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Tecmo

Tecmo Rejects Square Enix Bid; Seeks Merger With Koei

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 4, 2008 - 10:38am.
Tokyo - Japanese video game publisher Tecmo said on Thursday that it has rejected an up to $206 million takeover bid from fellow publisher Square Enix, and is instead in merger talks with game maker Koei, Reuters reported.
tags: Games | Deals | Acquisitions | Square Enix | Japan | KOEI | Tecmo |

Square Enix Seeks to Acquire Majority Stake in Tecmo

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 29, 2008 - 6:42am.

Tokyo - Japanese video game publisher Square Enix said on Friday that it has made a bid for a majority stake in struggling fellow game publisher Tecmo, in a deal valued at about $102 million.

tags: Games | Deals | Acquisitions | Square Enix | Tecmo |

President of Japanese Game Publisher Tecmo Resigns

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 20, 2008 - 11:32am.

Los Angeles - The president of troubled Japanese video game publisher Tecmo on Wednesday announced his resignation for "personal reasons," Kotaku reports.

tags: Games | Moves | Tecmo | Tomonobu Itagaki | Yoshimi Yasuda |

Star Tecmo Developer Quits, Sues Company Over Unpaid Bonuses

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 5, 2008 - 11:31am.

Tokyo - Tomonobu Itagaki, the star designer at Japanese video game publisher Tecmo whose Team Ninja created the "Ninja Gaiden" and "Dead or Alive" franchises, has announced his resignation from the company and a lawsuit against his former employer over alleged unpaid bonuses, IGN.com reported.

tags: Games | Law | Lawsuits | Tecmo | Dead or Alive | Tomonobu Itagaki | Yoshimi Yasuda | Ninja Gaiden |

Shanda to Operate Tecmo's "DOA Online" Game in China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 2, 2007 - 2:52pm.

Shanghai, China - Chinese online game operator Shanda Interactive Entertainment said on Monday that it has acquired the exclusive rights from Japanese game developer Tecmo, to operate the firm's "DOA Online" in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. Tecmo's Lievo Studio will develop the online version of "Dead or Alive," slated to launch next year.

tags: Games | China | Shanda | Tecmo | MMOG | DOA Online |

Tecmo Settles With Site That Posted Volleyball Game Bikini Hacks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2005 - 7:57am.
San Francisco -- Japanese video game publisher Tecmo has quietly settled a copyright infringement lawsuit it brought against individuals who published code that can strip the female characters in its "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball" of their bikinis, Wired News reported. Tecmo originally filed the suit in January against operators of a site called NinjaHacker.net, over code posted to the site that changes the appearance of characters in the volleyball game as well as in Tecmo's "Ninja Gaiden" and "Dead or Alive 3." Terms of the settlements of the suits against the site owner and hosting provider for NinjaHacker.net were not disclosed. "I can tell you that my client would not have been inclined to reach any agreement that would have required him to pay money to Tecmo," attorney Charles Mudd, who represented NinjaHacker.net hosting provider Will Glynn, told Wired News. However, there is speculation Tecmo acquired information on the identities of the actual programmers who posted the "hacks" as part of the settlement, and additional lawsuits may follow.
tags: Website | Tecmo | Volleyball | Bikini Hacks |

Japanese Video Game Maker Tecmo Sues Alleged U.S. Game Hackers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2005 - 2:59am.
Torarnce, Calif. -- Japanese video game publisher Tecmo announced on Wednesday that it has filed suit in a Chicago federal court against a number of alleged hackers, who the company says violated Tecmo copyrights by breaking the security to change the code in games like "Ninja Gaiden" and "Dead or Alive." In the past, Tecmo has sued several programmers for creating hacks of its "Xtreme Beach Volleyball" game that removed the bikinis worn by the game's female athletes. Defendants named in the current suit include Mike Greiling, of Eden Prairie, Minn. and Will Glynn, of Davie, Fla. -- along with a number of unidentified individuals -- who are accused of "hosting and contributing content to a forum created to foster and facilitate the knowing infringement of Tecmo's proprietary software." Tecmo said the defendants committed copyright infringement and violated a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that prohibits circumventing copyright protection systems. "Hacking of this kind will not be tolerated and we intend to take all necessary measures to protect our intellectual property," said Tecmo general manager Hohn Inada. "Ignoring the situation will ultimately hurt future gaming experiences for both casual and hardcore gamers." Tecmo is seeking an injunction against the alleged hackers, as well as damages for willful copyright infringement.
tags: U.S | Video Game | Japanese | Tecmo | Game Hackers |

Tecmo Wins Japan Copyright Case Over "Dead or Alive" Game Hack

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 1, 2004 - 3:21am.
Tokyo -- The Japanese Supreme Court has ruled that a software firm that created a hack of game developer Tecmo's "Dead or Alive" title that rendered the female character Kasumi naked violated the company's copyrights, GamesIndustry.biz reported. Japanese developer West Side was ordered to pay Tecmo around $18,000 in damages. West Side prevailed in the original case, but Tecmo then won on a lower court's appeal, which was recently confirmed by the Japanese Supreme Court. However, West Side is only one of many developers offering such hacks; players of the Xbox version of "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball" can also easily locate software that removes the bikinis worn by the game's virtual female characters.
tags: Law | Tecmo | Japan Copyright Case | Dead or Alive | Game Hack |

Tecmo's "Dead or Alive" Video Game to Become Feature Film

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 9, 2003 - 2:50am.
Los Angeles -- Game developer Tecmo's "Dead or Alive" martial arts fighting title has been optioned by Impact Pictures and Constantin Films, which will produce a movie based on the game for theatrical release in the fall of 2004, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Impact's Paul W.S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt -- who also made "Resident Evil" -- will produce the film, from a script written by J.F. Lawton; no director has yet been named for the "DOA" project. The producers said they would include female characters from the video game and some volleyball scenes, in a nod to the successful off-shoot game title "Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball." http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/convergence/brief_ display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1859424 http://www.tecmoinc.com/games/doa3.asp
tags: Movies | Video Game | Tecmo | Dead or Alive |

Tecmo Threatens Hackers Creating Nude Versions of Game Characters

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2003 - 3:27am.
London -- Japanese video game maker Tecmo has threatened legal action against hackers creating software that inserts nude versions of the female characters featured in its popular Xbox title "Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball," the BBC Online reported on Tuesday. The game features the female characters from Tecmo's million-selling "Dead or Alive" franchise playing volleyball in bikinis, while the software patches in question, developed by Xbox hackers, alter the game so the female characters appear nude. "We're watching you very closely! Please do not post things that infringe copyrights and other legal issues," Tecmo said on its official online forum for the game. "Please do not post anything about nude patches and other hacked information or you will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. So far we're tracking one suspect, anybody care to be the second?" Tecmo has already successfully prosecuted a case in Japan involving code that created a nude version of one of its other game's characters.
tags: Games | Hackers | Tecmo | Nude Versions |