Keiji Inafune Leaves Capcom

Keiji Inafune, seen by many as the father of Mega Man and the head of development for all of Capcom, has announced that he is officially resigning from his position at Capcom and Daletto, leaving the company entirely, effective at the end of the month.

Posted directly on his blog on Daletto's website, Keiji Inafune announced publicly that he would be stepping down both as Daletto's CEO and as Capcom's "Head of R&D Management Group and Consumer Games R&D Division and Contents Management Division."

Daletto is Capcom's subsidiary specializing in online games and management, and Inafune-san saw being a CEO for it as meaningless for a creative person such as himself. He stated that he feels he cannot evaluate his subordinates properly nor speak about his ideas or dreams, two factors he felt were necessary for the position.

Meanwhile, he found that he had reached the top of software development with Capcom, with nowhere further to grow. Feeling that growth is required for a creator, he could not stand being unable to change and grow in stature in his current position, thus provoking his resignation. While he had been able to pull Megaman Legends 3 into production, he states in a 4Gamer interview that he just could not stay in Capcom any longer. Continuing his comments about Capcom, it is obvious that he felt dissonance where he was.

Capcom is truly a good company...I love Capcom. Probably more than anyone in the world. However, it's not always the case that your hopes are realized. Just as it was with the girlfriend I loved long ago...There was a chance that I could continue to be Capcom's power. I bet on that chance until the end. The means of both Capcom and myself to be happy. That was surely possible. However, now that chance is completely closed off."

-Keiji Inafune

He has stated furthermore that he has no plans to work with Capcom in the future. There is currently no information as to where he will be headed in the gaming industry if at all.

In light of his departure, Lost Planet 2 and Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi will be taking over his position over the development teams at Capcom.

Keiji Inafune joined Capcom back in the 1980s and is best known for having been behind the Mega Man franchise since its inception (he had joined mid-development for the first but remained pivotal in most other titles). He helped produce Onimusha and, more recently, the Dead Rising franchise. His last major title with Capcom was Dead Rising 2, developed by Blue Castle. Inafune-san had been working heavily on Mega Man Universe and Megaman Legends 3 before his departure, but there is no telling what he may have been working on alongside those projects as well.

SOURCE: AndriaSang