In the future, Tekken may have more elements that involve teams, according to series producer Katsuhiro Harada.
Tekken 8 Although it is successful both critically and commercially, series producer Katsuhiro Harada is worried about the future of one-on-one fighting games.
During an episode of the Game Maker’s Notebook podcast by the Academy Of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Harada discussed the future of Tekken and fighters at large, with PlayStation’s Shuhei Yoshida.
Harada suggested that younger players today may not be very interested in playing one-on-one competitive games, as they prefer team-based shooters where they can blame their team for losing.
‘It seems to me that the way fighting games are played has evolved over time, with the generations,’ Harada said.
‘In Japan, and probably in most of the world, my generation is a big one. It makes up a good chunk of the population. That made our society a competitive one. If you applied to a school or for a job, there was always a lot of competition. Because of this, people in my generation prefer definitive outcomes, a clear winner and loser. This applies to folks in and around their 50s.
Harada believes that young people nowadays are not very interested in one-on-one showdowns and prefer team-based shooters, where they can attribute losing a match to their team.
According to Harada, in team-based shooters, players can take credit for winning, but blame their team for losing.
It’s hard to believe that younger players are not a significant contributor to the success of one-on-one fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 – especially with their popularity as esport titles.
However, Harada explains that this view does not necessarily mean a shift to team-based battles in future Tekken entries, but might see alternative ways to play to appeal to a wider audience.
Harada is not suggesting a complete change of genre for fighting games, but instead aims to include other ways of competing alongside the main one-on-one battles.
He proposes the inclusion of other forms of competition, such as team battles, within the game, possibly introducing official rankings for team matches.
Harada foresees the incorporation of varied modes based on teams or regions into the online mode, potentially adding more strategic elements.
Harada suggests that including more diverse modes in the online mode, such as team or regional battles, could introduce more strategic elements.
Tekken 8 sold over two million copies in its initial month. The first additional character for the game, Eddy Gordo, was made available last week.
A concern for modern fighting games could be the growing prevalence of 'predatory' microtransactions, with several players recently expressing complaints about the new Fight Pass in Tekken 8.
