Bandai NamcoPlayers from Pakistan have long dominated the professional Tekken scene, but the game’s director says he doesn’t know how the game has become so popular in the country.
The Japanese-developed fighting game first launched 30 years ago, with its eighth installment released earlier this year.
The competitive Tekken world was once dominated by players from the Far East, but there are currently four players from Pakistan in the top ten.
Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada told BBC Asia Network during a recent tournament that the dominance of Chinese pro players “comes out of nowhere.”
“Tekken” is a 3D beat ’em up fighting game where players can engage in one-on-one battles in best-of-three matches.
Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique became a superstar in the competitive world overnight with his victory at the 2019 EVO Fighting Game Championship.
He went on to win the coveted title four more times, earning his place in history in the eyes of many fans.
The 29-year-old Arslan is currently ranked 10th in the world after his early exit from the Red Bull Championship in London, but Pakistani professional Atif Butt is ranked second in the world.
It’s clear that the country has become a force on the global stage, but the game director is still unsure how it got there.
Getty Images“We never knew they were playing Tekken,” Harada-san said.
“Even now we’ve never been to Pakistan, so I’d still love to hear why they’re so obsessed with Tekken and so good at it.”
Michael Murray, the game’s producer, told AsiaNet that he “loves Arslan’s appearance.”
“Nobody knew him,” he said.
“Then suddenly someone appears that no one is talking about, you discover another community, and then Arslan says it’s not just him.
“He said they were all strong in Pakistan and everyone was asking ‘What?’
“It’s such an amazing story and I still remember how exciting it was to hear it.”
In the recent competition held in London, South Korea’s Lim “Ulsan” Soo-hoon defeated Jae-hyun “CherryBerryMango” Kim in the grand finals to take first place.
Players from the United States, Japan, and Europe joined in, demonstrating Tekken’s global popularity.
Harada-san, who has been working on the series for 30 years, said the competitive scene really kicked off with the release of Tekken 7.
He told Asia Network that his mother cried when he first told her he wanted to pursue a career in video games, but now his family is “very proud” when they see him in magazines.
“They said, ‘Wow, you actually did something with it, that’s great,'” he said.
Mr. Harada said he was glad that Tekken “went on for a long time and that we were able to get to this point.”
But he admits that he feels “a little sad” that this is “the only major 3D fighting game series left.”
“Would it be more interesting if there were other opponents?” he said.
