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[VGC] Shinji Mikami teases return to work after non-compete clause seemingly ends

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
"Now that I've broken the spell of non-competition on myself, I guess I should get to work," he tweeted on Thursday.

It was confirmed in February that Mikami was leaving Tango Gameworks, the studio behind The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush, which he founded in 2010 before selling it to Bethesda.

Mikami is best known for his time at Capcom, where he directed the first Resident Evil, its 2002 GameCube remake and Resident Evil 4, among other titles.

He also directed Vanquish for PlatinumGames and produced Shadows of the Damned for Grasshopper Manufacture.

In 2020, Mikami stated that he wanted to direct one more video game project before he retires, adding that he had no shortage of ideas and they weren't limited to the horror genre.
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
He always struck me as someone who values independence above all else, so it's no wonder that he hopped between so many studios and seemingly random projects, and now bailed on his own studio once it has been absorbed by a giant corporate blob. I'm rooting for his next project then!
 

Reaseru

Member
What if he's going to work at Platinum Games, and that was the main reason why Kamiya left the company?

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Dick Jones

Gold Member
Best of luck to him. Shocked at how short a non compete time he was given. They might as well have forgone the non compete.
 

Arachnid

Member
Glad to hear it. Give us your best horror game idea Mikami! If you're doing one more project, may as well be the genre you pioneered.
 
They already can on PC.

Most Japanese gamers aren't on PC.

Exactly.

You leave a company, you leave a company. That should be it.

Shouldn't have to wait some arbitrary amount of time after leaving a company, before being able to do something else.

This is Microsoft we're talking about. These sort of tactics are not beneath them.

He and Tokuro Fujiwara should team up and work on something. That'd be so dope!

Fujiwara is the godfather of RE and was Mikami's mentor in his early days at Capcom.

I might sound crazy as hell saying this, but I'd actually like to see them make a new Tomba first. I love those games, and Mikami did work on the SNES version of Aladdin FWIW. He knows a few things about platformers ;) (and Fujiwara obviously, with the Ghouls n' Ghosts lineage).
 

FoxMcChief

Gold Member
Exactly.

You leave a company, you leave a company. That should be it.

Shouldn't have to wait some arbitrary amount of time after leaving a company, before being able to do something else.
That’s how business is. It’s been this way for quite a while. When you’re under contract, and leave, there’s a consequence. Maybe be more upset for him not working while on contract.
 
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bender

What time is it?
You leave a company, you leave a company. That should be it.

Shouldn't have to wait some arbitrary amount of time after leaving a company, before being able to do something else.

Acquisitions are tricky especially if what is being acquired is people driven (talent, relationships, etc.). The principles probably signed an agreement to stay on for a certain amount of time once the acquisition was completed and then signed a standard length non-compete and are usually rewarded for doing so.
 

Solidus_T

Banned
I thought he was retiring. It turns out he really just wanted to leave Tango and start another studio or join another
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
Compared to how many on consoles?

You mean how many Switches? Yeah, Switch is popular, but I’m not sure what your point is? You think no one in Japan is playing on PC? In the real world it’s rapidly growing in popularity.

Also mobile OBLITERATES everything in Japan.
 

SpearHea.:D

Member
Making a survival dinosaur game please. No one creates tension and gameplay scenarios like shinji mikami.

Make it all out hardcore like OG RE4 and Evil Within 1.
 

NikuNashi

Member
Exactly.

You leave a company, you leave a company. That should be it.

Shouldn't have to wait some arbitrary amount of time after leaving a company, before being able to do something else.

Thats not uncommon in Japan, and like Mikami hinted, it was him who wrote that clause into the company contracts. So cant blame MS for thsat one.
 
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