Itagaki playable in Saints Row: The Third

The Saints Row series has been taking itself less seriously as time goes on, and The Third seems to abandon all pretense for straight goofy action hilarity. And nothing fits into the light-hearted action milieu more than awkward celebrity cameos, like Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki. At the Tokyo Game Show, THQ confirmed that the former Team Ninja head will be a playable character in the game.

GameSpot reports that the pre-built character will appear wearing his signature leather jacket and sunglasses, much like real life. You can still create a character, of course, but why would you? Itagaki's new studio, Valhalla, is at work on Devil's Third, also set to be published by THQ.

He left Tecmo amid a lawsuit in 2008, claiming the company withheld bonuses and that company president Yohimi Yasuda made "demeaning comments" in front of colleagues. Now he's being immortalized in a game he didn't even make, so maybe he's getting the last laugh.