When Tekken 7 Will Arrive On Consoles

We finally have a launch date for Tekken 7 and, while it's not quite what Bandai Namco had touted for the game, we're not too far off for the legendary series' next trip into the arena.

It was announced today that Tekken 7 will finally arrive on consoles on June 2. As Gamespot points out, that's a bit off from the promised "early 2017" launch window but, still, early summer isn't too far off.

According to the original report, project lead Katsuhiro Harada said the team did its best to make sure the game came out bright and early in 2017, but that simply proved impossible. He cites recent launches as the driving cause for this decision, saying that other games have hit the market light on content and fan outcry has been heard loud and clear. Rather than rush to get Tekken 7 out in the planned window, the team instead is taking some additional time to make sure it's a complete package before it ships.

Shipping a complete game? Now there's a novel idea.

Harada was extremely apologetic in his statement concerning the release date for Tekken 7, even though we'd argue they're only missing the promised "early 2017" by a couple of months. Still, it's always nice to hear from a developer who genuinely cares about their audience and wants them to understand why decisions are made, even if said decisions might upset some of said audience.

In more upbeat Tekken 7 news, Dalton Link recently posted an information blowout over on the PlayStation Blog concerning the upcoming punch-em-up, covering everything from the game's new "Rage System," which includes Rage Art moves to absorb hits and the Rage Drive that, while not as powerful as the Rage Art, leads into a punishing combo. There is also information on the Power Crush, an armored attack that can break through just about any other move in the game and turn the tide of a downhill battle.

Finally, there's plenty of information concerning Akuma, the big bad from the Street Fighter series who will be making an appearance in Tekken 7. What's extra cool is that Akuma isn't just a playable character, but also has a big part to play in the story of Tekken 7. We're all for crossovers, so we say bring on the red-haired demon and let's see how he fares against the best the Tekken series has to offer.

And for you old-school Tekken fans in the audience, it sounds like there will be some spiffy new/old duds to don once the game hits consoles, especially if you're playing on the PlayStaiton 4. That platform will get some old-school outfits for characters including Jin, Xiaoyu and King.