Bandai Namco might be making the jump to free-to-play these days, but don't expect that to be its final grand solution. For as successful as Tekken Revolution has proven to be for the company, it still has an arcade and serious fighting game community in need of appeasement.
With that, here's Tekken 7, the next entry in Bandai Namco's long-running and best selling fighting franchise. Not wanting to be outperformed in terms of looks either, it has employed the use of none other than Unreal Engine 4 to power its graphics.
The reveal teaser trailer doesn't show off any gameplay, but the lingering rivalry between protagonist Kazuya and his antagonist father Heihachi is teased to finally be coming to a close. The trailer hints that Tekken 7 will be "the final battle."
Who knows, maybe free-to-play will win this one out and completely take over the series canon, or maybe Bandai Namco will have no problem making Tekken 8 once it sees how well this one does. Series Producer Katsuhiro Harada claimed he didn't plan on revealing the game at Evo 2014, but a leak forced his hand.
"You know, I was surprised just waking up and seeing this news all of a sudden," Harada said. "The first thought that came into my head, it must have been [Capcom's Yoshinori Ono]."
"But the greatest surprise is that it wasn't the title I was planning to announce today. But since it is leaked, I have no choice but to announce that certain title. But I didn't have anything prepared, like a trailer, so I had to go back to my hotel room right away when I found out to put something together for you guys."
The reveal trailer is exciting, and I can't wait to see how Capcom responds. Generally speaking, Street Fighter IV clearly emerged as the victor of the previous console generation and arcade scene as the most popular fighting game, and Tekken 6 vanished somewhere along the way to all except the hardcore fighting fans.
Tekken 7 needs to do something beyond just use Unreal Engine 4 to power its graphics. It needs a new dynamic look to set it apart from Street Fighter IV's unique art direction. Either way, it's great to see Bandai Namco re-establish its commitment to more classic modes of gaming and payment models.
Anyone still holding out for SoulCalibur 6 this generation as well?
