The new Super Smash Bros. games are two of the most tempting reasons to purchase a 3DS XL or Wii U at some point in the near future. With Namco Bandai co-developing both Super Smash Bros. titles, eager fans have been speculating on whether or not the third-party developer's contribution may result in a Namco Bandai character appearing in the fighter — a Tekken mainstay being at the forefront of all speculation.
NowGamer had a chance to speak with Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada about the possibility of a Namco Bandai character appearing the anticipated pair of Nintendo-themed fighters. Harada elaborated on how despite that fact that staff who've worked on Tales or Gundam games are also heading up the projects, many fans immediately jumped to the Tekken staff's franchise for new Smash Bros. roster additions.
"The fans, rather than asking about Tales or Gundam, or some of our other franchises, the fans abroad saw Tekken as one of the key words and took off on that. We’re not really sure at this moment but when thinking of the player-base who is playing Smash Bros., maybe Tekken characters is something they wouldn't want, so I've been pulling back on that a bit. But I don’t know."
When asked about the importance internally on developing the next Super Smash, Harada explained that it is "a big priority for the company," and company-wide there are a ton of staff involved.
"Obviously it’s a big priority for the company, so company-wide there are a lot of people involved with that particular project. Not just from Tekken but a lot of our franchises. Although our main core staff is busy with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and trying to finish that up, I do think we’ll support the initiative in some kind of capacity."
It appears that a character from Tekken may be out of the question for the time being, but that doesn't rule out the inclusion of any Namco Bandai character. Tekken's Heihachi Mishima is already starring in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and he may be a little too tired to take on the likes of Mario and Link after getting his butt handed to him by Nathan Drake and Fat Princess. We'll keep our fingers crossed for Pac-Man though.
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Source: NowGamer (via Eurogamer)