Ninja Gaiden II skewers 1M

When Ninja Gaiden II launched in North America on June 3, it looked like the culmination of another successful Microsoft-Tecmo collaboration. However, the game hadn't even made it onto store shelves before the game's director, Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki, dramatically resigned. Things got uglier from there, with Itagaki suing Tecmo for $1.4 million, the publisher's share price sliding, and more employees reportedly filing a class-action lawsuit. Last week, company president Yoshimi Yasuda abruptly stepped down, citing unspecified "personal reasons."

Today--for a change--Tecmo received a splash of upbeat news. In a brief press release, Microsoft announced that Ninja Gaiden II has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. According to the publisher, sales figures for the Xbox 360-exclusive action adventure were for all territories worldwide. In the US, industry-research firm the NPD Group reports that the game has sold more than 412,000 copies in the US as of July 31, generating nearly $25 million.

Though not as critically praised as 2004's Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden II's detailed visuals and unrepentant ultraviolence earned it solid reviews. The game is a prequel of sorts and is set before the original NES and arcade Gaiden games, chronicling the early adventures of series hero Ryu Hayabusa. For more details on Ninja Gaiden II, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.