Is the Tekken boss leaving Bandai Namco? Katsuhiro Harada's worrying Linkedin post explained
Katsuhiro Harada recently listed himself as #opentowork on Linkedin, which implies he’s suffering from the most dreaded known status ailment in the realm of capitalism. Quite a bold statement, as it seems to indicate the man could be done with the company he’d been working at for over 30 years. The post naturally sent many fans into a frenzy. This could prove the end of an era, and definitely not for the better.
Recommended VideosThe good news is that Harada is not leaving Bandai Namco. He responded to the thousands of puzzled fans and assured them he was just looking for more professional and personal connections.
Though he is the face of Tekken’s public relations, Harada actually is not the creator of the Tekken series. Interestingly enough, he’s only credited for his voice work as Yoshimitsu, Kunimitsu, and Marshall Law in the first two games. It was only in Tekken 3 that he took the reigns as director, and that’s also when the series hit its very first high peak in quality. Tekken 3 feels like an entire generation ahead of Tekken 2, though it came out just a few years later on the same system.
Aside from the (still respectable) misstep that was Tekken 4, the series has never stopped soaring higher ever since Harada began calling the shots. The excellent Tekken 8 is likely to not just become the most successful game in the series, but also one of the modern AAA to enjoy a very long and rich lifespan.
Harada is a beloved developer both due to his work in making Tekken what it is today, and also for his likable personality. This man will show genuine interest in the words of fans, even when they’re just joking about bizarre phenomena nobody outside of the USA could ever hope to understand.
Ok, I will only ask once about this request.
Why do some communities send me requests for "Waffle House"?
Please be sure to explain the basis for the request, including the original story, history and background.
I look forward to an explanation from someone who knows more. https://t.co/w8ozUnJ1mY
Another aspect that makes Harada one of the most popular game developers are his funny Internet antics, so we never really know what he’s up to. In a saddening twist of events, Harada revealed we shouldn’t be worrying about the post; he just wants to make more friends because he doesn’t have many.
Oh, don't worry about this.
I meet a lot of people on a regular basis (but I don't actually have that many friends in my private world LOL), I just want to meet more people and expand my horizons in the future.
I can talk to a lot of people when I turn this option on.
Just that. https://t.co/OpcfAZjxuS
Feeling alone is no small thing, even when you get to hang out with Miyazaki, Sakurai, and Kamiya.
With my friends who get together every year for a New Year's party.
I served everyone my original special recipe of TAKOYAKI.
And we stayed at the Bokeh Game Studio until 4 in the morning.
Everyone had endless stories to tell, and tonight was just a gathering of game lovers… pic.twitter.com/oYpAmO6Usz
I’m not saying this should prompt you to flood Harada’s LinkedIn notifications with friend requests, but I’d be lying if I said I resisted the call.
Image via DestructoidYou can play Tekken 8 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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