‘Things have changed since 2012’
Tekkenseries producer Katsuhiro Harada recentlyspoke to VGCabout the status ofTekken X Street Fighter. Announced almost a decade ago alongsideStreet Fighter X Tekken, the status of the game has been shrouded in mystery for its entire duration. While anupdate last year claimedthe team at Bandai Namco was around 30% finished with the title, we’ve still not seen any gameplay footage for the crossover fighter.
The official status is that the game is still in development. That doesn’t mean it is actively being worked on, but Bandai Namco has not canceled the project despite little progress being made. It would be easy to assume the team is no longer passionate about the game, but Harada put those fears to bed. “I am emotionally up for it. I still want to release the game. However, as much as I want to proceed with the project, things have changed a lot since 2012,” he said.
Referencing the work inTekken 7, Harada added, “I was excited to see how well Bandai Namco could convert 2D characters like Akuma fromStreet Fighter, and Geese fromThe King of Fightersinto 3D models and make them look really sexy, visually…I was excited about that and I have passion for it, but my logical and business thinking has me wondering if I really should do it.”
It seems the biggest hurdle comes from the existence ofTekken 7andStreet Fighter V. As Harada put it, he isn’t sure how to compete against those two titles. In his opinion, they are some of the best fighting games either company has made and he doesn’t want to split the communities between supporting those titles andTekken X Street Fighter. Both are successful in their own right but have existed well beyond the traditional life cycle of fighting games.
“Traditionally, the life cycle of a fighting game is very short – maybe one or two years and then you make a sequel. ButTekken 7is very successful as a service game with its DLC. That makes it much harder to justify releasing another game, whileTekken 7is still doing so well,” Harada stated.
While I’m not sure I follow the logic, I can at least understand how the continued support ofTekken 7andSoulcalibur VImay be spreading Bandai Namco thin. No one would want aTekken X Street Fighterif it wasn’t the best possible game it could be, so it only makes sense to keep it delayed instead of rushing it out of the door. Seeing as howStreet Fighteris kind of in a weird place, though, it may also be a good idea to hold off until Capcom regains fan trust in its brand.
