Harada kept Tekken a secret from his family for a decade

Katsuhiro Harada kept his work on Tekken hidden from his parents for a decade over fears that they would find the game too violent.  This is pretty impressive, since he was such a big influence on the game and it’s impending success.

“They were both civil servants – they served their country,” Harada said while recalling the story with EDGE. “I have two older sisters, but I was the only boy, so they had high expectations of me.

His parents only found out that he was involved with Tekken after spotting him on the cover of a magazine promoting Tekken 5 – 10 years after the launch of the original game.  “Tekken was so violent,” he continued. “I was raised in a strict family. I studied a lot, too sport seriously, didn’t get into fights… So I told them I was working on something else. First I told them I was making Prop Cycle. Later it was Taiko No Tatsujin. I think it came out four or five years after I joined Namco. My junior staff made that game!”

Harada has worked as director or producer on every Tekken game since joining Namco in the early 1990s.