Some Tekken 8 players express anger as the game adds microtransactions

Some Tekken 8 players have reacted with anger at the addition of microtransactions to the game, via a premium currency.

Bandai Namco had previously told players that a mode called Tekken Shop would be coming to the game, and that it would contain cosmetic items like character costumes and avatar skins.

It also stated that costumes would cost 400 Tekken Coins, and that this would amount to around $4.

However, the game’s new version 1.02.01 patch has just rolled out, adding the Tekken Shop, and players are unhappy that – as with numerous other games which use a premium currency – Tekken Coins can only be bought in bundles.

As such, anyone wishing to buy a costume for 400 Tekken Coins would have to buy a bundle of 500 Coins for $5, leaving them with 100 Coins remaining.

The shop has launched with eight costumes, at a total price of 3200 Coins. The cheapest way to buy them all is to buy a 3210 Coin bundle costing $29.99.

Although it was already known that the shop was coming, players on the Tekken subreddit are still upset at the way the store is structured, with some also claiming that it was added after launch so it wouldn’t be mentioned in review coverage.

“Seeing this shit invade a(nother) £70 game after a month of positive critic reviews and reception is extremely disappointing,” said user csreynolds84.

“People been focusing so much about how they hate microtransactions that they overlook actual predatory strategy,” added OwnSimple4788.

“I have been saying since they talked about the shop that they would make us overpay via the coin packs. Having an extra currency is just dumb, we should be able to buy things directly with money.”

In a lengthy tweet posted on X last week, Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada replied to a follower complaining about the use of microtransactions, by saying they were necessary to keep the game alive.

“Development costs are now 10 times more expensive than in the 90’s and more than double or nearly triple the cost of Tekken 7,” he said. “Even the Fight Lounge servers are costly to maintain.

“In the past there weren’t so many specs and there wasn’t online. Plus they didn’t have such high resolution and high definition. Now, so many people want the game to run and be supported for a long time. It costs money to continually update the game for that reason.

Further reading

1

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“However, [the follower] probably only keeps good memories of the old games he experienced as a boy and does not pay attention to these changing times and increasing costs. The economic situation and everything else is changing.

“If we simply do nothing as he suggests, the game will simply stop running in a few months. I think that is what he wants. So there is no point in talking to him about these realities. He wants us to stop economic activity and stop updating and supporting the game.”