Back in 2010, fighting game fans were given the chance to see two of the greatest franchises in the genre go to head-to-head with the announcement of Street Fighter x Tekken and Tekken x Street Fighter.
Both games would have characters from each franchise duking it out, but each would be implemented differently: Street Fighter x Tekken would have the action take place on a 2D plane, while Tekken x Street Fighter would have the action take place on a 3D plane. The former came out in 2012, but the latter has been noticeably absent, leaving fans to wonder about the status of the game.
One update came in April when fans learned that the game is no longer in active production, while Bandai Namco and Capcom focused their efforts on Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V, reiterating what was said about the game's status in June 2015. Now, fans have more to go on: though the game is still not in active production, developers will resume work if both Street Fighter V and Tekken 7 do well commercially.
This news came via an interview at E3 with Bandai Namco's Katsuhiro Harada, who reiterated much of what was stated in the past. However, he soon followed that up with an interesting tidbit:
"So, as you say, if Tekken 7 does extremely well, and Street Fighter V is in a good position, then maybe there is a time later on to revisit that conversation."
Simply put, the easiest way to ensure that TxSF comes out is for fans to support SFV and Tekken 7 come around.
Honestly, this is a good move from a business perspective. Many have treated the arrival of TxSF as a forgone conclusion due to the release of SFxT before it. However, many are quick to forget how poorly received the game was and how quickly it fell off in the competitive scene. With that in mind, Bandai Namco needs to be sure that people will actually buy TxSF, before it puts in any serious effort in making the title.
So, how are things looking so far? Tekken 7 has been out for the arcades in Japan for quite some time now and has been pretty popular so far. Furthermore, the game is slated for release on PC and consoles in early 2017 and looks to enjoy some popularity on those platforms as well. Meanwhile, despite some complaints, Street Fighter V has been doing well, and with consistent support from Sony and Capcom, it looks like SFV will have a lifespan matching — if not exceeding — that of Street Fighter IV.
With that said, the coming of Tekken x Street Fighter might be less of a question of "if" and more of a question of "when."
