Katsuhiro Harada, the flamboyant designer of the upcoming fighting game Tekken 7, has responded to complaints regarding his inclusion of Shaheen, a new Saudi Arabian character. Harada initially proposed to include an Arab pugilist in the Tekken series back in 2008, but decided to wait until he had visited the Middle East and consulted fans for research into the character's design. He also said the choice of the name 'Shaheen' was "inspired by foreign student[s] from Arabic counties (sic) and [the] Saudi embassy."
Some fans haven't been too happy about the inclusion however, venting their thoughts online:
There were angry comments on Dualshockers.com:
there was a slight chance for me to buy tekken 7, but with this stupid character i'm done with it. i dont want him to enter my home and my console.
And on Gamespot:
So his special attack will he either bombs the enemy or pours the enemy with crude oil and lamborghini (sic)
Many others have also been supportive of the inclusion too—Tekken is traditionally one of the most diverse fighting games available in a geographical sense, featuring characters from all over the world. The reveal of Shaheen even made the news in Bahrain. The ever outspoken Harada however, who also recently defended criticisms from Western fans over another new character in the game, Lucky Chloe, has responded to the Shaheen whiners as well:
Good for you, Harada. Tekken 7 is due to drop in arcades in March 2015, with console releases to follow at a later unspecified date.
[via Forbes]
