Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada answers several questions on his personal X (Twitter) account, some of which have turned into a lengthy debate. Read on to learn more about the details of these exchanges!
Tekken Director Harada Says He Has No Favorites
All The Fighters “Are All Like My Children”
Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada got into a rather heated argument on X (Twitter) concerning his alleged "favoritism" towards select Tekken characters, which then ended on a stern note. Harada is known to be quite vocal about subjects that he is interested in, in which these conversations may have struck a nerve.
What started out as a silly exchange turned into something more serious. An X (Twitter) user declared that they would buy 5 copies of Tekken 8 if they would add Anna Williams as a playable character, to which Harada responded with a joking "You should buy 50 copies for her." After resharing that post, another fan quipped, "hi harada san, why do you hate anna so much? you always make her lose to nina and she’s treated as inferior to her and even though she’s clearly loved and popular."
In response to his presumed hate for the fan’s favorite, Harada replied, "I don't remember how many times I've written here since I started Twitter, but there is no way I hate certain characters. If I seem to like or dislike them, that is just your misunderstanding, because they are all like my children. You are just seeing something distorted by your assumptions." He also added that he’s "disturbed by the popularity pecking order" for characters, but alas, it’s an inevitable part of a game with a large cast of characters such as Tekken. He ends his response by imploring the user to understand "that all needs have opposing sides" and that their "love for the characters is distorting the way you look at things, and it's so absurd that you unilaterally think negatively about my point of view because of it." Mic drop.
And From A “Business Standpoint”
But on a separate note, another user took offense at Harada’s claim that he was disturbed by the popularity order of characters, arguing that they "think it makes sense from a business standpoint to stop introducing NEW characters on each release, avoid this conundrum you bring upon yourself. What's wrong with just improving characters story line on each release & introducing new moves"
After the first exchange, Harada seemed to have doubled down on this next one, to which he responds, "Do you need me to explain that to you from every perspective now? Then from here on out, I'm going to charge you tuition for lectures on ‘what video games are,’ ‘what game development is,’ ‘what the game market is,’ ‘what the game business is,’ and so on." He also added that the user should fill him in on their business track record.
The user did respond with an example of their experiences but with a completely different industry. The Tekken director then dismisses their argument as "useless," stating the fact that his example had nothing to do with game business at all. He ends the conversation with "If you are wise, you will understand what I am saying."
Nevertheless, the debate still garnered quite an audience, with most rooting for Harada. A fan stated with a laugh, "Wait, so these cats are seriously trying to have an argument with you about how to run a game? [...] You have the patience of a saint, Harada-san." to which Harada declares "No, those with PATIENCE OF A SAINT do not reply every single time. I'm just a game developer who can't resist curiosity."
Side-Swapping Mechanic In The Works
On a more enjoyable note, Tekken fans on X (Twitter) have also taken the liberty to praise Harada for his work, with one fan thanking him for adding the option to let players play out a match on the right side of the screen in online play. Harada commented in response that the feature was something he wanted added since Tekken 6 and was eventually added to the next installment.
However, this system instead caused difficulty for those playing in offline competitions, as both players cannot share the same side when using one screen. With that in mind, Harada and his team are working on a mechanic that can randomly decide the playing side.
There is a debate on whether or not it is a good idea, as some players believe that this will help stop newer Tekken players from forming bad habits, while others instead encourage the players having difficulty to practice from both sides.
