Creator of Devil May Cry Hideki Kamiya has launched a scathing attack on Ninja Gaiden, the most recent game from cult developer Tomonobu Itagaki, saying that he’s “not interested” in the series.

The comments come after Itagaki accused the Devil May Cry man of being asleep in the eight years since he worked on the original PS2 action outing.

Speaking to EGM about his future projects, which currently include next-gen title Bayonetta, Kamiya told EGM: “I want to make a game that exceeds God of War's sequel. Out of all those action titles, there's one game that I am paying really close attention to, that I think is a rival game, a good game, which is called God of War 3.

“I've never played Ninja Gaiden, and to be honest, I'm not that interested. The quality that gets you interested in something is that you feel something for them. Ninja Gaiden just didn't have that power.”

Last week 1UP tracked down former Tecmo man Itagaki, who incidentally was making merry at a Japanese bar, who himself delivered a scathing verdict on his rival:

“There are two types of people out there who like to make big comments. There's those that truly are outspoken, and there are those who are just trying to cover up for their weaknesses. We have a saying here in Japan which is that ‘the weaker dog barks more’, and I sincerely hope that he is not one of the latter. Also, I would also just like to remind Kamiya to make sure to stay awake for the next eight years.”