Harada vs Itagaki Rivalry No More

Pictured: Not what a Harada vs. Itagaki fight would look like.

As much as I’d love to see Bobby Kotick meet John Riccitiello in gladitorial combat, we don’t see many rivalries in the industry that involve the men and women behind the games. That’s why it’s saddening to hear Tekken head Katsuhiro Harada express that he misses the brutal trash talking that used to come from former Dead or Alive man Tomonobu Itagaki.

“If Itagaki was still making Dead or Alive, I’d like to ask, out of all the current Tekken titles we have planned, what’s his favorite. His answer would probably be Dead or Alive anyway, and that he hates all Tekken, but it’d be an interesting question.”

Itagaki left Team Ninja years ago and currently is too busy working on Devil’s Third to inflict more hate upon the Iron Fist Tournament combatants. He certainly did not pull his punches in the past. One highlight in his former mudslinging rampage included his top five most hated games, all of which were Tekken games. However, the guys at 1Up managed to coax a little more out of him in a recent interview.

“Oh, and come on guys, let’s quit trying to hide the prehistoric nature of the main product by tacking on some absurd ‘bonus game.’ I have been saying this for 5 years, haven’t I? If you have the time to make an action-style ‘bonus game,’ why don’t you create an honest-to-god action game and sell it as a standalone product? Oh, and if you’re going to bother including such a ‘unique’ form of ball play, you should do a beach volleyball game instead (laughs).”

Call it childish if you will, but friendly rivalries like this are lots of fun to watch. Still, it’s understandable that camraderie is more common than conflict in an industry that is constantly fighting to be taken seriously and be considered relevant. Things on the homefront defense have gotten quieter since our great victory at the Supreme Court, however, so maybe in the next few years we’ll see more of this playful mudslinging. Maybe we could have some sort of ridiculous developer tournament of rhetoric! We need someone for Peter Molyneux to do battle with, any suggestions?

Source: 1Up