If you love eating at KFC, you're bound to know the iconic Colonel Sanders, the worthy representative of the restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken. Imagine that this character almost made it into a cult video game before the hope of its producer was simply ruined.
An unusual crossover refused by KFC
If we talk to you about Katsuhiro Harada, you're thinking that we're going to talk about Tekken. Indeed, the chief developer of the famous fighting video game had in mind to integrate into the eighth opus of the franchise a crossover that was unexpected to say the least. It's clear that his dream will never see the light of day.
It's not uncommon for video games and brands to collaborate. Titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty are fond of them. This kind of crossover allows to offer new experiences and also to attract new audiences. The idea of Katsuhiro Harada, producer of Tekken, was to introduce a character that no one expected in the eighth installment of the virtual fighting game franchise.
Thus, it is in an interview given to The Gamerthat Harada revealed the crossover he had always dreamed of: that of integrating Colonel Sanders, icon of KFC, the fast food chain specializing in chicken, into Tekken 8:
A long time ago, I wanted Colonel Sanders from KFC to fight. So I asked to use his image when I went to the brand's headquarters in Japan.
Colonel Sanders has already appeared in other games
Unfortunately for him, the producer had to face the refusal of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The firm was frankly not open to the idea of seeing Colonel Sanders fight in a video game. And that's probably why KFC declined the project because the idea of seeing its mascot in a video game is not necessarily a problem for the brand. The character had already appeared in 2019 in a video game called I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin' Good Dating Simulator, a dating simulation game that KFC had commissioned and offered for free on Steam to promote the chain. Recently, the founder of KFC landed in Funko Fusion, an action adventure game mixing several universes from different franchises such as Back to the Future, Jurassic World or Jaws in Funko Pop version!
Fans will therefore not see Colonel Sanders in Tekken 8. If they hope to see an unusual crossover with Waffle House, another American restaurant chain that offers waffles, Harada seems to say that it seems complicated to him because the brand's agreement is required.
Still, Tekken fans will be able to find Heihachi Mishima, who will join the Tekken 8 roaster in the next DLC planned for this October 4th.