The 9 Most Shocking Resignations and Firings in Gaming

• By Dave Rudden
• June 09, 2008 16:54 PM PST
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Employees come and go in the gaming industry, but the following nine moves still managed to shock us.

The Leadup:

Phil Harrison joined Sony in 1992, overseeing the launch of the PlayStation and the PSP. But the PlayStation 3, which has lagged behind in sales, has proved to be the undoing of many Sony executives, most notably Ken "father of the PlayStation" Kutaragi and, some believe, worldwide game head Phil Harrison. The worldwide studio president resigned on February 25, 2008, some 18 months after the PS3's release.

The Aftermath:

Less than a week after his resignation, Harrison joined France-based Infogrames as its President and "Directeur General Delegue" (deputy managing director), with the intention of reviving the Atari brand as a mass-market name ala Nintendo's Wii. That's not the type of job a guy can just waltz into the office and get, so we're guessing Harrison had it lined up for quite some time. What's confusing is figuring out why Harrison would jump ship from a leaky battleship like Sony to a capsizing canoe like Atari.

The Leadup:

Gumpei Yokoi began at Nintendo in 1965. During the company's playing card days, he created the Ultra Hand, a ubiquitous children's toy. But he especially thrived when the company moved its focus to games. He created the Game & Watch, ushering in the era of handheld games, and was also responsible for the Game Boy. But he wasn't just a hardware guy; he headed a software development team responsible for creating Metroid and Kid Icarus. His last project with Nintendo was the Virtual Boy, which bombed spectacularly and affected his status with the company greatly. He resigned a year after the release of the failed console.

The Aftermath:

Yokoi went back to his roots and oversaw development of the Wonderswan with Koto laboratories. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see the project to completion, as he died after being hit by a car in October of 1997. The Wonderswan ended up being one of the Game Boy's biggest competitors in Japan, taking a notable market share from the portable king.

The Leadup:

Peter Moore knew how to help companies succeed through difficult times. He helmed Sega as the company launched the Dreamcast, and helped ease the company into becoming a software-only publisher. Later, he moved on to Microsoft to help guide the Xbox through its shaky first years. Moore became the face of Xbox...and its arms, which he plastered with tattoos to advertise release dates for Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. Having righted the Xbox's ship, Moore once again moved on, resigning to work for EA. His resignation, we might add, happened conveniently just after he issued a public apology and warranty extension for the embarrassing "Red Ring of Death" debacle.

The Aftermath:

Moore is currently the President of EA Sports, helping give a good name to a company that has been looked down upon by the hardcore crowd for rehashing tired series with yearly sequels. He's been instrumental in the introduction of new IPs such as Facebreaker and GameShow. Many still have disdain for the house that Madden built, but Moore's just getting warmed up.

The Leadup:

Gertsmann had been a part of GameSpot's console editorial staff since that part of the site's inception. For the following 12 years, he produced hundreds of reviews, eventually ascending to the role of Editorial Director in 2007. His firing in November 2007, which was rumored to have been affected by Eidos' displeasure for his review of Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, set off a firestorm of controversy.

The Aftermath:

Gertsmann's departure was only the beginning of a mass exodus of GameSpot staffers seemingly sparked by the scandal. Editors Alex Navarro and Ryan Davis both left the company as a result of Gertsmann's firing, with freelancer Frank Provo also moving on. Gertsmann co-founded GiantBomb.com with Davis, which takes a more laid-back approach to reviews, previews, and features. The site has been active since March, and promises to "blow up" this summer.

The Leadup:

While John Romero had plenty of experience as a developer, creating many memorable games for the Apple II, it wasn't until he moved to PC game developer Softdisk that his career kicked into gear. At SoftDisk, Romero met whiz-kid programmer John Carmack, and the two started a new development company known as id Software. id was responsible for many of the PC's most influential titles, including Commander Keen, Doom, and Quake. Romero and Carmack's conflicting personalities eventually contributed to the former's forced resignation.

The Aftermath:

id Software has continued to develop Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake sequels, but has not developed a new IP in the 12 years since Romero's departure (the company has published a few, however). Romero headed up a new development company, Ion Storm, which was shut down less than five years after its inception due to a string of less-than-stellar titles like Daikatana. From there Romero founded Monkeystone, which also closed its doors. Romero next skipped over to Midway to work on Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows before reportedly being fired. Romero is now working on an MMO with another newly-created development team, Slipgate Ironworks.

The Leadup:

Hironobu Sakaguchi expected to leave Square 16 years before he resigned. He created Final Fantasy in 1987, expecting it to be his last videogame, but the game became a massive hit, saving the beleaguered gaming company after a costly string of flops. He continued to work intensely on the eponymous RPG series, eventually becoming the President of Square in 1995. He had hoped to usher in a new era in the company in 2001 when he directed the company's first feature film, entitled Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. When the movie flopped tremendously despite its staggering budget, Sakaguchi was on the outs with the company. While he still remained with the company for a few more years, playing a key role in the development of the popular Kingdom Hearts franchise, he never reached the same standing as he did before his film debut. He left the company in 2003.

The Aftermath:

Sakaguchi surprised many by starting up a new studio meant to compete with Square-Enix for RPG supremacy. The Microsoft-backed Mistwalker development studio has already produced two key RPGs for the Xbox 360--Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, while Square-Enix has yet to create a next-gen RPG.

The Leadup:

Dan Hsu started with Ziff-Davis in 1996, working almost exclusively for Electronic Gaming Monthly, except for a one-year gig heading up Gamers.com. He returned to the magazine in 2001, serving as its Editor-in-Chief for six years, increasing the magazine's industry status greatly during that period. In September of 2007, Hsu was promoted to 1UP's Editorial Director, but less than a year later, in April of 2008, he tendered his resignation. The move came as a surprise to his loyal readers -- Hsu was largely seen as being the key personality behind EGM's editorial tone.

The Aftermath:

Hsu has not made his next career move yet, though in his farewell blog post at 1UP, he remarked, "For better or for worse, you'll hear from me again in the near future. I love the videogame business too much to stay away." Wherever he ends up, expect him to make news and make waves.

The Leadup:

Clover Studios was created by Capcom in 2003 and commissioned to create a new action game for the Nintendo GameCube. The result was Viewtiful Joe, one of the system's most clever and popular games. Over the next three years, Clover created three more original Viewtiful Joe titles and two ports, before working on a pair of unique PlayStation 2 titles: Okami, an adventure game starring a wolf; and God Hand, an outrageous brawler. Neither title garnered great sales (despite the gaming media's almost unanimous praise of Okami) and Capcom closed the studio down in 2007.

The Aftermath:

Capcom ported Okami to the Wii in April of 2008, assigning the development to Ready at Dawn. The port was regarded by many as inferior to the original PS2 version, and Capcom caught flak for snipping the credit sequence that featured Clover staff names. Many of Clover's key developers have banded together to form a new team known as Platinum Games. Platinum Games is currently working on the highly-anticipated MadWorld.

The Leadup:

Tomonobu Itagaki started his game development career with Tecmo in 1992. He was influential in creating the company's most revered franchise -- the one-on-one fighting series Dead or Alive. His success with the series vaulted him high in the ranks of Tecmo, and he went on to lead the company's elite Team Ninja development group. Itagaki also was the creative force behind the resurrection of the Ninja Gaiden franchise on Microsoft's Xbox consoles. On the date of the release of his latest title, Ninja Gaiden II, Itagaki announced his resignation from Tecmo and his intention to sue the company, citing tension with Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda and an unpaid bonus for his work on Dead or Alive 4.

The Aftermath:

Itagaki's next move is not yet known. Tecmo has confirmed that Team Ninja will continue to function without its former leader.

Images created by Ivy Yup

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