The producer and director of Tekken 7, Katsuhiro Harada, spoke about the “ill – informed” criticisms that are on the designs of its characters, especially those who are women and have little clothes.
During an interview with Eurogamer, the game’s creator said all these criticisms do not appreciate cultural differences. According to Harada, the representation of women in swimsuits is no different from their holiday versions, because they represent different seasons.
“The swimsuits was a good example. People who don’t even play the game, they maybe just hear that there are swimsuits in it and then they say, ‘Woah, you have these girls in se*y swimwear, what’s wrong with you? You’re such male chauvinists etc,” he said.
“But, what they don’t know is that it [Tekken 7] started off in the arcade and it’s a season line, like you do for Christmas, Halloween or whatever. And it’s not just the women. Robots have them, Kuma, Panda, the male characters have swimwear. It’s not like we’re trying to se*ualize the female characters at all. But they don’t go and look for that info before they criticise. So, that is pretty frustrating.”
As well we can remember, criticism on the representation of women in Asian titles are not new. Lately we have had situations like Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 and Street Fighter V, to name a few as many as of an incredible list.
However, Harada has a good point, because this representation must be judged from the culture being created. Having a clearer idea of the situation and realizing that the West is not the only culture in the world that could benefit all parties.
“One thing that’s perhaps scary about some of these ill-informed criticisms is there’s a character called Ganryu. He’s a Sumo wrestler. But to someone who doesn’t know Sumo, they might just say, ‘there’s a guy in his underwear, that’s inappropriate.’ But it’s a very important part of Japanese culture. Without knowing that, to so easily make criticisms, is maybe a dangerous direction,” added Harada.
So, Harada said that there could be changes in Tekken 7 depending on the country. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Bandai Namco said that no official position on swimsuits for the game in its version for consoles is given.
In related information, today new characters were unveiled that will be available in Tekken 7. When the title will debut, you will have the opportunity to play with Lee Chaolan or young versions of Heihachi and Kazuya.
Tekken 7 will be available next year for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
