Tekken Dev Comments on Criticism of Microtransactions. “If We Simply Do Nothing, the Game Will Simply Stop Running in a Few Months.”
The announcement of the addition of microtransactions to Tekken 8 infuriated players, but in turn these complaints annoyed Katsuhiro Harada. The father of the series hinted at how much game production costs have risen.
UPDATE
The "cosmetics" store mentioned in this news has already made its way to Tekken 8. It was included in the game as part of update 1.02.01. Furthermore, the update impacts replays (especially their storage), and also brings in a variety of quality enhancements and fixes several bugs.
Original news (February 28th)
The rising prices of games and filling many of them with microtransactions is one of the most common reasons for players' complaints. They also included fighting games, which prompted the developer of the Tekken series to comment on micropayments and the cost of producing modern games.
If you've heard of Katsuhiro Harady, you probably already expect that the Japanese dev has spoken in an uncompromising and controversial manner. And you're right, because Tekken's father sharply responded to the posts of fans of the series complaining about the announcement of adding a store to the latest installment of the series and missing the "good old days" of Tekken 2 (via X).
Producing a game is an expensive fun
Harada stated that the cost of game development has increased tenfold since the second Tekken, and even from the premiere of "7" we are talking about two or even almost three times higher expenses. During this time, there have been significant changes in the global economic situation, as well as in the expectations of the players.
Nowadays, fans expect the game to be supported for an extended period after its release, which was not a demand during the days of Tekken 2. Maintaining servers by itself is a substantial cost for developers, and in addition, there are the time and resources consumed by producing seasonal content.
This is partially due to technological progress: an increased number of system specifications that the game must be optimized for, higher resolution, more detailed animations, and even small details such as the dialogue lines of the warriors in Tekken (the early installments of the series lacked them).
Therefore, if developers wish to sustain the game and avoid being at a loss (meaning: have the opportunity for the series to further develop), they must identify a source of income. That's why many developers are implementing microtransactions.
Of course, Harada put it in a more typical for him way...
Development costs are now 10 times more expensive than in the 90's and more than double or nearly triple the cost of Tekken 7. Even the Fight Lounge servers are costly to maintain. In the past there weren't so many specs and there wasn't online. Plus they didn't have such high resolution and high definition.
Now, so many people want the game to run and be supported for a long time. It costs money to continually update the game for that reason. However, he [the one criticizing microtransactions in fighting games] probably only keeps good memories of the old games he experienced as a boy and does not pay attention to these changing times and increasing costs.
The economic situation and everything else is changing. If we simply do nothing as he suggests, the game will simply stop running in a few months. I think that is what he wants. So there is no point in talking to him about these realities. He wants us to stop economic activity and stop updating and supporting the game.
Gaming industry has matured, but one thing remains unchanged
However, the devs of Tekken are also not entirely happy with the current situation on the gaming market. In another post (related to the 20th anniversary of Tekken 5), Harada mentioned how game production appeared "immature" 20 years ago - without a predetermined plan, with content being added "spontaneously."
The developer also stated that video games are now considered "a major industry industry" that draws in "many stakeholders" and self-proclaimed "game industry people" - individuals who don't develop games and are not directly attuned to the voices of fans, failing to comprehend the passion of developers.
Come to think of it, it seems like every year there are more and more people who, when I try to do something with an idea, tell me, 'Don't do it just because of an idea or passion.'
I've done a lot of things with an idea, and that's why we have the foundation we have today, but I guess people who don't have experience in making things don't understand that.
Well, that is how mature this field has become.
Nevertheless, no matter how well-planned and smart you are, no one can guarantee that the game will be a success until the very end.
This is the only thing that hasn't changed much lol!!
Harada's statement aligns with the concerns and grievances of game developers, who have also been affected by widespread layoffs in recent months. Developing a game involves significant risk, particularly when dealing with high-budget productions that have budgets totaling tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.
Let's add to this the aforementioned expectation that the title - even if it's perfectly polished (which is rare) - will still be supported after the premiere, and it's easy to understand Harada's irritation. Especially because the microtransactions, which annoyed fans pointed out, only related to cosmetic items, making them entirely optional expenses.
Fans don't want to fully agree with the Japanese, mainly because - as they claim - the developer hid his intention to add a store. It was only announced a week ago, nearly a month after release of Tekken 8.
However, the most agree that the production costs of games are incomparable to those from two decades ago. Some players also note the significantly richer content of the base edition of Tekken 8 compared to its predecessor, and the fact that the price difference between the two versions is still smaller than the inflation rate (via Reddit).
