Tekken 8 fans desperately want a Waffle House stage, but Harada isn't sure he can make it happen

Tekken 8 fans have been asking game director Katsuhiro Harada to put a Waffle House stage in the game, but as much as you might want it, Harada doesn't think it will be easy.

I think it's safe to say the Tekken community can be a bit of an odd one at times. One of its latest requests is for the American food chain Waffle House to be added in as a stage. Yes, the very same Waffle House that is the basis for the Waffle House Index, a genuine metric that tells you how bad a weather-based disaster is based on how functional any given Waffle House is. When one fan asked Harada to put a Waffle House stage into Tekken 8, the game maker actually responded, writing, "Ok, I will only ask once about this request. Why do some communities send me requests for 'Waffle House'? Please be sure to explain the basis for the request, including the original story, history and background. I look forward to an explanation from someone who knows more."

Many fans did actually earnestly respond to Harada, explaining how Waffle Houses can often be the hosts of actual fist fights, as documented in several viral videos, for one reason or another. In response to fan's explanations, Harada thanked them, and wrote "I understand that many people are requesting it. However, I think you are missing one important point. The restaurant has both the trademark and the rights to the restaurant, so if the restaurant chain's headquarters refuses to accept my proposal, it will not happen."

Trademark is obviously an annoying and fickle thing, and personally as funny as it would be I don't see Waffle House happily signing over the rights to its brand just to appear in a video game. Stranger things have happened, though! Tekken 7 does feature Negan from The Walking Dead of all characters, but I imagine that one's a bit easier to organise. In the meantime, you can look forward to playing as Eddy Gordo next week as he'll be available in early access to this with the Playable Character Year 1 pass.