Katsuhiro Harada
| Katsuhiro Harada | |
|---|---|
 Katsuhiro Harada at the 14th edition of the Japan Expo in 2013 | |
| Born |
June 10, 1970 Osaka, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Game designer, director and producer, Director at Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Notable work | Tekken series |
Katsuhiro Harada (原田 勝弘 Harada Katsuhiro, born June 10, 1970) is a Japanese game producer and director from Bandai Namco Entertainment, best known as the producer of the Tekken series.
Biography
Harada was born in Osaka, Japan, and grew up within the Nara Prefecture region.[1] He later moved to Tokyo, Japan. During his childhood, videogames were viewed with a great deal of suspicion in Japan. His parents would not buy him a home console, and as a result often sneaked into arcade centres, where he would occasionally be discovered and dragged out. He worked hard and ended up securing a place at Waseda University. He has studied judo, karate and a little bit of taekwondo in the past.[2] He attended Waseda University along with Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki[3] and holds a degree in psychology. During his university studies, he took a few Chinese language courses, albeit finding it very difficult.[4] After graduating from university, he joined Namco to become a promoter. His parents were initially unhappy with his pursuit in a career with the video game industry, but have since accepted him in his career.[5]
During his first year working in the Namco arcade, Harada smashed the sales record two months in a row, and subsequently received an award of commendation from the president of Namco. Thanks to the award, Harada now had a platform to approach the management and request that they move him into game development. Towards the end of the first year at Namco, they gave him a position on the first Tekken title.[6]
He voiced Forest Law in Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament, Marshall Law from Tekken until Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Yoshimitsu from Tekken until Tekken Tag Tournament and Kunimitsu in Tekken. Known for his sense of humor, such as comical friendship and rivalry with Street Fighter director, Yoshinori Ono, and jokes around about the character Leo in Tekken 6 because of the ambiguous gender. Harada is also a member of Project Soul (the team behind Namco's Soul franchise). He makes an appearance in Soulcalibur V as a Bonus Character in a Quick Battle challenge. He uses the Character Creation exclusive Devil Jin style from the Tekken franchise, the Mishima Style Fighting Karate. His BGM is called "Antares" which is also used in Tekken 5 stage Cathedral. In the game, he use his special outfit, the Heihachi Mishima's Tiger Gi. Harada maintains fairly active Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Gameography
- Tekken (1994) — voice of Yoshimitsu, Marshall Law, Kunimitsu, Project Producer
- Tekken 2 (1995) — voice of Yoshimitsu, Marshall Law, Project Producer
- Tekken 3 (1997) — voice of Yoshimitsu, Forest Law, Project Director
- Tekken Tag Tournament (1999) — voice of Yoshimitsu, Forest Law, Project Creator, Director and Supervisor
- Tekken Advance (2001) — voice of Yoshimitsu, Forest Law, Project Director and Supervisor
- Tekken 4 (2001) — voice of Marshall Law, Gameplay Director
- Tekken 5 (2004) — voice of Marshall Law, Project Producer and Game Director
- Urban Reign (2005) — Contributor and Special Thanks
- Soulcalibur III (2005) — Contributor and Special Thanks
- Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (2005) — voice of Marshall Law, Game Director: Arcade Original Staff, Project Director, Supervisor
- Soulcalibur Legends — Contributor and Special Thanks
- Tekken 6 (2007) — Executive Producer
- Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion (2008) — Executive Producer
- Soulcalibur IV (2008) — Co-Director[7]
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (2011) — Game Concept Supervisor
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (2011) — Executive Producer
- Street Fighter X Tekken (2012) — Contributor and Co-Director
- Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (2012) — Executive Producer
- Ridge Racer Unbounded (2012) — Special Thanks
- Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (2012) — voice of Kuma[8]
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (2012) — Supervisor
- Tekken Revolution (2013) — Executive Producer
- Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (2015) — Supervisor[9]
- Tekken 7 (2015) — Director
- Pokkén Tournament (2015) — Producer
- Lost Reavers (2015) — Executive Producer
- Tekken 7: Fated Retribution (2016) — Director
- Pokkén Tournament DX (2017) - Producer
- Summer Lesson (TBA) — Executive Producer
- Tekken X Street Fighter (TBA) — Executive Producer
References
- ↑ http://gamewise.co/people/43370/Katsuhiro-Harada/Overview
- ↑ Katsuhiro Harada [@Harada_TEKKEN] (13 April 2013). "@BigbosS_3pw 4年以上習ったのは柔道、空手、あとテコンドーを少々。もはや型も1/3ぐらいしか思い出せないレベル。" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Katsuhiro Harada [@Harada_TEKKEN] (27 April 2012). "ワシ、大阪生まれの奈良育ち。DoAの板垣氏と早稲田に入学して以来、ずっと東京だけど、寝言はいまだに関西弁らしい。ハギーさんはカプコン広報だってば！（笑） RT@harakubashi 原田さん関東の人じゃなかったんですか(笑) ちなみにハギー氏ってお笑い芸人の方なんですか！？" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Katsuhiro Harada [@Harada_TEKKEN] (6 April 2013). "大学の頃第二外国語に中国語を選択していましたが、難しくて無理でした・・・。海外出張が多いので各国言語の必要最低限は覚えるようにしていますが。 RT@AirSlicer1986 原田さんの語学力にびっくりしていますわ。一体、何ヶ国語できますと？ちなみに、中国語は？？？？？？" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2013/sep/23/haradas-parents-broke-tears-when-he-initially-got-involved-video-games-he-used-psychology-background-boost-sales/
- ↑ "Harada was interviewed by the video game magazine Edge". Edge Online Magazine. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
- ↑ "Katsuhiro Harada Confirms Soulcalibur V Discussion! | 8WayRun.Com - Soulcalibur". 8WayRun.Com. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
- ↑ Katsuhiro Harada [@Harada_TEKKEN] (28 December 2012). "これぱんつか何か見えてるよねこれ？違う？いや見えてるよね？ 【神次元ゲイムネプテューヌV x 鉄拳 "Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory x TEKKEN"】" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Katsuhiro Harada [@Harada_TEKKEN] (7 February 2016). "Of course, I did supervisor. RT@Gamingorama Cool Easter Egg in Digimonstory Cybersleuth, Sir you know that?☺️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.