Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada has revealed his failed attempt at bringing KFC’s Colonel Sanders into the fighting game as a guest character.
Speaking to The Gamer, Harada’s plans were unfortunately turned down by both KFC and his superiors. “A long time ago, I wanted to have Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken fight. So, I asked to use Colonel Sanders and [went] to the head office in Japan,” he explained, only to have his pitch turned down with a “bad look”.
That’s not to say that the American fast-food restaurant chain is completely against featuring the likeness of its illustrious founder, as Colonel Sanders did make an appearance in I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator, which was commissioned by KFC and released for free in 2019 on Steam.
For game designer Michael Murray, the idea’s negative reception was most probably due to the type of game Tekken is. “They weren’t very open to the idea, but [Colonel Sanders] appeared in games after that. So maybe it was just him fighting against someone [that] was posing a problem for them. But it just goes to show how difficult these types of discussions are,” he shared.
Alas, the failed fast-food collaboration may spell disappointment for the future of Tekken partnerships, notably the highly fan-requested Waffle House stage, which seems likely to never see the light of day.
In the meantime, fans still have the upcoming Heihachi Mishima character DLC to look forward to. For more info on the upcoming Tekken 8 DLC and free story expansion, Unforgotten Echoes, check out Geek Culture’s preview here.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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