Fighting Game "Tekken 7" to Possibly Have Arab Character

posted on: Aug 12, 2014

The fighting video game Tekken 7 producer Katsuhiro Harada revealed early concept art for a potential new character appearing in the game. He’s hoping for fan feedback from the Arab community on the mystery fighter.

“Today, I wanted to ask about ‘one of the ideas within the several new character ideas,'” Harada said on Facebook. “That is, a design concept of an Arab character. I would particularly like to hear the feedback from our Tekken fan community in the Middle Eastern countries (and of course, the all Tekken fan community).”

He stressed that Tekken 7’s roster still hasn’t be finalized yet. Characters might still be added or removed. Whether or not this unnamed Arab character makes it into the full game will depend on fan feedback.

“If the Tekken fan community, especially those in the Middle Eastern area, end up liking this character, I would like to feature this character in the game. On the other hand, if this character is not received well by the Middle Eastern Tekken fan community members, there is a possibility that the character will be considerably changed or letting go of the idea of featuring this character in the game.”

The Tekken team has been considering an Arab character since 2008. However, Harada admitted that they didn’t feel comfortable designing the character back then. The developers at Bandai Namco are mostly Japanese and “do not know much about the Middle Eastern culture or clothes.” In the past few years, however, they’ve been studying up on Middle Eastern culture and religion. That led them to finally design this fighter.

The Tekken team still seems unsure of themselves, though. That’s why they’re asking fans for input on the character-in-progress – a decision that Harada admits is “very rare” for the Tekken team.

“The development team likes this design and think that this character is a cool Arab fighter, but if there is something in particular to mention, please do let us know. We would like it if you all do like the character as well.”

Harada reiterates that the character can still change, or be removed altogether from the game. The team is hoping for fan opinions on this clothing, fighting styles and more. If you feel strongly about this character, sound off on the Facebook feed. The developers won’t respond to comments but will be reading them for a “certain time.”

Tekken 7 was announced last month at EVO 2014. All we’ve seen of the Unreal Engine 4-powered fighting game so far is a teaser trailer featuring Heihachi and Kazumi. No release date has been announced yet but it’s apparently coming to next-gen consoles and PC.

Pete Haas
Cinema Blend