Tecmo President Yasuda Resigns

Multiple lawsuits have finally taken their toll on Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda, who resigned Wednesday. Tecmo Chairman of the Board Yasuharu Kakihara will step into the vacant position starting September 1.

Kotaku reports that the Tecmo Board of Directors accepted the resignation, which he said were for "personal reasons." Yasuda is stepping down as Tecmo is embroiled in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit with Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki.

Itagaki resigned and filed suit against the company in June for withholding a promised "special incentives" bonus for completing DOA4, which Yasuda claims were an informal promise made without the approval of the board. Since then, the plot has thickened as a separate lawsuit was filed by employees Hioaki Ozawa and Tatsuki Tsunoda claiming that they had been denied overtime pay by a "flexible hours" work scheme.

With secret audio tapes that directly contradict Yasuda's claim that his incentive promises were made without the approval of Tecmo's board (as reported by Kotaku), and the lawsuits continuing, it looks like things will get worse before they get better for Tecmo. What do you think? Did Yasuda's resignation come too late or too soon?