What is really going on with Tekken 6 and US arcades?

There is no denying Tekken 6's current status in Japan. Right now Namco Bandai's arcade game is currently riding a wave of popularity that sees it sitting pretty aggressively at the top of the list of the best performing arcade games on the market. Considering the length of time that Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection held one of the top 3 spots according to both Arcadia Magazine and Amusement Journal tracking, the chances are that Tekken 6 is also only beginning its run that should culminate with the same market success that its predessor received.

But despite this early positive performance, there have been some serious question marks surrounding the game for an international audience. While the Asian market (notably Japan and Hong Kong) have been enjoying the release of Tekken 6 for almost 3 or 4 months now, word of a UK or a US release has been relatively unforthcoming from. This culminated with a report last week from SD Tekken that unequivocally stated that Tekken 6 will not be receiving an official release in the US.

At the time, the report was an acknowledgment of the current market mentality in a lot of ways. While no sources were named, it did strike an unnerving cord with me that Tekken 6 (arcade) may end up being forgotten in favor for the inevitable home console port of the latest game in the franchise. Regardless, I was holding off any final judgment on the situation until there were more definitive sources either confirming or denying the early speculation.

I have received word however that the situation is a lot more fickle than what I could have possibly imagined. An upcoming issue of The Stinger Report is currently set to feature an indepth look at the Tekken 6 situation and how it relates to the US and UK arcade markets. Though the article in question hasn't been circulated yet (it should be posted to the newsletter in the next week or so), I have had a chance to take a look at its sections in order to get a better feel for what Namco Bandai games may be doing in regards to what I presumed would have been a popular title for the company.

From the article:

The Stinger Report approached the key executives at both satellite divisions of Namco towards an official statement on these rumors. The contact was made at what is usually the busiest period for the amusement sales – the Easter / Spring Break buying period a very important revenue stream for manufacturers in America and Europe. Add to this the build up to the ASI exhibition – the first big show of the US season – and it was not unsurprising that no reply was forthcoming.

Well placed sources to Namco stated off the record that another reason for the tight mouth before ASI was that they had hoped that the situation regarding Tekken would have fallen off the radar. The company’s international division feeling lumbered to even have the machine on their books as they saw no real demand, and would be happy to be shot of the responsibility to have to sell it into a market they feel depressed, especially for a high price piece of ‘niche’ hardware.

Where with Tekken 5, Namco America had worked extensively on ‘localization’ (translation and hardware alteration to suit market requirements) the corporation did not want to spend this expense on an already expensive and impractical import. Rather than confirming they had abandoned selling the machine, they hoped it would just go away.

The article goes on, but the message is clear - despite the high entry price there is an obvious demand for Tekken 6 that is being attempted to be held back from Namco Bandai Game's downplaying the potential audience in the UK and the US. There are obvious concerns about the hardware, the pricing for example is an immediate detriment to some arcade owners who maybe considering the cabinet, however even with these concerns, the recognition of a potential audience is driving arcade operators to look at acquiring the game through unofficial means.

This sort of after-market purchasing is already beginning to undermine Namco Bandai's apparent position, and if it becomes widespread, may be set to cause a potential backlash at the decision which has made the process of obtaining a unit rather difficult for those interested.

It is true that the industry doesn't demand the attention it once did, however, to downplay the audience as it is apparent that it seems like the US and UK divisions of Namco Bandai Games are currently doing seems to be writing a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure and shrinking market presence. If gamers are going to expect this sort of narrow viewing of their audience (and the ostracizing of the 'hardcore gamer' as was done according to the Stinger article at ATEI London by the European division of Namco games), the response will not be one that Namco Bandai amusements will appreciate.

Furthermore, once again quoting from The Stinger Report, there is a major difference between the approach that was taken with Tekken 5 and the current attitude with Tekken 6.

With T6 the difference in player relations between Namco Bandai Gaming in Japan and the satellite is stark. In Japan the AM R&D team has worked closely with the player base, listening to their suggestions and requests and shaping the machines play accordingly. Previously Namco America had worked incredibly closely with the players – the 2004 ‘Tekken 5’ (System 256) US cabinet had been specially developed by the excellent American team, members of which had listened to players including the Joypad home game controller ports, creating localization and player based information; but sadly with T6 Namco Japan had other ideas.

Already released in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, New Zealand, and even Canada the game has seen record breaking earning – supported by the secondary spend of the online connectivity (ranking) service, and the purchase of IC cards; so why not the UK or the USA? The Stinger Report approached a number of trade operator sources about Namco executive’s claims of a lack of interest in buying the game.

A major difference in the 2004 success of ‘Tekken 5’ (System 256) and the new release was blamed on the difference in pricing. Internationally Namco charged over $5,000 for the cabinet for T5 – a cabinet that confirmed to the norms usually requested by operators. In comparison T6 sits in a unique (Japanese style) HD sit-down cabinet, and is best operated with accompanying connected cabinets, and display screen – at a price of $16,000 per unit!

Beyond all else, this shift away from viewing the US audience as a potential market and exchanging with it an attitude of disinterest in building an alternative for their seperate regions will inevitably also hurt the US industry. While it is obvious that several regions are able to support $16,000 cabinets, the high pricing concerns could have easily been adjusted with specific region machines built to the demands of the market. The lack of interest due to cost is once again an example of a lack of motivation to try to re-engage an audience in the US that has fallen by the wayside to an industry who no longer views them as their base.

Reality is a harsh mistress, and though I can understand the corporate reasoning behind these decisions, it will be interesting to see if the 'gray market' sales of Tekken 6 will possibly cause a re-consideration of Namco Bandai's current trend of 'non-support'. However, as The Stinger Report also points out, that even these means may not end up being the best solution for gamers and arcade operators, as 'sources close to Namco’s International divisions stated that they are prepared to block those using unauthorized routes (Grey) to import machines. Operational issues regarding official IC card availability (a card can only be used 200 times), and the issue that international systems will need to be hocked-up to the online component of the game for updates, and that unauthorized machines will be locked out by Namco.'

The whole situation is creating a stark separation that is highlighting a negative trend towards traditional arcade fighting games in the US industry. With the inevitable PS3 port of Tekken 6 scheduled for later this year (which will undoubtedly be a million seller), the period of exclusiveness for Tekken 6 has already been severely limited by Namco Bandai's 'decision of indecision'. It really does seem that in a lot of ways, it is a situation of the company having no one to blame but themselves...

The Stinger Report ends on a note about the implications of the entire situation with future releases. There were rumors at one time that Namco Bandai's US division could possibly be handling the distribution of Street Fighter IV in the arcades stateside. It is readily apparent that this is probably not the case under the circumstances, and it calls into question of whether or not Capcom (who has no arcade division in the US anymore) will be finding a way to make Street Fighter IV's arcade release available to arcade operators. Is the reluctance to put Tekken 6 on the market going to negatively effect the perception of an audience for Street Fighter IV with Capcom? I would hope not, but at this stage I'm still shocked that there isn't more of a push to demand Tekken 6 via official channels.

For those interested in the full article on Tekken 6, including more insights on the entire breakdown of the game's availability in the US and UK, I recommend heading over to The Stinger Report and subscribing to the newsletter. The newsletter article should be coming out soon and it provides an even greater look at what exactly is going on that has caused the current course of action both on the part of arcade operators who want the game and a company who doesn't seem to want to be bothered to supply it...

There is always another side to every story, this one included. While I'm sure it would be great to receive official comments in regards to Tekken 6 (which has been hard to come by at this stage), over at the SDTekken site one Namco employee spoke up about the entire situation.

T6 in NA and other countries is a mere supply and demand equation. Ultimately, NA player’s penchant to sit on their asses until the game hits console has brought this upon themselves. No operator is willing to take the financial risk on T6 knowing the ROI will never be reached and player loyalty is only as long as the game remains off consoles

For Namco America we did everything we could, even hosting massive tournaments at our own loss couldn’t turn the boat around. Not only did operators lose tons of money in T5, Namco America did as well.

The real ugly is that players brought this upon themselves.

This seems to be the closest to an official statement as we may get in regards to the entire situation. The attitude is a bit disturbing and self-defeatist, but none-the-less, shows the opinion that Namco Bandai's American arcade division has elected to take with Tekken 6.

And on that note, I think it's important to bring up that the second Tekken 6 machine been officially spotted in Southern California...

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