Tekken 6 Director: Unlockables Are "No Longer Useful"

Remember when you'd bring home that brand new fighting game, anxiously rip off the packaging, pop it in, and then stare in disappointment at all those "?" boxes that indicated locked characters?

Well, Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada says the days of unlockable characters in fighting games are over. In his eyes, anyway. Speaking to VideoGamer.com, Harada reminds everyone that the original intent of the "unlock" was to "increase the longevity of coin-op arcade machines." But somehow, this trend spilled over into the home, and ever since, we've had fighting games that require the player to complete a certain objective if another character is to become available. Take the recent Street Fighter IV, for instance; 9 fighters weren't playable from the start. But all 40 of Tekken 6's impressive lineup will be ready and rarin' to go right off the bat. Said Harada:

"Why we locked the characters originally was that in the arcades, it was kind of to extend the life of the game by gradually unlocking characters. And also with the home versions as well, because you can rent games or whatever, it was to protect us against that. That’s kind of outdated now though, especially with online play. If we were to have locked characters it would irritate a lot of people, to be playing against others online and to not have all the characters available. So I think it’s no longer useful."

While some kinda like the idea of the locked character(s) - gives you something to shoot for, ya know? - Harada does have a very good point. What with the advent of online multiplayer and without much of a need to "extend the longevity" of a game like Tekken 6, the unlockable character idea does seem old-fashioned. Really, who's going to complain about being able to select from the entire 40-member Tekken 6 roster the minute they start the game?

Related Game(s): Tekken 6

7/2/2009 Ben Dutka

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Comments (Beta)

cheng
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 10:44:26 AM
Reply

i dont mind unlocking some characters...

1 up, 0 down

coverton341
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 10:49:21 AM
Reply

I always enjoyed the unlockables to be honest but being able to have all the characters from the get go isn't going to be a deal breaker either.

0 up, 0 down

Matador_THOS
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 10:52:19 AM
Reply

Unlocking Characters is an essential part to figthing games. I feel like all we do is fight the same people over and over. So I want to earn something. It never bothers me that it will take some time to get everybody because the glory of getting them makes me a better player haha...

1 up, 0 down

HeXeN
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:00:03 AM
Reply

I was upset when Capcom said that MVC2 would would be unlocked from the beginning so this is a let down for me since I don't play online,so there will be nothing for me to do.

1 up, 0 down

Xzer0
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:12:45 AM

But ending videos will be locked, then you have something to do and I think some cool equipment for each character will be locked too. I don´t think that all will be unlocked.

0 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:11:07 AM
Reply

I disagree, I was playing T3 today while supervising our art exhibtion, It was a thril to unlock all the characters, I rmeember when the bosses had a presence of power. example,like on Tekken 2 when you had to complete arcade mode with Hehachi to unlock Lee or Lei to unlock Bruce and then once you got them all you unlocked the almighty Kazuya.

Though of course nowadays gamers dont unlock things for playing on games, you have to buy the extras on the PS Store.... just look at Soul Calibur IV.

4 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 3:58:00 PM

You can get those extras by unlocking them, no need to pay.

0 up, 0 down

www
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:13:38 PM

Ultima nobody's holding you, go get all the ps1 games you want to re-play since new innovations aren't impressing you.

0 up, 3 down

Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:29:29 PM

I have about 60 PS1/2 games, but you cant help but crave for something new at times.

2 up, 2 down

Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:29:29 PM

I have about 60 PS1/2 games, but you cant help but crave for something new at times.

1 up, 3 down

Button Masher
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 11:32:00 AM
Reply

Guess I'm old-fashioned, but there should be something to keep me interested in a game beyond the first weekend.

1 up, 0 down

Jonesy555
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 12:02:05 PM
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That just turned me away from Tekken 6 even more! I was already uninterested in Tekken because the fighting system was starting to show its age, but I love to unlock stuff...and then they just took that away from me as well. Good job !

2 up, 0 down

Zet
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 1:04:50 PM
Reply

I like unlockables....

1 up, 0 down

cochise313
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 1:27:55 PM
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yeah i think it's outdated also. fightin game are actually boring playing the arcade mode alone. it's too tedious ugh. so i dont mind being able to jump online and kick some ass

1 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 1:36:00 PM
Reply

In my opinnion, they're putting to much into it, in Tekken 5 you have the story mode, where you get thoughs god awful story clips before/after a match, to me that really destoryed most fo the characters, They were better being more ambiguous.

Like in Tekken 2, you have an intro clip and an ending, also a little prolouge in the manual thats it. but the characters themselves were far bigger icons than they seem today, like Kazuya being the villian in Tekken 2 with this purple suit, it was amazing. now they just overload it with plot and it should work... but it just doesnt.

0 up, 0 down

www
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:19:40 PM

Wow Ultima, then i don't see the need for a ps3 then, you shoulda stuck to ur ps1 if any of these new games aren't good enough.

2 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:27:59 PM

I contemplate it at times, though games like Heavy Rain and Final Fantasy keep me hooked!

0 up, 0 down

Kangasfwa
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 2:39:37 PM
Reply

I had never been fond of the single player arcade mode (except Virtua Fighter 4). Fighting games had always been about playing with friends, so unlocking characters had been an annoyance for me.

It's been long time since I enjoyed a fighter anyway.

Last edited by Kangasfwa on 7/2/2009 2:41:34 PM

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 3:56:12 PM
Reply

Never been much of a fan of fighter games, but I think it's a huge mistake on the developer's part to do away with the lock-ables!

"Lock-able's" are OUR "old-school" equivalent of today's 2009 trophies & achievements system.

Like my momma once said....
"Try earning your own keep"!!

Last edited by BikerSaint on 7/2/2009 3:56:42 PM

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 4:01:01 PM
Reply

I guess I'm on board, I don't want there to be characters that are too hard for me to unlock so I never get em, and if you are worried about goals to shoot for just use trophies. Not the best reward in the world but fighters are pretty stale anyway, it's tough to innovate with a fighting game.

0 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:12:25 PM

I agree that they should'nt be to difficult, but Tekken had such a nice little system of just clearing arcade with all the main characters, thats not exactly nail biting agony.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 10:35:24 PM

It is much easier to unlock a character than it used to be, which can be good or bad.

0 up, 0 down

PSX
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 4:01:38 PM
Reply

Now I don't have an excuse to use weak characters anymore.

0 up, 0 down

www
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:23:03 PM
Reply

"That’s kind of outdated now though"

True,it was getting old, some hell i had to go through to unlock Guoken & Akuma in SFIV and in the end Sagat was still my favorite.

Trophies are making up for longevity now ;)

0 up, 0 down

SerichA
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 5:29:34 PM
Reply

Nice screen, lol/

0 up, 0 down

schillah
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 6:16:37 PM
Reply

yea i dont like unlocks...especially in street fighter. All it turned out to be was "find the easiest and quickest way to win". I ended up setting my matches to 1 round and 30 seconds. Not fun.

0 up, 2 down

Jawknee
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 8:07:40 PM

Too true.

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 7:09:55 PM
Reply

Meh. I stopped caring about Tekken after Tekken Tag. I don't know why. I loved Tekken Tag but after getting bored with it I never played another Tekken game again.

2 up, 1 down

RustEDalex
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 7:58:00 PM
Reply

I kinda want to have unlockables since it adds replay value to the game and it might add in some trophy's

but I'm guessing since they added just two new characters when they change from the regular tekken 6 to bloodline rebellion and they didn't want people to have to unlock just two they added them with the rest

has anyone else played with that robot girl her moves are pretty cool especially her head popping off and chainsaw and the other guys move and combos are pretty simple

1 up, 0 down

Ricochet
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 8:51:44 PM
Reply

To be honest, I haven't played any of the Tekken series after 3 thanks to Dead or Alive. However, I really have no problems with the "unlockables" as it was quite fun to get.

0 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 10:36:52 PM

plus you wanna shoot for those boobalicious extra costumes in DOA ;)

1 up, 0 down

MadPowerBomber
Saturday, July 04, 2009 @ 8:51:34 PM

That's a scary thought. DoA was horrible in my opinion.

0 up, 0 down

spiderboi
Thursday, July 02, 2009 @ 10:59:25 PM
Reply

I'm for doing away with the unlockables. When my pals get over to my place to have a tekken tourney it was great having the complete roster. Sometimes unlockables force you to play a character you don't like just to get ones you like. Not fun.

0 up, 0 down

BigBoss4ever
Friday, July 03, 2009 @ 11:01:44 AM
Reply

Blazblue + Tekken 6 will be my choice this year. will drop the other pair: SF4 + KOF12, both seemed less exciting to me.

Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 7/3/2009 11:02:14 AM

0 up, 1 down

Alienange
Friday, July 03, 2009 @ 11:57:41 AM
Reply

Try giving the trophies a chance. They're unlockables that get recorded into your PS3 gaming history. If they won't let us unlock characters (which is a fail in my books) then at least play to unlock trophies.

1 up, 0 down

Gabriel013
Monday, July 06, 2009 @ 1:03:01 AM
Reply

Meh. I think they should keep them. All it means is that you'll now end up facing just the same 4 or 5 characters when you play online.

I used to like Tekken for the Characters and the story, not the multiplayer. In fact, playing the game was just a means to an end. How anyone can spend hours online fighting is beyond me.

0 up, 0 down

Buckeyestar
Monday, July 06, 2009 @ 9:11:26 AM
Reply

I'm sure what he meant was unlockables are old news because now they can charge us for them as DLC.

0 up, 0 down

TheHighlander
Monday, July 06, 2009 @ 4:24:05 PM
Reply

You need to have something as an unlockable to drive the reward cycle that keeps you coming back to the game. That's how games work, we play and we are rewarded. Unlockables are perfect rewards since they cost nothing, and some of them take a lot of effort to achieve. It keeps you coming back.

0 up, 0 down

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