Since March 2015, "Tekken 7" has already been released in Japanese gaming arcades, yet still has not graced gamers' living rooms. However, that will be soon rectified, as "Tekken 7" is gearing up to be released for home systems in early 2017.
When it finally hits store shelves, "Tekken 7" will be released for the Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. The longtime producer of the Tekken franchise, Katsuhiro Harada, was present during the North American "Tekken 7" finals. The San Francisco tournament is comprised of players battling it out on the currently unreleased "Tekken 7" for huge cash prizes.
While there are currently "Tekken 7" competitions being held, fans of the franchise are wondering about the state of the home versions of the game. Gamespot was able to interview Harada with game designer Michael Murray acting as translator. They talked about the competitive Tekken competition scene and the imminent arrival of the "Tekken 7" home versions.
When asked how "Tekken 7" fits into the evolving eSports fighting game scene, Harada replied that they have a very limited environment right now when it comes to North America and Europe, where the availability of "Tekken 7" is scarce. The game maker feels that eSports is increasing in popularity, but players have very limited time with the game, but he's hoping that will change when the home versions come out in 2017. With the release for the Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC in 2017, thing will start to pick up, Harada added.
Gamespot also asked him what distinguishes Tekken from other fighting games in the eSports fighting scene, to which he replied that being a 3D fighter offers the most distinction, as a majority of the other fighting games are in 2D. Players have more freedom moving around a 3D environment which greatly affects gameplay and match outcome. While there are other 3D fighting games around, "Tekken" has endured and is the major one that remains.
