Katsuhiro Harada: Pokken Tournament has Strict Guidelines, Sequels are Possible

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A new Korean interview with Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada and Korean outlet Inven has revealed some details for the upcoming fighter, Pokken Tournament.

The game was revealed back in August, and so far we only know that it’s coming to arcades, and that it features Lucario, Blaziken, and Machamp as playable fighters. Thanks to the new interview (and with translations via Flying_Wonkey), we’ve gotten a sense of the game’s development, and its potential future.


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When asked if there were any limitations or constraints on the development of the game, Harada responded simply with “There’s a really strict guideline.” It’s worth noting that Bandai Namco is handling the entirety of development in-house, while they recently co-developed the latest Super Smash Bros. with Nintendo.

He was asked how the concept of Pokken Tournament was received by all ages, and more specifically the older gaming crowd. “There’s a huge fan base of children for Pokemon to appeal to.” Harada said. “But surprisingly the idea of Pokken was well received.”

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Harada-san talked a bit about how they prototyped the game in the beginning, and described how quickly their initial concepts were changed, and maybe even scrapped:

“We first had the idea of having around 20 Pokemon trainers fight each other in the game, but that idea was thrown out after 2 seconds”

Finally, when asked whether the game warranted continued support, provided it was a successful game, Harada let out a tease:

“I feel like this game [Pokken] can always be improved in new installments. Having 700 different varieties of Pokemon gives a lot of freedom.”

So you heard it here – Pokken Tournament could definitely have a sequel – although the game hasn’t even been confirmed for home consoles yet.

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