make controversial, splashy comments. There are those who are truly outspoken, and there are those who are just trying to cover up for their weaknesses. We have a saying here in Japan, "the weaker dog barks more."
This is why I love Itagaki. There’s nothing better to spice up an average Friday afternoon than some overly defensive insults.
I find it interesting that Itagaki used the phrase "the weaker dog barks more," as an insult to Hideki Kamiya. To be frank, I don’t think there is any single Japanese game developer who barks more than Itagaki himself.
This isn’t to say that I feel Itagaki is a "weaker dog," because I’ve been enjoying his games for years. I am merely pointing out the inadequacy of a statement that concretely links confidence to weakness.
