There was no intention of me writing this as a professional news article because I really am in distinct shock, and I'm sure there will be more articles pertaining to Yohei Shimbori in the near future that will go that route but for now let's just take it in as the holy shit moment that it is.
At first, I will admit that I had to check multiple sources to believe this was real, but Yohei Shimbori is now a Producer/Director Assistant for Tekken 8. Now I think while that it is indeed a surprise; it should not be of a surprise to most of us because of all of the signs Dead or Alive players have seen throughout the development cycle of Tekken 8. This brand jump to say the least has made things interesting as there are going to be a lot of former doubters or even advocates of Shimbori at Koei Tecmo thinking "well maybe it's time we show the world we don't need Shimbori" or "this might be a way to open up business and make some real fucking money."
While I was scrolling through the responses on X I saw a lot of mixed emotions from the Dead or Alive community, but perhaps the smartest response was from FSD Nichol (give this guy a follow) that stated:
The genius behind Katsuhiro Harada was to theoretically state that if you don't see the value in Shimbori and if you don't want him; I'll take him. That being said this opens an entirely new level of business if Koei Tecmo and Bandai Namco can come to some terms. It would mean opening the Tekken roster to Dead or Alive characters; and now that they have Shimbori even the most purist of the DOA fandom would jump to the opportunity to play.
Even if Dead or Alive 6 was met with a mixed reaction, it doesn't mean that Yohei Shimbori can't recover his career in a different way and despite my personal feelings (and many others) I hope that he succeeds, and I hope the people upstairs are open to making good business decisions that would satisfy both fanbases.
At first, I will admit that I had to check multiple sources to believe this was real, but Yohei Shimbori is now a Producer/Director Assistant for Tekken 8. Now I think while that it is indeed a surprise; it should not be of a surprise to most of us because of all of the signs Dead or Alive players have seen throughout the development cycle of Tekken 8. This brand jump to say the least has made things interesting as there are going to be a lot of former doubters or even advocates of Shimbori at Koei Tecmo thinking "well maybe it's time we show the world we don't need Shimbori" or "this might be a way to open up business and make some real fucking money."
While I was scrolling through the responses on X I saw a lot of mixed emotions from the Dead or Alive community, but perhaps the smartest response was from FSD Nichol (give this guy a follow) that stated:
The DOA players had it right the whole time. Crazy new environmental interactions, unbreakable throws on counter, stuff we have been trained to deal with for quite some time. Happy to see where Shimbori ended up after that fiasco with KT! Looking forward to Tekken 8.
The genius behind Katsuhiro Harada was to theoretically state that if you don't see the value in Shimbori and if you don't want him; I'll take him. That being said this opens an entirely new level of business if Koei Tecmo and Bandai Namco can come to some terms. It would mean opening the Tekken roster to Dead or Alive characters; and now that they have Shimbori even the most purist of the DOA fandom would jump to the opportunity to play.
Even if Dead or Alive 6 was met with a mixed reaction, it doesn't mean that Yohei Shimbori can't recover his career in a different way and despite my personal feelings (and many others) I hope that he succeeds, and I hope the people upstairs are open to making good business decisions that would satisfy both fanbases.
Last edited: