During the Japan Fighting Game Publishers Roundtable that occurred on August 1st,Tekkendirector and producer Katsuhiro Harada revealed that he only began wearing his trademark sunglasses after Capcom asked him to become “a villain.”
“I was actually forced by Capcom to wear these sunglasses, originally,” Harada explained during the live stream. “They told me, ‘Please wear these sunglasses for four years since you’re the bad guy.’ And now I’m still wearing them 10 years later.” The company insisted on him wearing sunglasses while promoting the cross-over fighting gameStreet Fighter X Tekken.
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In the promotion of the title, Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono was positioned as the “good guy” in the promotional material, with him representing theStreet Fighterseries, and Bandai Namco’s Harada getting characterized as the villain, and representing theTekkenseries. English translator Michael Murray explained, “he said that his sunglasses are something that Capcom asked us for,” explaining Harada’s need to wear sunglasses.
Since the release ofStreet Fighter X Tekken, Harada’s sunglasses have become somewhat a part of his personal image, with the man always seen wearing sunglasses during public appearances. Even during his cameo during theTekken 7reveal trailer forThe Walking Dead’s Negan, the game director’s digital likeness was even spotted wearing his sunglasses.
Street Fighter X Tekkenwas a fighting title that pitted the two iconic franchises against one another, within the art and gameplay style of theStreet Fighterseries. The title was released back in 2012, and originally announcedalongsideTekken X Street Fighter, which was supposed to be a similar cross-over title by Bandai Namco that had the art and gameplay style reminiscent of theTekkenseries. The aforementioned title was never released, and has been in somewhat of a development hell for the better part of the last decade. It is unclear whether the game will ever be made, however the game seems tonot be coming anytime soon due to the current success ofTekken 7, as well as other factors.
Beyond learning the origins of Harda’s sunglasses, more information was also revealed forTekken 7.Season 4 was announced, although none of the new fighters were revealed.
Tekken 7is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
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