Tekken 7 Creator Explains Why There Will Be No Cross-Platform Support (UPDATED)

Update: Harada-san says that his words were lost in translation and misinterpreted. The developer clarified that the opinion that PC gamers are cheaters is one expressed by the community–but not one he necessarily shares. Harada-san stated that he himself is a PC gamer. 

I didn't say that (you read wrong translation article). It was just one of community's opinion. Remember, I'm PC gamer.
RT@_Mark_Money

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) September 24, 2016

Original article follows.

Tekken 7 won’t have cross-platform support between the PS4 and PC because its creator, Katsuhiro Harada, believes that PC gamers are prone to cheating in online games.

Fielding questions on Twitter about his upcoming fighting game, the game director said that a number of issues are preventing the studio from implementing cross-play support for consoles and the PC. The main reason however was that he believed PC gamers to have a reputation of cheating in online games.

“It’s not a matter of the technology for getting the PS4/Xbox One/PC players to match up against each other being the issue, but rather first party company policies and potential security risks,” said Harada in the tweet (as translated by NeoGAF).

“[That’s] alongside the community perceived reputation of PC gamers being cheaters that is hindering the decision to allow cross platform play.”

技術的には検証済み、あとはハードのポリシーとセキュリティ問題とPCチートに対するコミュニティ不信感で反発も多いので、ローンチ時はあえてクロスしない可能性大
RT@kyurichan_tk7 お忙しい中すまません。
家庭用鉄拳7ですが、クロスプラットフォームになる予定はありますか？

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) September 23, 2016

Harada-san is not entirely incorrect in asserting this, as many PC games with lackluster network code are much more vulnerable to cheaters than their console counterparts. Case in point: Ubisoft’s The Division.

However, placing the blame on PC gamers for what amounts to a developer issue is unkind to the millions of PC gamers who don’t cheat. Yes, it’s easier to cheat on the PC, but it’s really up to the developer to detect and ban cheaters and keep the game updated with anti-cheat software. If they’re unwilling to do that, they should simply say so instead of blaming any imagined reputation PC gamers might have.

Tekken 7 comes out in 2017.