Katsuhiro Harada spoke to Eurogamer at Evo earlier this month about the future of the Tekken series without him at the helm. The legendary game director had previously stated that the next Tekken game could likely be his last before leaving for other ventures..
When asked by Eurogamer whether the Tekken team would be ready for a future without him, Harada responded (via translation courtesy of game designer Michael Murray): “There are two types of games. A game that solely focuses on its story and setting, and games where the gameplay and the game’s systems are the focus. So when you divide games into those two categories, a series that’s narrative-focused is hard to envision when a major person driving it is gone.
Harada continues: “But for Tekken, [I] feel that it’s the latter. Of course people are in love with the characters and the story, but it’s mainly a 3D fighting game where you launch your opponent, do aerial juggles, etc. [I] feel over the past 30 years the gameplay has been polished and everything is in place, so it’s much easier to continue with someone else.
It is worth noting that Harada (paired with Michael Murray, who has also stated they might only have one more Tekken in him) are more than just developers closed off from the outside world. For years, Harada and Murray have been traveling the world and acting as direct links to the Tekken community. The recently revealed Tekken 8 character – Miary Zo – was designed after the team including Harada travelled to Madagascar personally to research the region and its culture.
When asked whether this approach is important to maintain for a post-Harada Tekken, Harada via Murray responded thus: “We’re public figures for Tekken, sure. Compared to other people outside of the company – and this is [my] personal opinion not the official stance of Bandai Namco – it really depends [on the game]. There are other games out there – even fighting games – where there is no public figure to attach to it.
“For Tekken we stand out, but that’s because when we first started doing community interaction Evo was much smaller, other tournaments were much smaller, the community was smaller. We were right at the time also when arcades across the world disappeared. So it was like, where do you see your audience and find out what they want? We personally felt it was better to go to these events and interact with people, to get a broad sampling and make our mind up about what to do with the game.
“That doesn’t mean that’s necessary perhaps. Other games are successful without that, it’s not like you have to do that or a game won’t succeed. It’s just what we felt was necessary for us at that time.”
Murray would add his own personal perspective as well, noting: “Personally I feel similarly. At the time there was no internet and forums, there were just arcades. Now it’s just the internet! But, is that really where you want to take all your information from? I think you have to make the best decision at the time. Personally, I don’t know if we would continue doing things the same way we’ve always done. I don’t get paid a stipend for talking to people on the internet either (laugh).”
The idea of Tekken without Harada at the helm is a bizarre one, so tied together the two entities are. Though with Harada already exploring new ventures such as Shadow Labyrinth, perhaps the slow departure is starting already. Whether or not the series can maintain its momentum without its lifelong lead is a big question, perhaps most for the person meant to fill his shoes.