Summary
Tekkenseries directorKatsuhiro Haradahas spoken out about fan-requested fighters and is asking fans to stop sending him their ideas.
In a long post about the matter, Harada says that if you pitcha fighter, they will be even less likely to appear in the game, as the team must avoid any legal concerns surrounding character ownership. Further still, he says that the more detailed requests will definitely be ignored, out of fear that the person pitching them will take legal action if they’re used in-game.
Katsuhiro Harada Doesn’t Want To Hear Your Ideas For New Tekken Fighters
“It would be wise to stop showing us your ‘specific character ideas’ on social networking sites or in letters to us,” says Harada. “Instead, your actions will contribute to the possibility that your request will not be realized.”
He continues, explaining why this is the case. “Basically, the more specific and detailed the idea is, the less likely we are to adopt it, and the further away from it we are from being influenced by it. Why? Because a certain percentage of people will file a lawsuit in the form of ‘you used my proposal without permission’ or ‘you stole my proposal’ or ‘that was my proposal.'”
That’s a legitimate fear, especially if the fan has physical evidence that they sent that proposal, and could argue that a Tekken developer was likely to have seen it. Harada says that he has been accused of stealing fan ideas before, even in person, and is eager to avoid this happening again.
However, he stresses that this doesn’t mean he’s closed himself off to all advice. “I’ll always refer to and listen to the opinions of fans/users,” he says. “Opinions and ideas are two different things.”
He brings up examples of fan suggestions guiding character designs in the past, withLars, Eliza andShaheenbeing developed with this feedback in mind, while ultimately remaining original characters. So, just don’t tell him about your OC unless he’s asking for advice - he doesn’t want to hear it.
Tekken 8
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Tekken 8 is the next-gen evolution of the long-running fighting game series from Bandai Namco. It brings back several popular characters and adds new, while it also introduces the new ‘Heat’ mechanic.
