Dead or Alive director Yohei Shimbori leaves Koei Tecmo
Yohei Shimbori, the Director of Koei Tecmo's Dead or Alive franchise for 11 years and a key contributor to the DOA team for 16, announced his departure from the company on Wednesday.
He left a pair of heartfelt messages on Twitter both to inform audiences of his departure as well as to express a tearful gratitude after garnering a ton of well wishes from fans all over the world.
Shimbori's Dead or Alive career began in 2004 when he was a Planner on DoA Ultimate. He later served as Game Designer for the subsequent Dead or Alive 4 (2005) and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (2006) before leveling up to Director for the next six DOA titles.
The most recent addition to the franchise, DOA6, dropped back in 2019 and saw continued DLC support through the end of that year. One of the largest points of interest surrounding the game's launch was the fact that developers told fans they'd be toning down sexuality from the over the top jiggle physics and traditionally scanty outfits the franchise had become known for.
"I have retired from Koei Tecmo Games today. Having been involved in DOA for about 16 years, I was pleased with it, and sometimes I couldn't live up to my expectations," Shimbori notes in his first tweet. "We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for the support and support of many people."
You can view both of the tweets in full (as well as their English translations) embedded below.
ご報告です。
— しんぼり (@shimbori_x) March 31, 2021
本日をもってコーエーテクモゲームスを退職いたしました。DOAに約16年携わらせていただき、喜んで頂けたこともあれば、ご期待に応えられないこともありました。多くの方々に支えていただき大変お世話になりましたこと、この場を借りて篤く御礼申し上げます。
ありがとうございました。
みなさま、温かいメッセージをありがとうございます。嬉しくて涙が出ますし、これからも頑張れます。返信が追いつかなかったり見逃してしまっているかもしれませんが、皆様への感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。しばらく時間はいただきますが、面白いものが作れるよう努力します！
— しんぼり (@shimbori_x) April 1, 2021
We'd be remiss not to point out that this announcement was posted early in the morning of March 31 in the West, it was already April 1 (and therefore April Fools' Day) in Japan as they're 16 hours ahead of Pacific Time. Beyond the fact that it was released on April Fools', we have no indication that this announcement might be insincere.
