Tekken series producer, Katsuhiro Harada, has long maintained that Tekken will not follow Capcom’s lead of allowing key game elements to become paid-for DLC.
“When you look at DLC, whether paid or free, a lot of titles have it on the disc, it’s not that unusual,” Harada told Eurogamer. “I’ve been saying that, at least for Tekken, regarding techniques, characters and stages, these three things won’t be charged for, even if they are DLC.”
However, Harada revealed that the conversation regarding premium DLC has been going on with his employers at Namco Bandai for some time.
“Actually this is something my bosses have been asking me for quite a while now – what are our plans for DLC? How much money can we make? They are a company, obviously, in it to make money,” he said. “So it’s something I’m continually asked even now. But I haven’t changed my stance. If you’re making a fighting game, all of the elements necessary to enjoy it should be on the disc, or should at least be available for free.”
This is something Harada feels strongly about. "If I was given the choice to include paid DLC or quit Namco, I would maybe quit... Or maybe I would just say 'get someone else to deal with this'," he asserted.
Harada goes on to say that he's willing to do DLC characters so long as they're free, and that any paid DLC will be strictly for superfluous non-essential items such as previous soundtracks or past ending movies.
"These are ideas that aren't essential to enjoy the game, and might be available for purchase," he said.