The Tekken video game series is if not the best, then one of the greatest fighting games ever made in the genre, and the success of Tekken 7 is the perfect example to showcase the franchise’s influence. The game is also responsible for bringing the addition of many new fighters that the player could fight with, including Shaheen, a Middle Eastern fighter.
The player base could not have been happier with this addition, which is part of the reason why Bandai Namco chose to include Shaheen once again in the latest installment of the series, Tekken 8. He is also the perfect example of what a regionally-inspired character should be like, as talked about by the director of the game himself, Katsuhiro Harada.
Katsuhiro Harada Talks About The Success Of Shaheen As A Middle Eastern Character In Tekken 7
In an interview via the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Katsuhiro Harada was asked about how the studio implemented certain characters that serve regional players residing outside Europe and America. Mentioning how Shaheen was a great execution of this idea, the director said-
“I’d say Tekken 7’s Shaheen was very successful. To be honest, I didn’t think he’d garner so much of a reaction. So in that sense, the response exceeded my expectations. The day after he was announced, my phone kept buzzing with Twitter notifications, I had no idea what was going on, but when I looked, people from countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait that I’d been featured in the morning paper. They event sent me PDF scans and photos of the article.”
Harada essentially revealed how the implementation of Shaheen proved to be a very successful strategy for the game as fans from the region were excited to see a Middle Eastern character being included in the game. Not only it was a gesture that was appreciated by the fans, but it was worthy enough to be covered by news outlets, such as newspapers, which had the director’s photo on it.
As stated before, Shaheen is a character that has been included in the roster once again in Bandai Namco’s Tekken 8. This is something that fans expected to happen already seeing his major success in the previous instalment. While there are many other fighting video-game franchises out there, it is unfortunately a genre with a shrinking player base, which was also addressed by Harada talking about why youngsters don’t play one-on-one fighting games anymore.
Tekken’s Director Addresses Young Player Base Not Wanting To Play Fighting Games Anymore
Katsuhiro Harada mentioned how he believes the player base, especially the younger demographic does not believe in a one-on-one fighting format anymore. According to him, this is because they can not blame the other player or team anymore if they start losing in the match, ridding them of their go-to excuse.
Seeing how the player base tends to be more attracted by multiplayer and team-based games, the director also mentioned how fighting games will be following suit and can potentially introduce 3v3 or Team-Challenge modes in the future.
Tekken 7 is available to purchase on Steam.
