Tekken Director Katsuhiro Harada shares step-by-step instructions to unlock certain characters for Tekken 8. Read on to learn more about the steps and his experiences on the effective ways to request things from game companies.
Katsuhiro Harada Jokes About Unlocking New Characters
A Step-By-Step Procedure To Secure Guest DLC Characters
For those who have been waiting for certain guest characters to arrive in Tekken 8, well wait no more because you finally have an answer from the TEKKEN director himself, Katsuhiro Harada. In a post on Twitter (X) where Harada was asked by user @ImTh3Hate on how to unlock Tifa Lockhart, he hilariously replied:"Let me tell you how to Unlock. First, you need to become friends with Shinji Hashimoto-san, then if you can convince Tetsuya Nomura-san, then you can Unlock."
To those unfamiliar with the names he dropped in his reply, Shinji Hashimoto was the former brand manager of the Final Fantasy series, while Tetsuya Nomura is a game director and character designer for several Square Enix titles notably Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XIII, and Kingdom Hearts. In short, Harada was telling the user to be friends with the brand manager of Final Fantasy and the creator of some of the characters for Square Enix’s upcoming game, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, which is close to impossible if we’re being real here.
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Keyboard
To follow up on the topic, another user @Lubg24 asked if they could sign a petition just to get Tifa into Tekken 8. Harada then replied that it depends on the size of the game and that it would take at least 100,000 signatures to start one. But he followed it by saying: "Even so, an online petition lacks credibility, so it can only be taken as a rough guide."
Harada even pointed out that handwritten letters may be more effective than online letters and petitions. In a separate post, Harada posted several examples of what he thinks are the most effective ways to request certain things from gaming companies.
He even stated that "demonstrations in front of the company’s headquarters and shareholders meetings have had the opposite effect in some cases," as they set a bad example for the others if they roll over for the fans.
His first example was to start what he calls "a big flame war" where one could create a scene that escalates to other media outlets specifically outside the gaming industry, so that management would have no choice but to take action from the top. Harada stated this is an empty theory, however, as there have been little to no instances or examples that have happened in the past.
His second example was what has already happened to them in his 30 years of experience. He recounted receiving actual handwritten letters from fans about requests to include older characters in the games.
He said that "Some of these letters were terrible, with razor blades in them, which I don't recommend because it is counterproductive." On a positive note, he did say that "receiving enthusiastic letters from all over the world on a daily basis has a significant impact on the awareness of the development team, making it easier to talk about within the company and attracting the attention of management."
More Instructions to Unlocking Guest Characters
That still didn’t stop others from asking Harada how to include other guest characters however, another user asked if they could have Clive Rosfield, the protagonist from Final Fantasy XVI, into Tekken 8, to which he replied another step-by-step procedure: "First you need to become friends with Naoki Yoshida-san. Then, you need to gain his empathy for your game-making philosophy. After that, if you can gain the respect of their project team, you will be able to unlock it." He ends the post saying, "In other words, as in the other examples, the level of difficulty is very high."
Hilariously enough, user @MeidoMatsuri even asked how to unlock Segata Sanshiro–Sega Saturn’s fictional poster boy back in 1997 to 1998–in Tekken 8. He is based on Akira Kurosawa’s character Sugata Sanshiro, who was a legendary judo fighter in his film.
Harada then replied with another series of steps with the user joining SEGA, getting promoted by any means necessary, then forcing Bandai Namco and SEGA to include Sanshiro in the game, and ending with a settlement offer that ends with your termination from the company.
In short, Harada was saying that it’s impossible for Sanshiro specifically to get into Tekken 8. However, he also alluded to the difficulty of getting other guest characters into the game as there are a ton of factors to consider and account for just so they could be part of the roster. While we know it’s possible that anything and anyone can get into the Tekken roster as long as there’s a good deal for both parties, it’s still immensely difficult to get talks going for both parties.
Sources:
Twitter - Katsuhiro Harada
EventHubs - Katsuhiro Harada gives hilarious and interesting responses on how to get characters like Tifa Lockhart and others into Tekken 8
