Tekken Boss Explains Why We Haven't Had A New Soulcalibur In A While 1
Image: Bandai Namco

Bandai Namco's Tekken series has undergone something of a revival of late thanks to the timely release of Tekken 8, but, to be honest, the series has always had a considerable presence in the world of gaming – and much of that is down to the tenacity and vision of its producer, Katsuhiro Harada.

Harada recently posted on Twitter following a question that asked if the Soulcalibur series – which hasn't had a new entry in six years – would be in a better position if someone like Harada was in charge.

In a very lengthy reply, Harada admitted that there were certainly difficulties in maintaining player interest in a franchise over 30 years, but refuted the notion that Soulcalibur, as a series, was in decline:

I think that the fact that the number of members who had the drive to keep the title alive, even if they had to jump through all kinds of pressure, decreased as the organization changed, and that is one of the aspects that weakened Project Soul little by little. I am not saying that is all, but it was a big factor. [It] happened due to organizational policy, not individual problems. But from my point of view, I don't think the fire of Project Soul has been extinguished. There are still a few people in the company who have the will to do it. I would like to believe that they are just not united now.

2018's Soulcalibur VI is, at the time of writing, the most recent entry in a franchise which kicked off back in 1995, with Soul Edge / Blade. Bandai Namco claimed the release was "successful" and, as of 2021, it has sold over two million copies worldwide – but its forerunner, Soulcalibur V, sold 2.3 million units in its first eight months on sale.

Tekken 8, on the other hand, sold two million copies in its first month alone.

[source x.com]