Tekken 7 Producer Talks eSports and Console Ports
In a recent interview, Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada shines a bit of light on Tekken 7‘s 2017 home release as well as its place in the competitive scene.
Gamespot recently sat down with longtime Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada to speak about Tekken 7‘s long awaited console and PC ports. The arcade version of the game has been enjoyed by Japanese players since March of 2015. On the question if the ports will change any significant gameplay changes to the home version, Harada had this to say:
“Obviously we don’t want to change the formula people expect. That said, with all the Tekken games, we always add extra content. One of the big features is the story mode, in addition to the arcade mode. Other modes, for example, consistent of some type of gallery that allow you to catch up on story elements of the past installments.”
It’s becoming a small trend as of late that high profile games are focusing less on PC ports and more towards a mainstream console audience. This is evident by the bug-ridden ports of Batman: Arkham City and the infamous No Man’s Sky. Harada had this to say on the subject:
“Before, we used to do a lot for Sony’s hardware first. The hurdle to porting to PC afterward was quite high at that time. Since we’re developing the game on PC from the start using Unreal Engine, it made it much easier to release a PC version. There are also many markets in which many gamers prefer PC rather than console.”
The fighting game veteran also stated that using Unreal Engine to develop the new game made many things easier.
“Being able to use Unreal Engine and to have our work and the graphics appear relatively quick gave us much more time to work and focus on the actual game design elements. It also makes it easier to port to different platforms.”
Tekken 7 having been the focus for this month’s North American finals for the King of the Iron Fist Tournament, Harada had this to say about the game’s future in competition:
“We feel that eSports is becoming increasingly popular, but the players have limited time with the game. So we’re hoping that that’s going to change quite a bit after the release on console and PC in early 2017. We think that we’re starting off slow, but after the release date things will start to pick up.”
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Eric Hall2712 Posts
Phone-browsing Wikipedia in one hand and clutching his trusty controller in the other, the legendary Eric Hall spreads his wealth of knowledge as a writer for Don't Feed the Gamers. Be sure to catch his biweekly "Throwback Thursday" segment for a nostalgic look at trivia from the past.
