Image: KFC
We almost got Colonel Sanders as a Tekken fighter, but KFC wasn’t feeling it.
Tekken franchise producer Katushiro Harada has recently revealed that he once tried to include KFC’s Colonel Sanders as a playable fighter in a Tekken game. The main obstacle of this unconventional roster addition turned out to be KFC itself, however. As the fighting game producer puts it in a recent interview with TheGamer, he visited the KFC head office in Japan and was given a “bad look” after making the request.
Tekken head Katsuhiro Harada tried to make Colonel Sanders a fighter
Believe it or not, KFC mascot and real-life restaurant founder Colonel Sanders almost became a playable fighter in the popular fighting game franchise Tekken. Harada explains that “A long time ago, I wanted to have Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken fight [...] So, I asked to use Colonel Sanders and go to the head office in Japan."
Unfortunately, the deal didn’t go through as Harada was given a “bad look” by KFC’s representatives. Game designer Michael Murray elaborated on the event by saying that Harada “went to Kentucky Fried Chicken and tried to get Colonel Sanders” but KFC wasn’t “very open to the idea.” Colonel Sanders went on to appear in games like the dating sim I Love You, Colonel Sanders! (2019), so Murray muses that “maybe it was just him fighting against someone [that] was posing a problem for them. But it just goes to show how difficult these types of discussions are."
It’s likely that even more whacky choices for guest fighters in the Tekken franchise were considered much like Colonel Sanders, and shot down for reasons revolving around copyright and companies looking to protect their brand image. Seeing as this request seems to have happened before the KFC mascot appeared in a game of his own, it’s likely that he was considered for Tekken 7 - or earlier entries in the franchise.
Harada also acknowledges that a popular fan request regarding Tekken getting a Waffle House stage is “not something that we can accomplish on our own,” leaving it up to the American restaurant chain to approve such a request. There’s always a chance!
