Not often do you hear the head of a gaming company lash out at those who support them, but that's exactly what Namco Bandai's Katsuhiro Harada has done.
Fans of the Tekken series have been questioning Harada on why voice actors of the past have not been used in recent games. These questions are coming at a time where Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (TTT2) is riding a wave of momentum before release. While Harada usually engages with his followers without conflict, it appears he's had enough.
Harada has been giving his Twitter followers (via EventHubs) quite an earful. He has grown tired of fans requesting voice-overs from 1996 and has explained to the 'whiners,' they need to 'step back' and act like adults.
"I have something I want to say to the people who spam me with requests to 'switch back (or Bring back)' to the voice actors used previously. I believe that, before whining and complaining about everything, you need practice at taking a step back and analyzing things objectively. And also at being an adult.
First, the voice you were listening to was 16 years ago, during the PlayStation period. The current generation of consoles are totally different in how they play back sound; both software-wise, and the internal circuitry. The playback program is different, as well as the sound effects added; reverb and 5.1 are examples of this. The compression rate, as well as the sound rate, is different today. Are you playing games on the same TV you used 16 years ago? What about your speakers? Headphones? They are all the same as 16 years ago? I wonder if it will sound like the same voice as 16 years ago, even with that data.
Also, you are assuming the voice actors themselves can reproduce the voice the recorded 16 years ago? Many voice actors decline work because their voice has changed since the original role, some have even retired. Sometimes they won't accept, even if we ask."
