Tecmo Koei
Although series director Tomonobu Itagaki left shortly after the release of "Ninja Gaiden II", Tecmo Koei still owned the franchise and planned to instigate developments of another title, with a newly restructured "Team Ninja". This title was revealed as "Ninja Gaiden III" at the Tokyo Game Show 2010. Information about the game in the coming months revealed that the new director, Yosuke Hayashi, would be taking the series to new directions, including the addition of "resistance" in cutting through enemies. Later, at the E3 2011, the game was unveiled as "Ninja Gaiden 3". Changes to gameplay included removing dismemberment, replacing the roll with a new "slide" maneuver, and a "kunai climb" technique that would allow Ryu to scale certain walls. Tecmo Koei released the game on March 20, 2012 for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.