Yep, you heard right, the spambot, Roger Jr, will unfortunately not be included in Tekken 7 when the title releases later this year, producer Katsuhiro Harada confirmed earlier today.
Harada hasn’t explicitly stated the details of Roger Jr’s scrapping, but it does have something to do with that viral video which surfaced on the web earlier this year.
“There was a video of a man’s dog being headlocked by a kangaroo, and he punched it in the face. It turned into a big problem,” he said. “People were complaining about him punching a kangaroo.”
Harada continued, stating that there are more animal activists than there have ever been and although they might not be gamers, hearing about people controlling characters which can punch a Kangaroo might lead to a conversation which could damage the franchise.
Huh? PETA has not said anything. And I said we've worries. What are you talking about.
RT @ChingachgookNM— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) April 28, 2017
Tekken 7 does feature a fighting animal in the form of Kuma the bear. He’s in the game because, according to Harada, a bear is “obviously stronger than a human being.”
Harada clarified on Twitter that PETA, which has blasted video games in the past, did not come to Bandai Namco with concerns. Instead, Harada said Bandai Namco has “worries” about potential blowback.
Tekken 7 launches June 2 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on June 2. Excited for Tekken 7? Let us know in the comments!