Harada Hates FGC Hackers, But Maybe They're A Necessary Evil

A couple of months ago, a video that showed a Tekken 7 hacker using a trainer tool to defeat opponents on a live stream went viral. It gained so much attention that the big Tekken man himself, Katsuhiro Harada, noticed the video and failing to find the humor, left a scathing remark, and even threatened to get the player banned. Subsequently, a huge debate arose about the morality of the hacker's actions and who was at fault.

While the topic has somewhat died down, FGC YouTuber, Ernesto Lopez Jnr made a video where he interviewed the infamous player known as Soloslime on Twitter and discussed the reasons behind his actions and his thoughts on the backlash he received when the controversy was at its peak. The interview, of course, led to another debate in the comments, and it got me thinking: is it possible that hackers and villains are necessary for a better game and a more balanced community?

Cheating is nothing new

Cheating has existed for as long as video games have, and it has reared its head in just about every form of gaming available. However, while cheating is a reality we all have to live with, it could also be disadvantageous to a franchise as research shows that players are less likely to keep playing a game if they experience cheating or hackers. Furthermore, a study on Irdeto found that 48% of players are less likely to buy in-game content after experiencing cheating. Apart from that, you can imagine how annoying It is to play against a player who has an unfair advantage. With that said, you can understand the reaction of Katsuhiro Harada, who was naturally incensed at the actions of Soloslime.

Is there a case for hackers and cheaters?

There's something to be said about the helpfulness of cheats or codes to make games more accessible. In fact, some are harmless fun and add other aspects to the game that were previously available. For instance, the '10 star' cheat on Street Fighter II Turbo, which increased the game's speed exponentially, is a good example of where a cheat can come in handy. But, it is a different case if the cheat or hack is being used to gain an unfair advantage in a game as it ruins the fun for other players and is generally frowned upon. Soloslime doesn't share this view as his interview with Ernesto showed. In it, he claimed that he was only capable of cheating because Bandai Namco, the company behind Tekken, let it happen. He pointed out that his Street Fighter V cheats no longer work because Capcom did something about it; therefore, Bandai's continued refusal to fix the hack and make it impossible to use only means that they don't care about their fans.

Hacking as a scourge of the FGC

Katsuhiro Harada and Soloslime are certainly on opposites sides of a divide, and you could find some sense on both sides if you look hard enough, but at the end of the day, what are we left with? You could argue that Soloslime and hackers like him are a necessary evil that keeps developers of fighting games on their toes and promotes innovation. But, should developers wait for cheats to exploit a loophole to provide a good product? Conversely, should cheats look to take advantage of a flaw just to serve their own ends? The answer to both questions is 'No.' Yet, the reality of the world we live in tells a different story.

It will be fascinating if this breach causes Tekken to fix up and sort out their many problems.