Tekken 8 has faced significant criticism following Bandai Namco’s decision to sell the up-to-date Heihachi stage separately from the Season 1 DLC pass. Now, following an outcry from the community, Bandai Namco has reversed its original decision, giving the stage back to season pass owners along with the in-game currency game to lend a hand streamline your transaction.
This message came from A a message posted on social media from the official Tekken 8 account. It states: “We apologize that we have not met community expectations regarding ‘first year playable character’ content and the release method of the ‘Genmaji Temple’ DLC.” After carefully discussing the feedback, the Tekken project team has decided on the following measures.
Manage cookie settings
This is of course a nice gesture and the right move from both a PR and community management point of view. This is certainly a situation that would cause internal confusion, especially since the season pass was – as the announcement clearly stated – a character pass and not a full content pass. However, as any Tekken player will tell you, stages are not just fancy backgrounds. They have a real impact on the gameplay. Hence the confusion after the game was released as a separate DLC.
While this may seem to sum it up nicely, you might be wondering where Tekken 8 is headed when it comes to monetization practices. Yes, this time players will receive the stage for free. But what about next season? Sure, you can assume that from this point on, our stages will be covered by future passes, but it doesn’t mean that creating up-to-date stages will be cheaper. Will the ticket price enhance by stages? Or will communication be improved to make it clear that when you buy the pass you only get the characters?
But didn’t that come too slow? I ask because if you look at the fighting game community hubs, the consensus around Tekken 8 isn’t as enthusiastic as it was when the game first came out. Players are a bit more skeptical these days, having gone through some arduous moments. Whether it’s the whole scandal surrounding the lack of rage quit penalties or the recent Tekken World Tour ruling that resulted in a Chinese player being disqualified, sentiments are certainly mixed.
If such things continue, how long can the good last? Tekken 8 isn’t a bad game. I’d even go as far as to say it’s a great game. However, sometimes it seems to be bogged down by the short-sightedness of those at Bandai Namco but not directly involved with the development team. In a recent conversation with us, Harada himself stated that he worries that when he and other senior Tekken employees leave, the balance of power between the development side of the company and the corporate side will change. Perhaps all this is a foretaste of such a future.
What do you think about all this? Are you worried about the future of Tekken? Or are you just elated that the stage will be available with unnecessary expenses? Let us know below.
