Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada has declared that the process of unlocking additional characters in fighting games has now become redundant, noting that Tekken 6 will feature all 40 playable fighters available from the start of the game.
Speaking to VideoGamer.com, Harada stated, “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.”
He went on to say how the unlocking process has been rendered outdated with the introduction of online functionality:
“That’s kind of outdated now though, especially with online play.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.”
Tekken 6 is due out later this year on PS3, PSP and Xbox 360.