Russian computer and video games exhibition IgroMir Expo 2016 has been taking place this weekend, and Tekken developers Katsuhiro Harada and Michael Murray were in attendance with Tekken 7. As is the usual case they do interviews, meet-and-greets and sign autographs, and while there Russian gaming site Shazoo caught up with Harada for an exclusive interview.
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In the interview they cover a lot of ground, from Harada’s thoughts on the feminist movement, new mechanics and more. But what we found most interesting is that Harada dropped a bomb shell of a reveal. Shazoo asked him about Tekken 7 having an eSports presence in Russia, since they have a growing scene there with other popular games like League of Legends and CSGO and more, to which, Harada-san said the following:
Once Tekken 7 releases on consoles and PC we have plans for a huge world tour, but concerning Russia there is nothing concrete we can speak of at this time. This is not the first time we’ve heard about Russian players wanting to be a part of the eSports community and begin to move in that direction. I would like Russian gamers to have the chance to test their skills at the world level.
This statement is in line with what Harada and Murray stated during an interview at EVO, saying that 2017 woul be the “the year of Tekken.”
One thing about eSports is that it’s not a small arena. The game developers are generally heavily involved, there is lots of prize money, teams, sponsorship’s and bright lights. Players can actually go from making a game a past-time into a full-blow career. Is this the level Harada is speaking of? We certainly hope so. If what we’ve seen with Street Fighter V and Mortal Kombat X this year is any clue as to the potential of what could be for Tekken 7, then things looks to do very well next year.
So, a world tour, eh? Game on!
To read the full interview visit Shazoo.ru.
Source: Yellow Motion | Photo: Shazoo
